Properties of Water
Lesson 1
TESLA Water 2011
The Big Idea of this Investigation
Water, which covers most of Earth's surface is
the only substance on Earth that is found
naturally in all three states of matter. Water can
change from one state to another depending on
the amount of heat that is added or taken away
from it.
ENGAGING SCENARIO
The Aquatic Center is going to invite classes to visit their facility
and they would like the field trips to be fun for the students. They
are planning on setting up some activities for students to learn
something about water and they need your help. They would like
for us to try out some of the activities they are planning to see if
the activities will help students learn something about water. They
have sent us some materials and printed information that may
help us. They also need us to keep accurate records and labeled
drawings in our science notebooks. We have been asked to send
them a report in a couple of weeks. They want us to share what
we learned so they will know whether to use the activity with
students.
• What is the problem we need to solve?
• What do we need to investigate?
Kit Inventory
These are the objects that have been sent to us by the
Aquatic Center. I have put them in this large bag. Let’s see
if we can identify them.
• What color/shape is the object?
• Where have you seen this object before?
• What do you think we will use this for in the unit?
New Vocabulary
Here is a cup of water. It is an earth material. An earth
material is a substance that makes up or comes from the
earth.
A property is a characteristic of a material, something you
can observe, such as shape, color, temperature, and smell.
Assessing our Prior Knowledge
•What do we already know about water?
•What does it do?
•How is it used?
•Where is it found?
One of the activities that the Aquatic Center wants to try out
has something to do with water when it spills on different
surfaces.
-What happens when water spills or gets dropped on
something?
-Does water do the same thing when it lands on all
surfaces?
Focus Question
(What is the problem?)
What happens when water spills or is dropped on
different surfaces?
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
These are the materials that the Aquatic Center has sent us to
help us find out what happens when water spills on different
surfaces.
sheets of waxed paper
paper towels
plastic dropper.
aluminum foil
plain paper
Prediction (related to the focus question)
I think that when water is spilled or dropped on ________
it will ___________________________________
because ________________________________________
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
When you place individual drops of water on the different
surfaces, I need you to observe and describe what you see.
Be sure to observe the drops of water from all angles and to
pay attention to the shape that the water makes.
Scientists always try to make careful observations.
Surface Tested: ______________
Top View
Side View
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Solving our Problem
Now we are going to investigate what happens to drops
of water when placed on different surfaces.
Here is the plastic dropper. I am going to demonstrate
how to use the dropper to make all our drops fair and
equal in size.
①
②
③
④
⑤
Squeeze the bulb.
Put the tip in the water.
Release the pressure on the bulb.
Take the dropper out of the water.
Squeeze the bulb gently to release one drop
Why would a scientist want to use fair and equal sized drops?
Making Meaning Conference
What happened to the drops of water on the waxed paper
surface?
What happened to the drops of water on the foil surface?
What happened to the drops of water on the paper towel
surface?
What happened to the drops of water on the plain paper
surface?
New Vocabulary
Absorbs : When a liquid soaks into a surface
Beads: When a liquid sits on top of a surface
Claims and Evidence
Use your own words, or words from the word wall, to help
you complete the following sentences in your science
notebook.
I claim that water _______when it is dripped on ______.
I know this because…
I also claim that water ________ when it is dripped on ___.
I know this because…
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Reflection/Conclusion
Revisit your original prediction… Explain how the evidence
did or did not support your original prediction?
My prediction was accurate or was not accurate because…..
I wish to revise my prediction because…
What did you learn…?
What really surprised you…?
What new questions do you have…?
What would you like to know more about…?
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Part II: Properties of Water
The Aquatic Center is very pleased with what you have
learned about water absorbing and beading on different
surfaces. Today they have a new problem they would
like us to solve. This problem is also part of the activities
they have planned for their field trips. They are trying to
figure out how many drops of water can fit on a penny.
• What is the problem we need to solve?
• What do we need to investigate?
Focus Question
(What is the problem?)
How many drops of water can fit on a penny?
Previous Knowledge
Share experiences with water that may help you make a prediction.
Prediction (related to the focus question)
Prediction:
I think that ________ drops of water will fit on a penny
because _____________________________________.
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Collecting Data
Procedure:
1. Place a dry penny on a paper towel.
2. Use a dropper to place drops of water on a penny one at a time.
3. Hold the dropper straight up and down and release drops from
about 1cm above the penny.
4. Count the number of drops as you go until the water spills over the
top of the penny.
# of Drops of
Wa ter th a t w ill Fi t on a P e nn y
___ _ __
Penny (Si d e V iew)
T rial # 1
T rial # 2
T rial # 3
D esc ri p tion :
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Making Meaning
What shape was the surface of the water on the penny
before it spilled?
New Vocabulary
Dome: The water surface curves up above the penny to
form a dome
Surface Tension: A property of water that caused water
to “stick” together and form a ball or dome
The people from the aquatic center are also
curious to know what would happen if soapy water
were added to the water dome.
Prediction (related to the focus question)
Prediction:
I think that adding soapy water will or will not change the
number of drops of water that will fit on a penny because…
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Collecting Data
Procedure:
1. Set up as before with a dry penny on a paper towel.
2. Add drops of plain water on a penny to make a dome.
3. While observing the dome from the side view, add one drop
of soapy water to the dome.
4. Count the number of additional drops of soapy water needed
to spill the dome.
# of Drops of Soapy Water that can be added to a
penny
Trial # 1
Trial # 2
Penny (Side View) Trial # 3
Description:
______
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Making Meaning
How does soap affect surface tension?
What was your evidence?
If soapy water can affect surface tension, how do you think
salt might affect the number of drops that will fit on a
penny?
Prediction (related to the focus question)
Prediction:
I think that adding salt water will or will not change the
number of drops of water that will fit on a penny because…
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Collecting Data
Procedure:
1. Set up as before with a dry penny on a paper towel.
2. Put 15 drops of plain water on a penny to make a dome.
3. While observing the dome from the side view, add one drop
of salt water to the dome.
4. Count the number of additional drops of salt water needed to
spill the dome.
# of Drops of Salt Water that can be added to a
Penny
Trial # 1
Trial # 2
Penny (Side View) Trial # 3
Description:
______
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Making Meaning
How does salt affect surface tension?
What is your evidence?
What shape does water make on a flat surface?
What shape does water make when falling from a
dropper?
What causes water to form a dome on flat surfaces and a
ball when falling?
How did you change the surface tension of plain water?
Surface Tension
Water Bead or Dome
H
H
O
H
O
H
H
H
O
H
H
H
O
Penny
Water Molecule
H
H
H
H
O
O
H
H
O
H
H
O
H
O
H
H
H
O
H
O
H
H
O
Water molecules are too
small for us to see with our
eyes alone, but they are
composed of one Oxygen
(O) atom and two
Hydrogen (H) atoms. This
is why water is commonly
called H2O.
Have you heard the saying opposites attract? In a way the
atoms that make up a water molecule are kind of like magnets.
The hydrogen atoms are positively charged and the oxygen
atoms are negatively charged so the water molecules are
attracted to each other. This attraction causes the molecules
to want to “stick” together and form a dome on a waterproof
surface.
H
H
O -H
H
O
Attraction
+
Surface Tension
Soapy Water
Plain Water
H
H
H
O
H
O
H
H
H
O
H
H
H
H
O
H
H
H
O
O
H
H
H
H
H
O
H
O
O
H
O
H
H
H
O
Penny
H
O
H
O
H
H H
H
H
O
H
O
H
O
H
H
OH
H
O
H
H
O
H H H H
O
O
H
O
Penny
Soap Molecule
In our new model, the blue rectangle represents a soap molecule. Soap molecules
act as a “barrier.” When soap is present in the water, the water molecules have a
harder time attracting each other so surface tension is reduced. As a result, fewer
water molecules will fit on the same penny.
Claims and Evidence
Use your own words, or words from the word wall, to help
you complete the following sentences in your science
notebook.Preparing the Investigation
I claim that surface tension is a property that causes water
to _______________________.
I also claim that the surface tension of water can be
changed by _____________________.
I know this because …
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Reflection/Conclusion
Revisit your original prediction… Explain how the evidence
did or did not support your original prediction?
My prediction was accurate or was not accurate because…..
I wish to revise my prediction because…
What did you learn…?
What really surprised you…?
What new questions do you have…?
What would you like to know more about…?
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Part III: Properties of Water
Because of your hard work, The Aquatic Center now has two
activities set up for field trips. They found your recent information
about the property of surface tension very interesting. They have
one more activity planned for the properties of water and need your
help to see if it will help students learn more about the properties of
water. They would like students to know what happens to a raindrop
that falls into a stream flowing down a mountainside. What do you
think happens to the raindrop? .
• What is the problem we need to solve?
• What do we need to investigate?
New Vocabulary
The aquatic center wants us to prove what happens to
drops of water when they are placed on a slope or
slanted surface.
Focus Question
(What is the problem?)
How can we prove the direction water flows when
placed on a slope?
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Prediction (related to the focus question)
Prediction:
I think that when water is placed on a slope it will _________.
I think this because _________________________________.
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Collecting Data
Procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Create a slope by propping one end of a tray on a book.
Lay waxed paper on the tray to create a smooth surface.
Use droppers to drop water on the waxed paper.
Observe and record what happens in your science notebooks.
Return the water to the plastic cup when it collects at the bottom of
the tray.
Making Meaning
• Which direction does the water flow when placed on a slope?
• If you raced different sized water domes, which one would get to
the bottom of the slope first?
• What happens to the water domes when the steepness of the
slope is increased?
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Claims and Evidence
Use your own words, or words from the word wall, to help
you complete the following sentences in your science
notebook. the Investigation
I claim that water flows _____________ a slope. I know
this because…
I claim that bigger domes of water flow __________ than
smaller domes of water. I know this because…
I also claim that water flows ___________ down a steeper
slope. I know this because…
NOTEBOOK ENTRY
Reflection/Conclusion
Revisit your original prediction… Explain how the evidence
did or did not support your original prediction?
My prediction was accurate or was not accurate because…..
I wish to revise my prediction because…
What did you learn…?
What really surprised you…?
What new questions do you have…?
What would you like to know more about…?
NOTEBOOK ENTRY