23 January 2009

What's it like - metal; part two!

We had a few more metal goodies brought to school over the last couple of days.  From frying pans to spinning tops; from nail clippers to a pocket watch.  And we also had two things that were a bit of a puzzle.....

Chloe started us off with her frying pan, which she told us is not flexible and hard.

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Ryoma's spinning top.....

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which was buried in a bag containing all kinds of goodies.....

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is hard and shiny.

Shahrbano's nail clippers.....

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are sharp and hard.

Martin's sister's pocket watch (thank you for lending it to us!).....

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as well as being beautifully engraved, is warm and shiny.

Tatiana told us her key (*remember the key).....

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was made from iron or steel.  It is warm and shiny.

Virginia told us her spoon.....

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was made from an alloy (that's a mixture of metals) including lead and it's bendy (or flexible).

Leon's sword (yes, you read it correctly).....

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is not sharp (you will be glad to hear!) because it is just a decoration.

Harrison's golf club (his own; he plays with his dad).....

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is made from two different metals.  One is heavy and dull and one is flexible and shiny.  He very kindly offered to show us his (no doubt impressive) swing, but, fearing for the lights, we decided that we might be better off seeing him in action outside on a sunny day!

Sivert brought two soldiers to show us.  He made this one with his dad. 

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This is what they did.  First they melted some tin (tin melts at 232 degrees Celsius, which is as about the temperature in a hot oven) and then they poured it into a mould where it cooled and went hard.

The other soldier was one his dad made when he was a boy.  It is made out of lead.

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What differences can you see between the two metals, tin and lead?

And now, here are the two things that were a bit of a puzzle:

A CD which is shiny and  flexible.

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And a mirror which is shiny and warm.

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We know that metal can be shiny; warm; flexible.  I wonder; does this mean that our CD and the mirror are both made of metal?  What do you think?

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