There was some serious critical thinking and collaboration going on in Division 7 today!

In science, we have been learning about solutions and mixtures. Mixing two substances together is a physical change. Even though the appearance may change, the two substances do not form a new substance and can be separated. Today we looked at methods of separating mixtures.

I gave each group of students three different mixtures:

• marbles and beads in two sizes
• sand and salt
• cornmeal and iron filings

and challenged them to try to figure out how to separate them using any combination of the following tools:

• a sieve
• a slotted spoon
• a coffee filter
• a magnet
• a funnel
• a cup of water
• a stir stick

It was interesting to observe the ideas each group came up with and how they worked together to revise their plan when something did not work out.

 

Do you have any ideas? Ask your scientist what they tried. What worked? What didn’t?

Here are some photos of their success: