Title
Activity: Modeling Plate Spreading
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts
NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas
Table of Contents
Materials
- Hot plate
- Two 500 mL beakers (or larger)
- Two thermometers
- Water
- Food coloring
- Pipet (long enough to reach the bottom of the beaker)
Procedure
Safety Note: Use precautions when using a hot plate to avoid burns, and always remember to handle hot instruments with care. Be sure to monitor the beaker at all times, and do not leave it unattended.
- Set up your hot water beaker.
- Fill one beaker ¾ full with water.
- Place the beaker on the hot plate.
- Turn the hot plate on. Heat the water to 50 °C.
- Use a thermometer to monitor the water temperature.
- Set up your room temperature water beaker.
- Fill a second beaker ¾ full with water (the same volume as the beaker in Procedure 1).
- Place the beaker on a flat table surface.
- Use a thermometer to measure the water temperature.
- Draw a picture of your setup.
- Predict what will happen when food coloring is placed in the bottom of the beaker with room temperature water.
- Consider the effects of convection currents.
- Draw you predictions.
- Use arrows to show how you expect water will move.
- Predict what will happen when food coloring is placed in the bottom of the beaker with hot water. Follow Procedure 4a–c.
- Use a pipet to place food coloring at the bottom of the room temperature beaker. Record your observations.
- Use a pipet to place food coloring at the bottom of the heated beaker. Record your observations.
Activity Questions
- Explain your reasoning for your predictions in Steps 4 and 5.
- Did your observations match your expectations for either the room temperature water or the hot water? Explain why you think your observations were similar to, or different than, your predictions.
- Explain how your experiment modeled plate movement.
- Which beaker setup (room temperature or hot water) do you think modeled plate movement the best? Explain your reasoning.
- What are the limitations to your model? If you did this experience again, how could you improve your model so it more closely represented plate movement?
