Sixth Grade Science

Scientists use a wide variety of tools to study the world around them, and because all sciences involve measurement, there are certain tools of measurement used by all scientists.

Students were divided into six groups. Each group used the materials necessary for this activity and performed the following procedure:

	Label each test tube A, B, C, D, E, or F.
	Fill three beakers with water. Add a few drops of food coloring to each beaker so that you have one beaker of red water, one of blue water and one of yellow water.
	Into test tube A measure 19 mL of red water.
	Into test tube C measure 18 mL of yellow water.
	Into test tube E measure 18 mL of blue water.
	From test tube C measure 4 mL and pour the 4 mL into test tube D.
	From test tube E measure 7 mL and add it to test tube D. Mix.
	From the beaker of blue water measure 4 mL and pour it into test tube F. Then from the beaker of red water measure 7 mL and add it to test tube F. Mix.
	From test tube A measure 8 mL of water and pour it into test tube B. From test tube C measure 3 mL and add it to the test tube B. Mix.

Observations and conclusions were recorded on the following table.

Test Tube	Color of Water	Total Amount of Water
A
B
C
D
E
F

Students discovered that the color of the test tubes should be in the same order as the rainbow: A–red, B–orange, C–yellow, D–green, E–blue, F–violet. Also, all the test tubes should contain 11 mL of water. How did we do?

Page created October 23, 2002

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Sixth Grade Science

To find the volume of a liquid, scientists use a graduated cylinder. A graduated cylinder is marked off in 1-milliliter segments. Each line on a graduated cylinder is 1 milliliter. To measure the volume of a liquid, pour the liquid into a graduated cylinder. You will notice that the top surface of the liquid is curved. To determine the volume of the liquid, read the milliliter marking at the bottom of the curve. This curve is called the meniscus.

The sixth grade applied their knowledge of measuring liquid volume with a graduated cylinder. The purpose of this activity was (1) To develop skill in measuring with a graduated cylinder and (2) To use the metric system in measuring volume.

The materials used in this activity were as follows:

	red, blue and yellow food coloring
	water
	3 beakers
	6 test tubes
	test tube stand
	50-mL graduated cylinder
	labels for test tubes