Heat

For my investigation, I chose to use aluminum foil, saran wrap, and a styrofoam plate.  I used things that are commonly found in the kitchen since we wanted to keep the water hot.  There are many times I need to keep food hot while waiting for my husband to get home from work, so I wanted this experiment to also be useful.  I expected the foil or the saran wrap to keep the water hot.  The winner was the aluminum foil!  I think this is because it has a reflective surface and also because it conducts heat better than saran wrap.

If I were trying to keep hot dogs hot, I would think that if we started with the same temperature as the water that they would be cooler than the water after 30 minutes.  I think this would be the case because there is more surface area exposed to the air (even when covered) than the water.

21st Century Tools

The topic I chose for trying a 21st Century learning tool was Properties of Light.  For this lesson, I would like to use a Webquest.  Here is the link:  http://www.can-do.com/uci/lessons99/light.html .  This is a webquest that asks the students questions but also gives them the resources (links) to find the answers.  It also has a demonstration on refraction that can be used during class.  The students are then required to use drawings to show details of one of their experiments.  This webquest also has activities regarding color blindness.  This site will also let you experiment with a prism and see an image shimmer.
A prism can also be used in the classroom to follow up on this concept.  This webquest has many vocabulary words related to light and waves and will create a more scientifically literate student.