Thursday 15 August 2013

Fluids Resources

     This post is the third in my series of resources that align with the Grade 8 Science curriculum. (Previously in the summer, I posted a similar series for the Grade 7 Science curriculum.) Each post shares the resources I compiled for a particular unit that I will be covering throughout the year. If you missed my first two posts in the Grade 8 Science series, you can find them at:
- Cells & Systems Resources
- Optics Resources
fluids resources, teaching properties of fluids, grade 8 science curriculum, grade 8 science curriculum manitoba, grade 8 science fluids resources
Easy Hydraulic Machines Screenshot. (2012). Uploaded to Instructables by Lance from Workshop for Young Engineers. Available online at: http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Hydraulic-Machines/
     My unit on Fluids spans the course of 7 weeks and will take place in late winter (approximately January-February). I specifically planned for this unit to take place during the winter months to allow for us to be outside in the spring during our following unit of Water Systems, which discusses flooding. I've built in quite a few lab activities and am most excited about students creating their own hydraulic machines!

Properties of Fluids
Enduring Understanding: Fluids exist in both liquid and gas states and are governed by very specific properties, including viscosity, density, buoyancy and pressure.
8-3-01     Use appropriate vocabulary related to their investigations of fluids.
                Include: fluid, viscosity, flow, density, particle theory of matter, buoyant
                force, pressure, compressibility, hydraulic, pneumatic.
8-3-02     Distinguish between fluids and non-fluids.
8-3-03     Explore and compare the viscosity of various liquids.
8-3-04     Identify products in which viscosity is an important property, and evaluate
                different brands of the same product, using the design process.
8-3-05     Plan and conduct experiment to determining factors that affect flow within
                a given system.
8-3-06     Measure, calculate, and compare densities of solids, liquids, and gases.
                Include: different amounts of the same substance, regularly and irregularly
                shaped objects.
8-3-07     Illustrate, using the particle theory of matter, the effects of temperature
                change on the density of solids, liquids, and gases.
8-3-08     Compare fluids of different densities to determine how they alter the
                buoyant force of an object.
8-3-09     Recognize that pressure is the relationship between force and area, and
                describe situations in which pressure can be increased or decreased by
                altering surface area.
8-3-10     Explain, using the particle theory of matter, the relationships among
                pressure, volume, and temperature of liquid and gaseous fluids.

Hydraulics and Pneumatics
Enduring Understanding: Fluids transmit force in a predictable manner that can be utilized by humans, including hydraulic (liquid) systems and pneumatic (gas) systems.
8-3-11     Compare the relative compressibility of water and air, and relate this
                property to their ability to transmit force in hydraulic and pneumatic
                systems.
8-3-12     Identify a variety of natural and constructed hydraulic and pneumatic
                systems and describe how they function.
8-3-13     Compare hydraulic and pneumatic systems, and identify advantages and
                disadvantages of each.
8-3-14     Use the design process to construct a prototype that uses a pneumatic or

                hydraulic system to perform a given task.
______________________________________________________________

     In addition to hard-copy resources I have available in the school and from colleagues, I also started to organize some online resources to supplement our classroom activities. Here are the resources I found, organized by the themes I stated above. For each one I've included the title, a very brief point about what it includes, and the link. 

Properties of Fluids

The Density Song
- Musical review option
- Broadway style song

Can I Pour Air Demonstration - Discrepant Event
- U of M Lesson
- Shows that fluids are liquids and gases

Fundamentals of Fluids
- Articles, quizzes, interactives, videos

Buoyancy Demonstration
- U of M Lesson
- Would need to be a large-group activity lesson

Buoyancy Virtual Lab
- Great lab that can be used on iPads or as a large-group activity
- Includes procedural questions

Viscosity of Liquids Video
- Might be good for center activity, have students list items from
  least to most viscous

Viscosity Explorer
- Virtual lab
- Chose from water, olive oil, ethanol, corn syrup, honey &

Wonderville Pipeline Inquiry Project
- 5 Point experiment, good for group activity
- Would be great for when there is a sub

Pressure on Gas Virtual Lab
- Great lab that can be used on iPads or as a large-group activity
- Includes procedural questions

Density Tower Experiment
- Density Tower with 9 different liquids

Hydraulics & Pneumatics

Hydraulic & Pneumatic Part 1
- Good video explaining both systems
- 6 minutes

Forces & Fluids
- Textbook chapter section
- Good teacher resource

Mega Machines
- Game with hydraulic machines
- Enrichment activity if students are done early

Pneumatic Air Nailer Lab
- Article about nail guns to help with the lab
- Lab will take place in the wood shop

Teacher Hydraulic Notes
- PDF Notes for teachers

Build Your Own Hydraulic Machine
- Instructions, videos, and images

Teaching Hydraulics & Pneumatics
- Teacher resource with links to buy lab kits
______________________________________________________________

I hope you find these resources as awesome as I do! 
If there is something you think I should add to my list let me know, I'd love to hear about the awesome things you are using with your class :)

5 comments:

  1. Thank- you so much for posting all these links! I was at a loss when I came to this section of my unit and was having no luck with generic website searches for student friendly sites - and then I found yours! Thanks again for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great Stuff! Your resources have been a huge help in planning my next unit!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm a student teacher from winnipeg and I came across your blog off the first page of google when searching for hydraulic/pneumatic lesson ideas!

    Thank you so much for posting this, very helpful!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Excellent links. If only my school had internet.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks so much for this post. I am student teaching and this will help me sooooooo much with lesson and unit planning as I was struggling how to make this entertaining and finding resources on the internet.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting!