Investigating Solids, Liquids, and Gases with Toys [Paperback]

Terrific Science Press (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0070482357 | ISBN-13: 978-0070482357 | Edition: Tch

Innovative investigations will empower students in grades 6 through 8 to explore the states of matter and changes of state - using inexpensive toys and common household items like balloons, paper bags, Silly Putty, facial tissues, and plastic Easter eggs. Classroom-tested and proven effective, these activities draw students in with toys, gadgetry, fun-to-do experiments, and observations of scientific phenomena in everyday events. Students will see solid rock candy form as a sugar solution evaporates; inflate a balloon using dry ice; and use the BedBugs game to learn about the behavior of solids, liquids, and gases. You'll find 24 motivating, reproducible projects in all - ready to use, and clearly referenced to the National Standards for Science Education, with comprehensive materials lists, procedures, content review, and extension activities included.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

24 teacher-tested, toy-based activities, created with funding from the National Science Foundation Boil water. . .while cooling it with ice! Demonstrate how air takes up space. . .using a bottle that burps! Investigate the relationship between pressure and volume of a gas. . .with a marshmallow inside a syringe! Innovative investigations like these will empower students in grades 6 through 8 to explore the states of matter and changes of state--using inexpensive toys and common household items like balloons, paper bags, Silly Putty, facial tissues, and plastic Easter eggs. Classroom-tested and proven effective, these activities draw students in with toys gadgetry, fun-to-do experiments, and observations of scientific phenomena in everyday events. Students will see solid rock candy form as a sugar solution evaporates; inflate a balloon using dry ice; and use the BedBugs game to learn about the behavior of solids, liquids, and gases. You'll find 24 motivating, reproducible projects in all--ready to use, and clearly referenced to the National Standards for Science Education, with comprehensive materials lists, procedures, content review, and extension activities included. Teaching Science with Toys in an activity-based, discovery-oriented approach developed by National Science Foundation-funded teacher training programs at the University of Ohio. The programs promote toys and household items as ideal science materials because they're already a user-friendly, everyday part of a young person's world.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 283 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary; Tch edition (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070482357
• ISBN-13: 978-0070482357
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,288,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for Your Professional Science Teaching Library, August 8, 2000

By 

AJD (Chatham, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Investigating Solids, Liquids, and Gases with Toys (Paperback)

Terrific Science Press has published several excellent books that I know of: Teaching Chemistry with Toys (grades K-9), Teaching Physics with Toys (grades K-9), and Exploring Energy with Toys (grades 4-8). I use them all with gusto, and I looked forward to receiving Investigating Solids, Liquids, and Gases with Toys (middle school). I was not disappointed.

The book begins with 13 pages of content review that includes excellent graphics, tables, and graphs. This is followed by an 8 page section on pedagogical strategies. The heart of the book, of course, is the set of 24 activities, evenly distributed between states of matter and changes of state. Each activity is clearly laid out with the following sections: time required, key science topics, student background (if required), national science education standards, additional process skills (for some activities), materials - for getting ready - for the procedure - for the extensions, safety and disposal, getting ready, introducing the activity, procedure, variations and extensions, explanation, assessment suggestions, cross-curricular integration, and handout masters that are worth the price of the book even if you already do some of these activities. Excellent graphics add to this outstanding resource. Nice extras at the end of the book include 6 masters for assessment models and a list of suppliers for materials that might need to be ordered. (Most of the activities use common materials.)

Activities: (1) Properties of Matter (2) BedBugs (3) Mystery Eggs (4) Balloon in a Bottle (5) Burping Bottle (6) Tissue in a Cup (7) Showing That Air Has Mass (8) Marshmallow in a Syringe (9) Moving Molecules (10) Non-Newtonian Fluids (11) Rock Candy Crystals (12) Crystals from Solutions (13) Crystals by Freezing (14) Boiling Water in a Paper Pot (15) Boiling Liquids in a Syringe (16) Boiling Water with Ice (17) Liquid to Gas in a Flick (18) Disappearing Air Freshener (19) A Cool Phase Change (20) Using Dry Ice to Inflate a Balloon (21) The Phase Changes of Carbon Dioxide (22) Balloon-into-a-Flask Challenge (23) Crushing an Aluminum Can (24) Hats Off to the Drinking Bird

One more thing: I also think that many of these activities could be done at the high school level, although you might choose to modify the hand-out questions.

2.0 out of 5 stars What toys?, December 20, 2011

By 

Lolita - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Investigating Solids, Liquids, and Gases with Toys (Paperback)

While this book does a great job at organizing both content and activities, it uses few toys. I wanted science activities using common toys since it seems easily done. What this book uses are common household items, and some items you would definitely have to look for. Syringes, pop bottles, plastic aquarium, plastic cups, borax, elmer's glue, sugar, magnifyings lens, sandpaper, laundry bluing, ammonia, ice cream, freezer pops, balloons (finally a "toy"!), thermometer, hot plate, bunsen burner, ring stand, wire gauze, polyvinyl alcohol, Bedbug game (a toy, not common), Magic Tree kit, air freshner, balance, goggles, perfume, nail polish remover, cologne, pre-shave lotion, after-shave lotion, dry ice, styrofoam container, flask...

I was disappointed. You can find plenty of activities, online, similar to these, I wanted to use the toys I have around here to demonstrate and explore science.