Science – Transitioning to the New Test Information, Resources, and Strategies for the Classroom Bonnie Goonen – [email protected] Susan Pittman – [email protected] ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 1 Table of Contents Overview of Science Themes and Example Content ............................................................. 3 Science Practices .................................................................................................................... 4 Scientific Inquiry – Which Falls Fastest? ................................................................................ 5 Resources for the Classroom ................................................................................................. 7 “The Nature of Science” – What Is Scientific Inquiry? .......................................................... 8 Sample Questions for Guiding Scientific Thinking ..............................................................10 Scientific Inquiry – Which Falls Fastest? .............................................................................. 11 Inquiry Method Recording Sheet ........................................................................................... 14 Experiments for the Classroom – Getting Started ................................................................15 Oil Spill! Clean It Up ......................................................................................................................... 15 Friction ............................................................................................................................................... 15 Spontaneous Problems and the Scientific Method – An Inquiry Lab ....................................... 16 Gummy Bear Absorption: A Scientific Method Investigation ..................................................... 17 Understanding the Components of an Experiment ..................................................................... 19 Raw or Cooked? ............................................................................................................................... 20 Which Paper Towel Absorbs the Most Water .............................................................................. 20 How Long Does It Take?................................................................................................................. 21 Science Resources from the World Wide Web .....................................................................23 Stay in Touch! ......................................................................................................................... 24 ® ® © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. 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All rights reserved. 2 Overview of Science Themes and Example Content Science Example Content Topics Life Science (40%) • Human body and health Focusing Themes Human Health and Living Systems • Organization of life Physical Science (40%) • Chemical properties and reactions related to human systems Earth & Space Science (20%) • Interactions between Earth’s systems and living things • Conservation, transformation, and flow of energy • Earth and its system components • Molecular basis for heredity • Evolution • Relationships between life functions and energy intake Energy and Related Systems • Energy flows in ecologic networks (ecosystems) ® • Work, motion, and forces GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. • Structure and organization of the cosmos 3 Science Practices SP.1 Comprehending Scientific Presentations SP.1.a Understand and explain textual scientific presentations SP.1.b Determine the meaning of symbols, terms and phrases as they are used in scientific presentations SP.1.c Understand and explain a non-textual scientific presentation SP.2 Investigation Design (Experimental and Observational) SP.2.a Identify possible sources or error and alter the design of an investigation to ameliorate that error SP.2.b Identify and refine hypotheses for scientific investigations SP.2.c Identify the strength and weaknesses of one or more scientific investigation (i.e. experimental or observational) designs SP.2.d Design a scientific investigation SP.2.e Identify and interpret independent and dependent variables in scientific investigations SP.3 Reasoning from Data SP.3.a Cite specific textual evidence to support a finding or conclusion SP.3.b Reason from data or evidence to a conclusion SP.3.c Make a prediction based upon data or evidence SP.3.d Use sampling techniques to answer scientific questions SP.4 Evaluating Conclusions with Evidence SP.4.1 Evaluate whether a conclusion or theory is supported or challenged by particular data or evidence SP.5 Working with Findings SP.5.a Reconcile multiple findings, conclusions or theories SP.6 Expressing Scientific Information SP.6.a Express scientific information or findings visually SP.6.b Express scientific information or findings numerically or symbolically SP.6.c Express scientific information or findings verbally SP.7 Scientific Theories SP.7.a Understand and apply scientific models, theories and processes SP.7.b Apply formulas from scientific theories SP.8 Probability & Statistics SP.8.a Describe data set statistically SP.8.b Use counting and permutations to solve scientific problems. SP.8.c Determine the probability of events ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 4 Scientific Inquiry – Which Falls Fastest? Which shape of paper falls fastest: An unfolded sheet of paper, a paper folded in fourths, or a sheet of crumpled paper? Or can you create a different shape with paper that falls even faster or slower? Make Your Plan: What is your independent (manipulated variable)? What is your dependent (responding) variable What is your question? If, then . . . What is your hypothesis? What are the constants? (name at least 3) ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 5 Data: Unfolded paper Paper in Fourths Crumpled Paper Unique Shape Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Average Conclusion: Based on the data from my experiment, I reject or accept the hypothesis that ______________________________________________________________ because ______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________. ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 6 Resources for the Classroom ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 7 “The Nature of Science” – What Is Scientific Inquiry? Introduction: The purpose of this activity is to get the students to think about the nature of science, and also, to show the importance of being an active participant in the learning process. This activity supports the abilities necessary to understand and engage in scientific inquiry. Materials: Print the following pattern on cardstock paper and cut out the individual pieces. Make enough for each student to work individually. Procedure: Hand out all the pieces except the small square marked X. Each piece represents current scientific data. Once the students are given the pieces, provide no further instruction. Most students will begin to arrange the pieces on their own. In a short amount of time, the students will put the pieces together to make a square as seen below in Figure 2. ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 8 Once all the students have arranged the pieces to produce figure 2, hand out the small square marked X to each student and explain that a new scientific discovery has been made. Students must somehow incorporate this new information to their puzzle. Encourage students to work individually at first, and then, to work in groups if the frustration level rises. There may be some degree of collaboration (looking at other student’s progress). If one student gets the correct arrangement, have that student cover up the answer so that other students will persevere. Hint: You may help students get started by having them make the “Superman” logo shape first. Follow-Up Questions: Once all or most of the students have arranged the pieces correctly, have them brainstorm and share how this activity is similar to “doing” science. Similarities may include the following ideas: 1. Assume that the pieces fit together – nature is a puzzle that we have not yet solved 2. Trial and error is an essential ingredient to science 3. New information may require the old theory to be modified or discarded 4. Current information may be incomplete and therefore, theories are incorrect 5. Sometimes, a person gets lucky and finds the right answer 6. Collaboration may be helpful 7. Once the answer is arrived at, it makes perfect sense Share with students that scientific design (the scientific method) requires the same types of thinking as the puzzle. Questions, such as, Why, Why Not, and How are important when determining whether the outcomes of an experiment make sense or not. This type of activity also provides the understanding that try, try again is an important part of science. ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 9 Sample Questions for Guiding Scientific Thinking Question Type Sample Question Starters Recalling Who, what, when, where, how ____? Comparing How is _____ similar to/different from_____? Identifying Attributes and Components What are the characteristics/parts of _____? Classifying How might we organize _____ into categories? Ordering Arrange _____ into sequence according to _____. Identifying Relationships and Patterns Develop an outline/diagram/web of _____. Representing In what other ways might we show/illustrate _____? Identifying Main Ideas What is the key concept/issue in _____? Retell the main idea of _____ in your own words. Identifying Errors What is wrong with _____? Inferring What might we infer from _____? What conclusions might be drawn from _____? Predicting What might happen if _____? Elaborating What ideas/details can you add to _____? Give an example of _____. Summarizing Can you summarize _____? Establishing Criteria What criteria would you use to judge/evaluate _____? Verifying What evidence supports _____? How might we prove/confirm _____? ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 10 Scientific Inquiry – Which Falls Fastest? Which shape of paper falls fastest: An unfolded sheet of paper, a paper folded in fourths, or a sheet of crumpled paper? Or can you create a different shape with paper that falls even faster or slower? Make Your Plan: What is your independent (manipulated variable)? What is your dependent (responding) variable What is your question? If, then . . . What is your hypothesis? What are the constants? (name at least 3) ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 11 Data: Identify your dependent and independent variables for each trial. Independent variables are the variables that are changed in a given model or equation. One can also think of them as the ‘input’ which is then modified by the model to change the ‘output’ or dependent variable. Dependent variables are considered to be functions of the independent variables, changing only as the independent variable changes. Dependent Variables ____________________________________________________ Independent Variables ___________________________________________________ Unfolded paper Paper in Fourths Crumpled Paper Unique Shape Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Average Calculations: Show work below: Average for ___________ paper: _______ + _______ + _______ + _______ = ______÷ 4 = Average for ___________ paper: _______ + _______ + _______ + _______ = ______÷ 4 = Average for ___________ paper: _______ + _______ + _______ + _______ = ______÷ 4 = Average for ___________ paper: _______ + _______ + _______ + _______ = ______÷ 4 = Find your largest difference: ___________ paper fell in the slowest average time which was ______s. ___________ paper fell in the fastest average time which was ______s. The difference between these two number (use subtraction) is =______s Is this Qualitative or Quantitative Data? Why? ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 12 Conclusion: Based on the data from my experiment, I reject or accept the hypothesis that (Restate your hypothesis WORD FOR WORD) ____________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ because ___________________________________________________________________________. The evidence to support this is that the average time for an unfolded piece of paper was __________ s, for a sheet folded in fourths was _______s, and a crumpled sheet of paper was _______s. The difference between the _____________ piece of paper and _____________ piece of paper was __________s. This difference does or does not seem significant to me. Therefore, I conclude that ________________________ paper _________________________. ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 13 Inquiry Method Recording Sheet Step 1 – Observations, Questions, and Hypotheses Observations Questions Hypothesis If . . . Then . . . Step 2 – Scientific Testing Investigation & Data Step 3 – Analysis and Conclusion Discuss data & draw conclusion Step 4 - Communication We communicated our results by ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 14 Experiments for the Classroom – Getting Started Oil Spill! Clean It Up When oil tankers accidentally spill their cargo of oil into the ocean they cause a huge environmental danger. Oil is extremely hard to remove from the water and the beaches, and the whole environment is damaged. In this experiment, you can see how hard it is to remove oil from sand. You will need: Large plastic cup Sand 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (This experiment can be messy, so you might want to do it outdoors.) Step 1 – Observe - Fill a plastic cup with sand and oil and mix well. Observe the problem that you have. Step 2 – Hypothesize - Based on your observations, make a guess at what tools you could use to get the oil off the sand. Step 3 – Test the Hypothesis - Conduct an experiment. Use a spoon, a straw, paper towel, an old toothbrush, a sponge – anything that you can think of to get the oil off the sand and help save the environment! Friction Which is easier to spin – a smoother ball or a less smooth ball? For this experiment, you will need: A bowl of water Smooth rubber ball Tennis ball Step 1 – Observe the two types of balls. Step 2 – Hypothesize - Based on your observations, make a guess as to which ball will spin the longest and why. Step 3 – Test the Hypothesis - Try spinning the rubber ball in the water. Next spin the tennis ball in the water. Which one is easier to spin? The smoother ball is easier to spin because the smooth surface causes less friction with the water. ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 15 Spontaneous Problems and the Scientific Method – An Inquiry Lab Background: This is a quick and easy inquiry lab on the scientific method. Students explore how the scientific method can be used to solve a problem or meet a challenge. You may choose to have your students design and construct their model, test it, revise it, and then write it up according to the scientific method, or write it up as they go along. Materials Per Group: 1 cup 1 marble 20 straws 12 inches of tape 6 rubber bands 4 mailing labels 10 paper clips 1 ruler 2 index cards 10 nails 1- 1-inch ball of Playdoh Student Directions: Using the materials listed below, you are to build a structure which will transport a marble into a cup. The structure must be at least 14 inches tall and must transport the marble a distance of no less than 24 horizontal inches (parallel to the floor). Once the marble is released it may not be touched until the trial is over. In order to accomplish the problem, the marble must remain in the cup when the trial is over. The marble must start on the structure and must remain on the structure for two seconds. You may use only the following materials: 1 cup 1 marble 20 straws 12 inches of tape 6 rubber bands 4 mailing labels 10 paper clips 1 ruler 2 index cards 10 nails 1- 1-inch ball of Playdoh Describe your solution in terms of the scientific method. Did you use all of the steps? Did you run a controlled experiment? What would be the benefits of using a control with this problem? Do all solutions to problems follow the scientific method? How could the scientific method have helped you to achieve your solution? ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 16 Gummy Bear Absorption: A Scientific Method Investigation Background information: Gummy bears are made from a mixture of sugar, glucose syrup, starch, food coloring, citric acid (vitamin C), gelatin and added flavoring. Gelatin absorbs water to a certain extent. There is a limit to how much water a certain amount of gelatin can hold. Salt is a solute and draws water towards it. Water moves toward the direction where there is more salt and less water. Vinegar is an acid and is corrosive. It can cause various substances to break down. Problem: How will a gummy bear be affected by water, salt water, sugar water and vinegar? Hypothesis: I think each of the following will affect a gummy bear in the following way: Water: _________________________________________________ Salt water: ______________________________________________ Vinegar: ________________________________________________ Sugar water: ____________________________________________ Materials: Gummy Bears Triple Beam Balance Metric Ruler Plastic Cups Water Salt Vinegar Sugar Procedure: 1. Collect materials. 2. Prepare cups and label: water, salt water, vinegar, and sugar water 3. Measure length, width, height and mass of each gummy bear. Record in data table. 4. Place one gummy bear in each solution. 5. Record observations after one and five minutes. 6. Leave overnight. 7. The following day, record observations of each gummy bear and measure length, width, height and mass of each gummy bear. 8. Find the percent increase in dimensions. 9. Draw a conclusion ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 17 Recording Charts Water Length Before After % Increase Before After % Increase Before After % Increase Before After % Increase After 1 minute After 5 minutes After 1 day Width Height Mass Salt Water Length Width Height Mass Sugar Water Length Width Height Mass Vinegar Length Width Height Mass Observations Water Salt Water Sugar Water Vinegar Conclusion: ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 18 Understanding the Components of an Experiment Directions: After completing the following table, read the passage (“The Experiment”) below and show your understanding of the different components of an experiment by providing examples and explanations in the table on the reverse side of this paper. Component Hypothesis Definition/Description Quantitative Data Qualitative Data Repeated Trials Independent Variable Dependent Variable Control Constants The Experiment A shopping mall wanted to determine whether the more expensive “Tough Stuff” floor wax was better than the cheaper “Steel Seal” floor wax at protecting its floor tiles against scratches. One gallon or each type of floor wax was applied to each of the five test sections of the main hall of the mall. The test sections were all the same size and were covered with the same kind of tiles. Five (5) other test sections received no wax. After 3 weeks, the number of scratches in each of the test sections were counted. Component Example from “The Experiment” Reasoning Hypothesis Quantitative Data Qualitative Data Repeated Trials Independent Variable Dependent Variable Control Constants Adapted from Cothron, Julia, et al. Students and Research. ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 19 Raw or Cooked? Find out which spins the longest, a raw egg or a cooked egg. For this experiment, you will need: 1 cooked egg 1 raw egg 1 plate Step 1 – Observe the two eggs. Step 2 – Hypothesize - Based on your observations, make a guess as to which egg will spin the longest and why. Step 3 – Test the Hypothesis - Spin each egg in turn on a plate. The egg that continues to spin for a longer time is the cooked one. Now spin the eggs again, and then quickly stop both of them. Then let go of both eggs. You will see that the cooked egg stays still but the raw one starts spinning again. Why does this happen? The contents of the egg have more inertia when they are raw, because they are in the form of a liquid. This inertia slows down the raw egg and that is why it stopped spinning before the cooked egg. In step 2, the liquid in the raw egg was still moving when you stopped both eggs, so that movement made the raw egg begin to spin again. Which Paper Towel Absorbs the Most Water Have students divide into small groups of three to four students. Provide each student with different rolls of paper towels (different brands and quality) and cups of water. Have them predict which towel will absorb the most water and why. Have them conduct the experiment and develop a short oneminute commercial that delivers their findings. Hypothesis: Which paper towel will absorb the most water? Why? Observations Paper Towel A Paper Towel B Paper Towel C What results can be drawn from the experiment? ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 20 How Long Does It Take? Observation/Problem: Does the color of a Tootsie Pop change the number of licks that it takes to get to the chocolate center? Materials: One bag of Tootsie Pops with at least 3 of each color. Make sure that none have been broken. Paper and pencil Procedure: 1. Identify the independent variable in this question. (the different colors/flavors) 2. Identify the dependent variable in this question. (same person doing the experiment for each color and ensure that the same amount of pressure and the same location on each pop is used) 3. Identify at least 3 constants (controls) for this question. (same person doing the experiment, lollipops that are the same size, same pressure used for each lick, same direction used for each lick such as from bottom to top, etc.) 4. State a hypothesis for this question. This is a prediction about how the independent variable will affect the dependent variable. The orange lollipop will take less time to get to the middle because it is a lighter and clearer color. 5. Write a procedure to test this hypothesis. What materials will you need to conduct this investigation? How many times will you replicate the experiment? 6. Design a data table to collect and display your results. What will you need to record? 7. Conduct the experiment. How many times will you replicate the experiment to prove or disprove your hypothesis? Why? 8. Determine the results and whether or not the hypothesis was supported by the data. How Large Is an Atom? Creating life-size models is an excellent strategy for teaching science concepts. To assist students in comprehending the size of atoms, have them complete the following activity. Materials: 1 strip of paper 28 centimeters (11 inches long) 1 pair of scissors Have students take the strip of paper and cut it into equal halves. Have them cut one of the remaining pieces of the paper into equal halves. Have students continue to cut the strip into equal halves as many times as they can. Make sure that all cuts are parallel to the first one. When the width gets longer than the length, they can cut off the excess, but that does not count as a cut. How far did they get? Is there anything smaller than an atom? Yes, the size of an atom nucleus would take about 41 cuts. We cannot see anything smaller than an atom with our eyes, even with the electron microscope. Yet, scientists use advanced technology to explore the world of electrons and quarks that are 9,000 times smaller than a nucleus. ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 21 How Far Did You Get? Here are some comparisons to think about as you are cutting. Cut 1 14.0 cm 5.5” Child’s hand, pockets Cut 2 7.0 cm 2.75” Fingers, ears, toes Cut 3 3.5 cm 1.38” Watch, mushroom, eye Cut 4 1.75 cm .69” Keyboard keys, rings, insects Cut 6 .44 cm .17” Poppy seeds Cut 8 1mm .04” Thread. Congratulations if you are still in! Cut 10 .25 mm .01” Still cutting? Most have quit by now. Cut 12 .06 mm .002” Microscopic range, human hair Cut 14 .015 mm .006” Width of paper, microchip components Cut 18 1 micron .0004” Water purification openings, bacteria Cut 19 .5 micron .000018” Visible light waves Cut 24 .015 micron .0000006” Electron microscope range, membranes Cut 31 .0001 micron .0000000045” The size of an atom! Retrieved from the World Wide Web at: http://www.miamisci.org/af/. ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 22 Science Resources from the World Wide Web ABC Science. News, video clips, games, and lots of activities for the science classroom from the American Broadcasting Company. http://www.abc.net.au/science/ Annenberg Foundation. Great science materials and courses from The Habitable Planet to Force and Motion. Courses, lesson plans, and interactives will keep students engage in science. The Habitable Planet is a multimedia course for high school teachers and adult learners interested in studying environmental science. http://www.learner.org/resources/discipline-science.html Discovery Education. The website provides lesson plans on earth and space science. http://www.discoveryeducation.com/search/page/-/-/lesson-plan/earth%20science/index.cfm How Stuff Works. Ever wondered why a cd works? How about the ten myths about the brain? How about what would happen if you put sugar in your gas tank? An interesting science site filled with real-world information. http://www.howstuffworks.com/ Interactive Websites for Teaching Science. Just click on one of the topics and explore the myriad of resources on the World Wide Web. http://interactivesites.weebly.com/science.html Mythbusters. From the Discovery Channel comes great videos that use the scientific method to explore different questions in science. http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/ National Science Teachers Association. Freebies for Teachers. All kinds of curriculum guides, lesson plans, experiments, and resources for the classroom. http://www.nsta.org/publications/freebies.aspx NEWSELA. This website is an innovative way to build reading comprehension with nonfiction through daily news articles. https://newsela.com/ Newton’s Apple. NEWTON'S APPLE is a production of Twin Cities Public Television from a grant from the 3M Foundation. The site is filled with free videos for use in many different areas. http://www.newtonsapple.tv/ Nye Labs.com This is indeed “Bill Nye, the science guy” with lots of activities and applications for science. http://www.billnye.com The Scientific Method. A short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMGRe824kak Steve Spangler. This site has lots of free experiments and videos for use in the classroom. http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab Study Jams. Scientific Method. Short videos on such things as the scientific method and scientific theory, as well as content areas in science. http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/scientific-inquiry/scientific-methods.htm Surrounded by Science Infographic. The National Environmental Education Act of 1990 established the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation. Lots of materials to use in the classroom. https://www.neefusa.org/resource/surrounded-science-infographic Teachers Try Science. This site provides free and engaging lessons, along with teaching strategies and resources. http://www.tryscience.org/ ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 23 Ted Ed Lessons. This website has great videos and lesson plans in all areas of science. http://ed.ted.com/lessons Understanding Science. Science articles for reading at different levels. http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/intro_01 Stay in Touch! • GED Testing Service® – www.GEDtestingservice.com • Twitter at @GEDTesting® – https://twitter.com/gedtesting • GED® Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/GEDTesting • YouTube channel – http://www.youtube.com/gedtestingservice ® GED Testing Service | www.GEDtestingservice.com © Copyright 2016 GED Testing Service LLC. All rights reserved. 24
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