In this basic chemistry unit, students experiment with mixtures of water, gravel, salt and water diatomacious earth. They use screens, filters and evaporation to separate the mixtures back into their original components. Moving on to solutions, students experiment with adding solid material to water until the solutions are saturated, doing calculations to determine their concentration levels. Topics include land formations, geologic time, plate techtonics, convection, earthquakes and volcanoes, and rocks and minerals. They see first hand in small scale models how wind and water physically change the earth s surface by eroding land surfaces and depositing soil, sand, and other debris.
Students create their own miniature stream tables with diatomaceous earth and sand.
By running water over it in different directions and speeds, they create their own rivers and floods. Students also investigate how maps and models can be helpful tools used by cartographers to depict landforms. They learn to read US Geological Survey topographical maps. Our Ecology and Botany unit takes place in the spring. This unit focuses on Wisconsin Fast Plants.