Observer Notes

Science Lesson Term III

During the hook of the experiment I noticed that two of the
students got in an intense debate over whether they thought a
few of the items would sink or float. The first debate occurred
around the jar of honey. Student A stated, It will sink because
its heavy and theres a lot of it. Jars are hard which means it will
sink. Student B replied, It will float because honey is like a
liquid which makes it less dense or not as heavy. So because of
that it will make the jar float. Student A then countered, But
honey isnt the same as like water. Its not a liquid like that so
that doesnt mean it will float. Student B replied, Yes it will. Its
not all a solid and things with liquid in them float so it will. Just
because the jar is a solid wont make it float. I stopped the
debate because I could see it was beginning to turn into an
argument.
Another debate around whether or not the Pomegranate would
float took place between the same pair of students after Student
B asked what a Pomegranate was. After Student A explained that
it was a fruit with Jelly or liquid in the center, Student B asked,
So that means that it might float? Student A shot back, No it
wont ugghhh. Theres more solid in a pomegranate than there is
a liquid at the center so itll sink because its mostly a solid.
Student B replied, But if its at the center that has to mean
something. Wouldnt it help it float? I put an end to this debate
after these comments because it did not seem like the two
students would be able to continue this argument in a respectful
manner
The students saw that the jar of honey sunk, and the
pomegranate floated. The pair of students that were arguing
earlier were completely silent and did not have any comments to
make to each other after seeing these results.
One pair chose to mold the clay into something that looked like
an ashtray. It floated. This was after they dropped the ball of clay
into the water and they were instructed to mold the clay into
something that could float.
After giving them the lego men and marbles, the first pair to
have a marble thought they could build the same sort of boat
that was initially produced, because the students who produced
the first boat received a lego man and saw that the boat they

had built already could support the lego man. However, the
group with the marble that tried to replicate this boat exactly
were unsuccessful in making the marble float. After all the
students in the activity noticed this, they began to become more
creative with how they designed their boats.
When I tried to elicit a response that addressed what we used
boats for in real life one student stated, Well theyre really hard
and heavy, and I dont know how they can float being like that
but they do and thats important.
Other pairs tried to mold their boats to make them look exactly
like the first boat that was built. However, this boat design had
varying degrees of efficacy throughout the experiment.
Some remarks on what they learned: 1. The depth of the boat
really plays a big role because how deep the boat is helps
support the the weight of the object. 2. So you have to make
things bend and light so it can float, and if the boat is heavy in
your hand it might not float. 3. When youre making stuff it
cant be too soft. It has to be a little bit light so when you put it in
the tub itll float. 4. I dont think the weight matters, I think its
the way you space the clay boat out is what matters.
Overall students seemed to be very engaged and on task throughout
the experiment. This lead me to believe that they enjoyed it.