Why, with the scientific process, of course!
Our Year 6 students have been busy in Term 1 conducting scientific experiments and investigations to better understand the scientific process. One particularly interesting experiment recently explored how hot and cold temperatures can affect the properties of solids. In this experiment, students Maya and Rennie tested how hot and cold water affected 30 grams of Milo powder. Below is a breakdown of how the experiment was conducted and the results they observed.
Maya and Rennie said this before they started:
The goal of this experiment is to test the effect of hot and cold water on 30 grams of Milo powder.
What do you need to ask yourselves before any experiment?
Before starting, Maya and Rennie made a prediction that cold water wouldn’t turn the Milo as liquid-like as hot water would. They thought this might be because the cold water wouldn’t change the Milo as much, making it less likely to dissolve. Maya observed:
I predicted that the cold water won’t make it as liquid like as the hot water would. I thought this because the cold water wouldn’t change the Milo as much.
What do you need to keep an eye out for?
The students monitored the reactions of the Milo powder in different conditions, including hot and cold water. Rennie observed:
The cold water made it chunky and crummy, whereas the hot water made it liquid-y, like I predicted.
What did our students learn?
By following the scientific method, our students learned that the cold water caused the Milo to remain in chunks because the lower temperature didn’t allow the molecules to break apart. Instead, the Milo stayed lumpy and settled at the top, creating an uneven texture.
On the other hand, the hot water helped the Milo dissolve quickly, turning it into a smoother mixture. Our Year 6 students noted that the higher temperature of the water increased the speed at which the molecules separated, allowing the Milo powder to dissolve more easily.
Through this experiment, the Year 6 students learned a lot about how temperature can influence the way solids behave, providing a hands-on way to explore the scientific process.
What materials will you need to try this yourself?
If you want to try this experiment at home, Rennie and Maya suggest that you will need the following materials: lab coat, goggles, Milo powder, a spoon or stirrer, hot water and access to cold water. Marshmallows are optional for this experiment – you might like to consider them for a post-experiment celebration!
Why not try this experiment at home? See if you get the same results!
