Fifth grade students at John Lawrence Elementary recently engaged in two hands-on investigations of the Law of Conservation of Mass. In the first experiment, they explored a chemical change by mixing vinegar and baking soda. They carefully measured the mass of the materials before, during, and after the reaction while capturing the gas produced in a balloon attached to the container.
In the second experiment, students examined a physical change by measuring the mass of a cookie before and after crushing it. This allowed them to compare how mass is conserved in both chemical and physical changes.
These activities gave students a clear, memorable understanding of how mass is conserved regardless of the type of change. They were highly engaged and amazed to see scientific principles come to life through their own measurements and observations.
