States of Matter!
This week we had four labs. The first one was examining the characteristics of a candle. The second one was putting a candle out using carbon dioxide. The third one was burning a marshmallow. The forth and final lab was turning sugar into carbon. The reason that we did these labs is so we could examine changes both physical and chemical.
In the first lab, we were each given a birthday candle. Then we had to write down the physical characterizations of the unlit candle. Some of ours were small, pink, swirly, and skinny. Then Mrs. Rousseau lit the candle. This was both a physical and chemical change; the wick burning is chemical but the wax melting is physical.
The next lab we did was putting out a flame with carbon dioxide or vinegar and baking soda. When you pretended to pour the mixture over the flame it went out. This happen because carbon dioxide doesn't support combustion.
Then we did the burning marshmallow lab. We used the Bunsen burner to burn the marshmallow. Then we tasted them. Even though it was burnt it still tasted good but... burnt! This was an example of a chemical change. When we burnt the marshmallow it was not a marshmallow anymore, it was char.
The final lab we did was burning sugar. first we put our sugar cubes in the beaker. Then we held it over the bunsen burner. The sugar went through many stages. We new it was done when there was yellow smoke. Then Mrs. Rousseau broke the beaker and we examined the 100% pure carbon!
