Dancing Corn

This morning while the Year 6s were out at BikeReady, the Year 5s discussed some science!

We talked about different words that are used when talking about science like:

investigation        experiment       method        hypothesis(scientific guess)        results

We each wrote our own hypothesis and then did the experiment, observing carefully and then recording the results.

Experiment 1 - place some corn kernels in still water

Experiment 2 - place some corn kernels in sparkling water

Hypothesis:

I hypothesise that the popcorn will float in both the still and sparkling water.  - Harper

I hypothesise that the popcorn will sink in the still water and it might float in the sparkling. - Sonny

I hypothesise that the popcorn kernel will disintergrate in the sparkling water and it will just float in the flat water. - Emma W

I hypothesise that the kernel will sink in still water and the kernel will float in the sparkling water. - Charlotte

Results:

In experiment 1 Brodie dropped his popcorn in the water, it sunk but when George placed his one in it floated for a while then sunk. In experiment 2 we placed them in, they sunk but after a while they caught some bubbles then floated up. - Harper

Experiment 1: it sunk in the flat water. Experiment 2: it rose up in the sparkling water. - Sonny

Results, in the flat water it sunk. In the sparkling water it fizzed then it popped up. - Emma W

Normal water: it sank but stood with a bubble on top. Sparkling water: floated with bubbles all around it. Baking soda: got fizzy and made it float. - Charlotte

 

Conclusion: (discussed by the whole group)

We observed that when there were no bubbles the kernel stayed down. The bubbles would connect to the kernels and help them rise to the top. Even in still water there were a couple of bubbles that helped the kernels stay up but this seems less common. 

From the internet - How it Works:

- The carbon dioxide in the soda attaches to the popcorn kernels. The gas then carries the popcorn kernels to the surface of the soda. The carbon dioxide bubbles pop when they reach the surface and the popcorn kernels sink back toward the bottom. The popcorn kernels begin collecting more carbon dioxide bubbles and the process starts over again. This make the corn appear to dance.