Teachers Guide Scientriffic 81 - CSIRO

TEACHER’S GUIDE | ISSUE 81 SEPTEMBER 2012 

Australian schools 

in earthquake 

experiment 

The Australian Seismometers in Schools Network 

(AuSIS) is installing more than 40 seismometers 

in schools across Australia to capture 

earthquake activity both here and overseas. The 

seismometers are sensitive enough to record 

seismic waves from earthquakes as far away as 

Chile and Japan. 

Students will get to monitor seismic activity as 

it happens. The data they collect will be sent 

into the international research arena as part of a 

world-wide collaborative experiment. 

If your school is interested in being part of 

this exciting initiative, please visit 

www.ausis.edu.au and fill in the online 

Expression of Interest form. There is also an 

information sheet about what’s involved in 

having a seismometer at your school. If you 

have any questions, please email Dr Natalie 

Balfour at ausis@anu.edu.au; or if you want 

to check out recent events, visit the Facebook 

page at www.facebook.com/ausisnetwork. 

Thinkstock 

Scientriffic 

Teacher’s Guides 

Thanks for supporting the Scientriffic 

Teacher’s Guide. Due to increasing print 

costs, we are ceasing to print the guide. 

If your print subscription expires beyond 

December 2012, we’ll add two issues of 

Scientriffic magazine to your subscription. 

We will continue to provide free online 

materials for teachers. We hope you’ll 

support us in this move. 

In this issue 

Engage your students with 

hands-on science activities. 

• Blooming bicarbonate 

• A crystal collection 

• Moo goo 

• The plastic milk test 

Connect Scientriffic to literacy in 

your classroom. 

• Trilobite trivia 

• All about albinos 

• Family trees 

• Cheesy tales ... 

Extend your knowledge of topics 

in this issue. 

• History of x-rays 

• Saturn’s rings 

• Trilobites 

September 2012 | Scientriffic Teacher’s Guide | www.csiro.au/scientriffic | St 1

Blooming bicarbonate 

CurriCulum links 

Science understanding: Year 4 Earth and space sciences, Year 

4 chemical sciences 

Science inquiry skills: Foundation – Year 4 Questioning and 

predicting, planning and conducting 

Aim 

To demonstrate stalactite growth using sodium bicarbonate 

and water. 

BACkground 

Read the article ‘Underground wonderland’ on pages 

18–19 of Scientriffic. 

You will need 

• Hot water (from a tap) 

• 2 glass jars 

• 2 metres of white cotton thread 

• 2 paper clips 

• Bicarb soda (sodium bicarbonate) 

• Teaspoon 

• Food colouring – two different colours 

• A jar lid 

NAME ______________________________________________ 

whAt to do 

1. Carefully pour some hot tap water into the two jars 

until they are about one-third full. 

2. Add three heaped teaspoons of bicarb soda to one of 

the jars. Stir the powder until it has dissolved. 

3. Continue adding and stirring bicarb soda into the jar, 

one teaspoon at a time, until no more will dissolve. 

This is called a saturated solution. 

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 with the second jar of water. 

5. Put the jars on a flat surface, such as a table or a 

window, where they can be left to sit undisturbed for a 

few days. 

6. Take the piece of cotton thread and fold it in half two 

or three times, until you have a piece that is about 30 

centimetres long. 

7. Put the entire thread into one of the jars and soak it in 

the solution. 

8. Take out the thread and place one end into one of the 

jars so it is submerged in the solution. Use a paper clip 

to secure it to the side of the jar. The thread shouldn’t 

touch the bottom the jar. 

2 St | www.csiro.au/scientriffic | Scientriffic Teacher’s Guide | September 2012 

9. Place the other end of the thread into the solution 

in the second jar, holding it in place with another 

paperclip. Let the thread droop a little in between the 

jars – don’t pull it tight. 

10. Put a jar lid between the two jars to catch any liquid 

that drips off the thread. 

11. Add two drops of food colouring to one of the jars. 

12. Add two drops of another colour of food colouring to 

the other jar. 

13. Draw a picture of the jars and thread in the space 

below, describing what you think it will look like in 

two days. 

14. Leave the jars for at least two days and observe what 

happens. Draw a picture of your results in the table. 

15. When you have finished the experiment, answer 

the questions at the bottom of the page in your 

workbook. 

PrediCtion 

results 

PHoToCoPYING PERMITTED FoR PERSoNAL, HoME AND CLASSRooM USE. CoPYRIGHT © CSIRo 2012 

Draw a picture of what you think will happen to the 

solution inside the jars: 

Draw a picture of the jars and the string after two days: 

Questions 

• What happened to the solution inside the jar? 

• How did the food colouring affect the thread and the 

crystals? 

• How do you think this experiment can be linked to 

cave formations such as stalactites and stalagmites?

NAME ______________________________________________ 

A crystal collection 


Science understanding: Year 4 chemical sciences 

Science inquiry skills: Foundation – Year 4 Questioning and 

predicting, planning and conducting 

Aim 

Grow and compare crystals made from different substances. 

BACkground 

This experiment should be done as a follow-on activity from 

the previous activity on page 2. 

You will need 

• 4 glass jars 

• Bicarb soda (sodium bicarbonate) 

• Sugar 

• Salt 

• Epsom salts 

• Food colouring – one colour 

• 2 metres of white cotton thread 

• 4 paperclips 

• Hot tap water 

• Piece of card (large enough to hold the four jars) 

whAt to do 

1. Cut the cotton thread into four pieces, each between 

30 and 50 centimetres long. Fold them in half twice 

Salt Bicarb soda 

Sugar Epsom salts 


so you end up with a piece of thread roughly 10 

centimetres long. 

2. Carefully pour some hot tap water into the four jars 

until they are about one-third full. 

3. Find a secure place to leave your experiment. Place 

the four jars on the piece of card. 

4. In the first jar, make a saturated solution of sodium 

bicarbonate. 

5. Add two drops of food colouring to the jar. 

6. Place one end of the thread into the jar so that it is 

submerged fully in the solution. Use a paper clip to 

secure it to the side of the jar. The thread shouldn’t 

touch the bottom of the jar. 

7. Repeat steps 4–6 for the salt, sugar and Epsom salts 

with the remaining three jars. 

8. Leave the jars for two days and observe what 

happens. Draw a picture of the crystals in each 

jar in the table below. Next to the picture, write a 

description. Include the following information in your 

description: 

a. What size are the crystals? 

b. What shape are they? 

c. How are they different on the side of the jar and 

on the thread? 

d. How are they affected by the food colouring? 

extending the 

investigAtion 

You can learn more about 

crystals by extending your 

investigation. Below are 

some questions you could 

try testing. 

• What if you use string 

or thread made from a 

different material? 

• How does temperature 

affect the growth of 

crystals? 

• What happens if you 

leave the crystals for a 

week or more? 


NAME ______________________________________________ 

Moo goo 


Science understanding: Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6 

chemical sciences 

Science inquiry skills: Foundation – Year 4 

Questioning and predicting, planning and 

conducting 

Aim 

Make a sticky substance from milk and observe 

its properties. 

BACkground 

Read the article ‘Tasty cheeses’ on pages 22–23 

of Scientriffic. 

CAution 

Milk ‘glue’ will spoil after several days. It can 

be kept in the fridge to increase its shelf life; 

however, it should be disposed of when the 

activity is complete. 

You will need 

• 2 cups 

• 1 spoon for stirring 

• Coffee filter paper or piece of thin rag 

• 1 packet of powdered non-fat milk 

• Vinegar 

• Baking soda 

• Measuring spoons 

• Measuring cup 

• Kitchen scales 

• Hot water 

• Cardboard or another material to test your 

glue 

whAt to do 

1. Measure about ¼ cup of hot water into a 

cup. 

2. Add 2 tablespoons of powdered milk to the 

water and stir until has completely dissolved. 

3. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to the mixture. 

Weigh the cup and the mixture on the scales. 

Record the weight in the table. 

4. Stir the mixture with the spoon. You should 

see the milk begin to separate into solid 

chunks of curd and a watery liquid called 

whey. Stir until the milk is well separated. 



5. Line the clean, empty second cup with the 

coffee filter, and then pour the lumpy mixture 

into the filter. 

6. Lift the filter slowly. The liquid whey should 

drain through the filter, leaving only the lumpy 

curd. 

7. Squeeze the filter containing the curds to 

remove as much of the liquid whey as possible. 

Put the curds into an empty plastic cup. 

8. Weigh the cup with the curds. Record the 

weight in the table. 

9. Use the spoon to break the curds into small 

pieces. 

Material Weight (grams) 

cup + milk powder + vinegar 

cup + curds 

• Roughly how much of the milk mixture is 

made of curds? 

• How much of the milk mixture is whey? 

• Do you think milk from all mammals would 

produce the same amounts of curds and 

whey? How might milk be different in 

different mammals? 

10. Add one teaspoon of hot water and about 

¼ teaspoon of baking soda to the curd and 

mix thoroughly. You should see some slight 

foaming or bubbling. Keep mixing until the curd 

becomes smoother and more liquid. 

11. The curd has now become glue. Test your glue 

by sticking together two sheets of cardboard. 

Milk reacts with an acid like vinegar to make a new 

substance. The vinegar curdles the solids in milk, 

and then the rubbery solid is separated from the 

liquid part of the milk. The curds dry to form a hard 

plastic-like substance called casein plastic. After 

the casein is separated from the whey by filtering, 

baking soda is added to neutralize the acid. When 

the curd no longer has acid in it, it returns to a more 

liquid form. The foaming you see when the baking 

soda is added to the curd is carbon dioxide gas, 

which is made when the baking soda reacts with 

the acid in the vinegar. The resulting liquefied casein 

protein is our natural glue.

NAME ______________________________________________ 

The plastic milk test 


Science understanding: Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6 

chemical sciences 

Science inquiry skills: Foundation – Year 4 Questioning 

and predicting, planning and conducting 

Aim 

Test some of the different properties of milk glue by 

designing your own experiment. 

introduCtion 

You have already seen how casein plastic can be used 

as a glue, but what else can it be used for? To answer 

this question, you first have to think about some of 

the different properties of casein and how you could 

test them. 

Below is a list of questions to get you thinking: 

• What happens to casein if it’s left in the sun? 

• Can casein be frozen solid? 

• Does casein have the same properties when it is 

cold as it does when it is hot? 

• How hard is casein compared to other plastics? 

• Can you draw or paint on casein with water-based 

paints? 

exPeriment design 

1) What question do you want to answer? 

2) What property of casein are you going to test? 

3) How are you going to test it? 

4) Write down, step by step, how you will conduct the experiment. 

5) What materials do you need? 

6) How long will the experiment take? 


• Can hard casein be made soft again? 

• What happens if you add other materials, such as 

salt, sugar or corn flour, to the casein as it’s being 

made? 

You will need 

• Curds (made using the instructions from the 

‘Moo goo’ activity) 

The rest of the materials you need will depend on what 

property you are testing in the experiment. 

whAt to do 

1. Choose a question from the list above to test, or 

think of one of your own. 

2. Use the steps below to plan and design your 

experiment. 

3. When you have planned the steps of your 

experiment, gather the materials you need and 

do the experiment. 

4. Don’t forget to record your observations in your 

workbook as you go. 

5. When you have finished the experiment, write 

a paragraph that summarises your results and 

share it with the rest of your class. 

7) Are there any materials or steps in your experiment that could be dangerous? For example, do you need 

to use very hot water or tools such as scissors? 

8) What will you do to make your experiment safer? 


ConnECTInG SCIEnTRIffIC 

To LITERACY In YoUR CLASSRooM 

Trilobite trivia 

Scientriffic pages 28–29 

1. Give pairs of students a copy of the image of 

the trilobite below. 

2. Write the following points on the board under 

the heading ‘Trilobite facts’: 

• They have been extinct for 250 million 

years. 

• They lived on Earth for around 270 million 

years. 

• Around 20 000 different types of trilobite 

have been classified by palaeontologists. 

• Their size and shape varied greatly. 

3. Give students 10 minutes to brainstorm and 

answer the questions below by considering the 

facts on the board and looking at the image of 

the trilobite. 


WikimediaCommons/Amuseofpc 

a. Where do you think these creatures lived? 

Describe features of their environment. 

b. What types of special adaptation could they 

have had? 

c. What might they have eaten? 

d. Why do you think there are so many different 

types? 

e. What colours do you think they might have 

been? 

f. Why do you think they became extinct? 

4. As a class, discuss the students’ responses to the 

questions. 

5. Ask students to draw their own extinct creature, 

describing its features, adaptations, the 

environment it would have lived in and the reason 

it became extinct. 

istockphoto.com

All About Albinos 


Students will answer some questions to test their 

comprehension skills and will then have a discussion about 

the topic of albinism. 

1. Ask students to silently read the article ‘Albinism’ on 

pages 12–13 of Scientriffic. 

2. Have students answer the following questions in their 

workbooks: 

a. What do albino animals look like? 

b. What chemical are albino animals missing? 

c. How does an animal become albino? 

d. Are there humans with albinism? 

e. How common is albinism? 

f. How can you tell if an animal is albino or not? 

g. What are some of the risks that albinos face? 

h. What’s the name of the albino humpback whale? 

i. What kind of test will scientists need to do to 

determine who the father of the albino humpback 

whale is? 

3. Put students into small groups. Give each one a 

different question to discuss. After a few minutes, 

change the question for each group. 

• Albinism is a genetic condition. What does that mean? 

• Why do you think albinism is rare? 

• Have you ever seen an albino animal? What was it? 

Where did you see it? 

• Why isn’t a polar bear an albino? Does that mean 

that polar bears can’t be albinos? 

• Is there any type of animal that can’t be albino? 

Why or why not? 

• You are more likely to find albino echidnas than 

many other types of Australian animal. Why do you 

think that is? 

Cheesy tAles … Scientriffic pages 22–23 

Students will create some humorous 

pieces of writing about cheese. 

1. As a class, read the article about cheese on pages 

22–23 of Scientriffic. 

2. Ask students to brainstorm all the different adjectives 

they can think of that can be used to describe cheese. 

For example: stinky, tasty, yummy, yellow, blue, 

mouldy, holey etc. 

3. Put students in pairs and ask them to write a limerick 

about cheese. Remind them of the rhyming structure of 

limericks with this example: 


Students will learn the basics of drawing family trees to show 

the inheritance of some traits. 

1. Put the information below onto the board and ask students 

to copy it into their workbooks. Explain that albinism is a 

trait, as is an ability to roll one’s tongue into a tube. 

shape text trait 

FAMily trees 

Female No trait (can’t roll their tongue) 

Female Trait (can roll their tongue) 

Male No trait (can’t roll their tongue) 

Male Trait (can roll their tongue) 

2. Ask students to choose one of the following inherited 

traits: 

• Able to roll tongue / unable to roll tongue 

• Crooked little finger/ straight little finger 

• Widow’s peak / straight hairline 

• Attached earlobes / not attached 

3. Ask them to work in groups to investigate a person’s 

family members. Tell them to draw a family tree of the 

person’s family which shows how that trait is expressed 

in the parents and siblings. 

There was an old man from Kerrat 

Who was short and grumpy and fat. 

He sang all day long 

The most terrible songs 

About his orange and white fluffy cat. 

4. Ask students to work with a different partner and 

write a silly short story about cheese that begins 

with this sentence: “Martin the mouse stuffed the 

green mouldy cheese in his ears”; and ends with 

this sentence: “Susie learnt her lesson and never 

again dipped her fingers in cheese sauce”. 


history oF x-rAys 


Today, it is hard to imagine a world 

without x-rays. Since their discovery 

in 1895 by German physicist Wilhelm 

Conrad Röntgen, x-rays have become 

an essential part of many scientific 

fields. Röntgen stumbled across this 

type of radiation whilst investigating 

how electrons behaved inside 

cathode tubes. When he passed an 

electric discharge through a tube 

covered in black paper, he noticed 

a nearby screen coated in a barium 

platinocyanide glow. This led Röntgen 

to conclude that the tube was emitting 

an unknown type of radiation. 

Because it hadn’t yet been described, 

he temporarily used the letter ‘x’ for 

‘unknown’. The name stuck; however, 

in many places – such as Germany – 

they became known as Röntgen rays. 

In the experiments that followed, he 

found that he could record images 

of solid objects onto a photographic 

plate that showed various levels of 

transparency. The first ever x-ray was 

an image of his wife’s hand, which 

revealed the bones of her hand and 

the ring she was wearing. Röntgen’s 

discovery excited scientists, and 

experimentation with this new type 

of radiation quickly began all over the 

world. In 1901, he was awarded the 

Nobel Prize in Physics. In Australia, 

the first x-ray experiments were 

carried out as early as 1896. 

Queensland government ‘History 

of x-ray technology’: 

http://bit.ly/Q9rycq 

Australian Society of X-ray 

Technology: 

http://bit.ly/nexlbk 

NobelPrize.org: 

http://bit.ly/hnrxWd 

KEEP A STEP AHEAD of 

YoUR STUDEnTS wITH THIS 

BACKGRoUnD InfoRMATIon. 

sAturn’s rings 


Saturn isn’t the only planet to have 

rings: Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus 

also are orbited by rings. Yet, Saturn’s 

rings are the largest and the most 

impressive. They were first discovered 

by Galileo Galilei in 1610, who 

spotted them using his telescope. He 

assumed they were moons. 

Scientists believe that Saturn’s rings 

are made up of pieces of a torn-up 

moon, and comets and asteroids 

that were pulled apart by gravity 

and inertia before they reached the 

planet’s surface. In all, there are 

millions and millions of particles 

orbiting the planet. Some are the size 

of dust, whilst others are as big as 

houses. 

To date, seven main rings have been 

identified. They are named A to G 

in the order they were discovered. 

Interestingly, they all orbit Saturn at 

different speeds. 

Since 2004, the spacecraft Cassini has 

been involved in an extended mission 

to discover more about Saturn 

rings and moons. The instruments 

on board the spacecraft are still 

sending valuable information and 

images of Saturn back to Earth. It is 

hoped that this information will tell 

scientists more about the origin and 

composition of Saturn’s rings. 

NASA: 

http://1.usa.gov/Pg3vJr 

NASA: 

http://1.usa.gov/Q7sbPz 

http://science.howstuffworks. 

com/rings-of-saturn.htm 


trilobites 

Scientriffic pages 28–29, 40 

Trilobites are one of the best 

known types of fossil, due to their 

distinctive shape and features and 

their numbers. They are among 

some of the earliest life forms to 

have been preserved in such large 

quantities. 

According to the fossil record, 

trilobites first appeared early in 

the Cambrian period around 520 

million years ago, at a time when 

there was a huge increase in the 

diversity of life forms on Earth within 

a relatively short period. This time is 

often referred to as the ‘Cambrian 

Explosion’ by palaeontologists. 

For around 270 million years, 

trilobites inhabited the planet’s 

seas and oceans. Around 20 000 

different species of trilobites have 

been classified by palaeontologists. 

These species have been organised 

into around 150 different families 

and nine orders, which reflects the 

huge diversity of trilobites. These 

early arthropods became extinct 

around the end of the Permian 

period, along with the majority 

of other organisms, in a huge 

extinction event that is sometimes 

nicknamed ‘the great dying’. 

http://australianmuseum.net.au/ 

What-are-trilobites 

ABC science: Giant trilobites had 

complex social lives: 

http://bit.ly/2ttFl 

Museum Victoria: 

http://bit.ly/t1p1q6 

Scientriffic magazine is published six times a year (bimonthly in January, March, May, July, September and November) by CSIRo Education. 

This guide is written by Catherine Healy. Correspondence concerning the Teacher’s Guide can be sent to: The Editor, Scientriffic, CSIRo 

Education, Po Box 225 Dickson ACT 2602 or Scientriffic@csiro.au 

To order Scientriffic visit www.csiro.au/scientriffic or call (02) 6276 6643.

Teachers Guide Scientriffic 81 - CSIRO

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