So we've come to the conclusions that air has mass and volume, and therefore, air is matter.  Like liquids and solids, we know that it's made of "stuff" and that it can take up space.  But how does one state of matter, like a solid, transform into another state of matter, like a liquid or a gas?  How does temperature play a role in this?  And what is the state of matter for different materials at different temperatures?  How can these ideas help explain our driving question of "How Can We Smell Things from a Distance?"

Using menthol, we completed a demonstration of menthol changing into three states of matter.  We're starting to see that every substance may look different at room temperature, and what drives it to change into a different state of matter may be different from one substance to the next.  

We then extended our thinking into air.  Does air have volume and take up space?

Sorry it's sideways...but you get the drift!

In our initial models to explain how an odor gets to our nose, students are starting to question if an odor is like other types of matter.  It's obvious that something as simple as a coin has mass, but how can we gather evidence to support the idea that something we can't see or feel has mass, too?

Using a bunch of sports balls, sixth graders used a two-pan balance (and a digital scale to check their work) to find the mass of the balls when they were both inflated and deflated.  Everyone noticed a change in the mass.  Despite how small that change was...one thing was for certain.  Air, which we can't see or feel (unless someone moves it with enough force), has mass.

How can this idea help us further develop our model for how we can smell from a distance?

We've also kickstarted our Driving Question Board, focused on the over-arching question of "How Can I Smell Things from a Distance?"  Our first learning set focuses on the sub-question of "How does the odor get from the source to my nose?"  Check out the 6th graders questions related to both the DQ and the sub-question of our unit!

Everyone has had the experience where you walk into someone's kitchen and you automatically know what they're making.  Or you're driving down the road, and you can imagine the type of restaurant coming up on the block!  Recognizing these odors is a phenomenon--and how do these odors travel from their source to our noses so that we can indeed recognize them?  We've kicked off a new chemistry unit, focusing on the Driving Question, "How Can I Smell Things From a Distance?"  

Here are some students' initial models explaining how we smell an odor.  Does each model have the following criteria:
1.  A nose?
2.  An odor?
3.  Air?
4.  Movement of the odor to the nose?

As models develop and change over time as new evidence is gathered, our initial models create a starting point in explaining a phenomenon.  As we gather more evidence, we'll see how our models develop over time....so don't forget to check back soon!