6th class made periscopes

We made periscopes with our teacher. It was tricky but we got there in the end!

We held the periscope sideways and had fun looking around corners, we also had fun looking at each other from inside/outside the classroom and from under and over the tables. It was good fun after all the hard work. It was hard work making sure all our measurements were right. 

We found that because of the two parallel mirrors that are facing each other that are used in making the periscope the light bounces between the mirrors

We found that periscopes were used in World War 1 by the soldiers in the trenches so they could see their enemies without being seen themselves. Some people use periscopes at matches, concerts and parades so that they can get a better view of what is happening, periscopes are also used in submarines and can be up to 12 metres long.( H. 6th class )

6th class Design a Lighthouse Experiment

We had fun making simple circuits using a battery, a bulb and bulb holder and some wire. Then we added a switch to the circuit using cardboard, paperclips and extra wires so that we could turn the bulb on and off. ( E. 6th Class)

We then made a lighthouse using a plastic bottle and lots of sellotape.( L. 6th Class)

5th class Making Parachutes

Gravity

by Fifth Class

Title: Making Parachutes



Science: Forces
Skills: Predicting, observing, experimenting
Exploring, planning, making, evaluating



Integration
MATHS: Number: operations
Measures: Weight – estimate and measure
Geography: Natural Environments: Planet Earth in Space



Equipment
paper, bouncy ball, stone, marble, plastic bags, cloth and paper, string, puncher, sellotape, figures

Activity
1. Dropping things of different weight: One piece of paper, a stone
2. Dropping two things of same weight but different shape:
Two pieces of paper (the same weight and size)
4. Design and Make a Parachute:
Tissue paper, sellotape, thread, small  figure

Background Info
Gravity
-is a force
-it pulls everything down towards the centre
-it keeps us on the Earth
-it stops us floating
-holds everything together
-its known as 'The Universal Glue'
-it keeps the Earth and other planets revolving around the sun
-it acts like a magnet(it pulls objects together)

We dropped a bouncy ball and a stone from the same height. ( H. and .J 5th Class)

The stone and the bouncy ball landed at the same time because they have mass and anything with mass has gravity.( J. 5th Class)

We dropped paper, one was scrunched into a ball and mine was flat. (K. and W. 5th Class)

Mine took longer to fall on the ground because the bigger it is the longer it takes to hit the ground.( W. 5th Class)
Fact; The greater the surface area the slower the objects fall as gravity is affected by the size of objects.
Maths;
Weight; The heavier/more dense the object the quicker if falls
Time; measuring speed and length of time

Making Parachutes

We cut open the plastic bag ( H. and P. 5th Class)

I am drawing an octagon on the plastic bag with marker. (J. 5th Class)

I drew an octagon on the plastic bag, she measured each length and calculated the length and the perimeter of the octagon. (Róisín)
Maths; Shape

We cut different lengths of thread to tie onto the parachute.( D. 5th Class)

We used a ruler first then links to measure the thread. (M. 5th Class)


Maths; Length - measuring the length of thread

I used fabric to make my parachute, I am measuring the length of the sides( H. 5th Class)

 I'm tying the thread to the edges of my parachute, I used an Irish coloured plastic bag.(M. 5th Class)

Me and the girls made a very big parachute. (M. 5th Class)

We all tied figures to the end of the threads. (P.5th Class)

We had great fun letting our parachutes go from the top yard to the bottom yard, we measured the height of the wall, my friend Faye timed how long it took for the parachutes to fall. (Ellie 5th Class)
Results; the greater the surface are the longer it took to fall.  Parachutes go against gravity.  The air pushes up the canopy of the parachute.  Gravity pulls everything down so that is why parachutes are pulled down much slower.

My took longer to fall because it was bigger than other peoples (M. 5th Class)

Mine took a long time too because my parachute was very thick and no air could get through it( M. 5th Class)

My fabric parachute fell quickly to the ground because air could get through it. (M. 5th Class)

We had a great time letting go of the parachutes. (M. 5th Class)



Integration
Maths;
Weight; estimating and then calculating the weights of different objects
Shape: drawing and cutting out hexagon shapes, finding the perimeter of shapes(octagon)
Length; estimating and measuring the length of different threads
Time; calculating the time it took for the parachutes to fall



Science: Materials; properties characteristics of materials
Geography: Natural Environments: Planet Earth in Space

Parachutes take to the air in room 12

Design and Make a Parachute

We know that if you let something go or drop something, it will go down in one direction.

Gravity pulls everything down eg: a stone, a piece of paper or an apple falling from a tree.

We wanted to slow down or reduce the effects of gravity, so we decided to design and make a parachute.

The materials we used were:   plastic bags

                                                       octagon shape

                                                        scissors

                                                        string

                                                        mála                                                     

With the help of some of the older girls, we  drew and cut out a large octagon shape from a plastic bag.

 

 

 

We cut a small hole near the edge of each side.

Then we attactched eight pieces of string of the same length to each of the holes and tied the pieces of string to the mála.

 

The parachutes were dropped from a height to see how well they would work.

 

We went outside to test this out!

Results:

When the parachutes were dropped, the mála pulled down on the strings, causing the plastic to open out. This slowed the parachute down as it fell.

 

 

 

 

 

Fourth Class at the science Fair

We had so much fun at the Science Fair. all the stands were great, we got to see what all the other classes were doing. It made science so much fun!!

We had out Amazing Triangles stand and lots of people visited our stand to find out what our experiment was about. ( A. 4th Class)

We also got to check out other stands and see what they had been up to. We tried out some experiments and filled in some questionnaires to see what kind of learners we are.( C. 4th Class)

Amazing Triangles!

In fourth class we were looking at shapes,especially the triangle. The triangle is used in many buildings, it adds stability to structures. We looked up some famous structures and we saw lots of triangles in them. 

Take a look at The Eiffel tower, or The Sydney bridge, they are re-enforced by triangles.

We had a go at making our own structures. We used marshmallows and cocktail sticks.(E. 4th Class)

 As we began to make our shapes we soon found out that having triangles in our structures made them stronger! (C. 4th Class)

We had so much fun, you could try it at home using a deck of cards, see how high you can make your structure. (L. 4th Class)

We challenged some of the other kids to create their own structure with cards at the Science Fair. It's not as easy as it looks!! (A. 4th Class)