Welcome to Mulberry Class blog

As part of our science topic on 'Rocks and soils', we found out about how fossils are made, and then created our own. We looked at how small creatures can get caught in tree resin which hardens over time and becomes amber. We used some orange jelly to show the amber. We then created our own moulds of dinosaurs to create our own fossils.                                                   

As part of our Science enrichment week, we used a special light box to look at how germs can spread, and how we should wash our hands with soap and water to stop germs spreading to other surfaces. We used a special liquid, that we squirted onto one persons hand, we then shook other peoples hands, and looked at what had happened under the light box - all the germs had spread! We found that washing with water by itself did not remove the germs, but using soap and water did, as long as you washed them well. So remember to wash your hands after you sneeze or go to the toilet.

During our science/art enrichment week, Year 3 focused on the organism of algae. We looked at macro algae such as seaweed, and then used a microscope to look in more detail at micro algae that floats in pond water. We also used the microscope to look at a plant leaf and petal too. Below are all the items we looked at through the microscope. Petal from a flower                  Leaf from a flowering plant Seaweed (macro algae)               Pond water containing micro algae

What do living organisms like algae need to grow? We decided that algae needs air (or carbon dioxide), sunlight which is their food, nutrients from the water and warmth. As a class we started an experiment to investigate the conditions that algae needs, and what would happen if they were missing any of these things. We took some pond water and placed it into 4 containers. We put nutrients (or fish food) into some of the pond water. We decided to create these four experiments: Sun and no food   /   no sun and no food /   sun and food /    no sun and food Before the experiment, the pond water was still quite clear with some green in it. Here you can see the nutrients in the pond water (5 fish food pellets) We predicted what we think will happen to all 4 experiments, after a week in these conditions. Some children thought the colour of the water might change whilst some thought something might grow in some of the containers. ...

In Science, we created different types of rocks using sweets. First we created Igneous rock - We observed what happened when hard chocolate drops were melted together (in the microwave), as this is what happens to magma and lava which creates igneous rocks such as basalt and granite. Then we created Sedimentary rock – We placed two different coloured starburst sweets together to form a conglomerate rock. We pressed the two sweets together using the warmth and pressure of our hands. These layers form sedimentary rocks like sandstone, chalk and limestone. Last of all, we created Metamorphic rock – We started to layer the two sweets together again, then we pressed, squeezed and twisted the two sweets together, with the heat of our hand. This is because the heat of the magma and the pressure of the water create metamorphic rock, like marble and slate.