Scientific Concept Scavenger Hunt

 Find an example of…

Definition

Examples

a pure element

material consisting of only one type of atom (as listed on periodic table)

carbon – diamond in a ring or graphite in a pencil

a colloid

a mixture of tiny substances that are dispersed in one another but do not settle out

milk (curds & whey), Jello (protein & water), fog (water & air)

an acid

substance that produces or donates hydrogen ions in a solution

vinegar, citrus fruit

a chemical change

a change that occurs when the atoms of a substance are rearranged to make a new substance

vinegar mixed with baking soda, baking a cake, rusting nail

condensation

matter phase change of a gas to a liquid

drops of water on outside of a cold glass, dew drops on grass on a cool morning

a first class lever

simple machine that has a rigid arm that turns around a point (fulcrum), first class levers have the fulcrum in the middle of the resistance and effort forces

scissors, hammer, pliers

kinetic energy

energy of motion

anything moving – person walking, waving hand, running water

Newton’s First Law of Motion

an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stay in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force (inertia)

a book on a table does not move unless something (like a hand) moves it, a car breaks suddenly and its passengers jerk forward

friction

resisting force that opposes motion of an object as it passes by another object

tires breaking against a road, rubbing hands together, shoe bottoms against floor

the Doppler effect

change in frequency of wave motion due to the motion of the wave source or the receiver

vehicle driving down road (listen how the sound changes as the car drives closer then passes by)

an arthropod

animals without vertebra that have jointed legs and segmented bodies

spider, ant, crab

flora

plant life of a given place or time

any plant – fern, rose bush, grass

weathering

the break-down of earth’s material through chemical and mechanical means

broken rocks, pot holes that form in road during winter, marble stones damaged by acid rain

a cumulus cloud

puffy, white to grey clouds that can develop vertically indicating approaching thunderstorms

on a calm day look for puffy, cotton ball, like clouds; on a day of approaching storms look for tall, towering clouds

a mineral

natural, inorganic solid, with a set chemical composition and crystalline structure

quartz (various forms – amethyst stone, white/clear rock), salt

a constellation

groups of stars that form patterns in the night sky

Ursa Major (big dipper or bear) Andromeda, Orion (the hunter)