Water: Investigation 1.3: Water on a Slope

Focus Question: How does water move on a slope?

1. Procedure:

  1. Write the focus question in your notebook.
  2. Create a slope by propping up one end of a tray.
  3. Lay waxed paper on the tray to create a smooth surface.
  4. Use droppers to drop water on the waxed paper. Observe.
  5. Record your observations in your notebook.
  6. Return the water to the plastic cup when it collects at the bottom of the tray.

2. Water-Dome Races:

  1. Prop one end of the tray on a book.
  2. Hold up the other end of the tray so it is level.
  3. Make several water domes of different sizes across the paper at the uphill end.
  4. Lower the tray to create a slope and observe.
  5. Record your observations in your notebook.
  • Did all the domes move?
  • Which domes reached the bottom first?

3. Discuss with your partner:

  • What rule describes the direction that water domes move?
  • What is the relationship between the size of a water dome and the speed at which it moves?
  • What is the relationship between the slope of a surface and the speed at which a water dome moves?

4. Findings: Answer the focus question in your notebook.

(Vocabulary development and scaffolds for ELL’s on the backside of this page.)

Language Objective:

Students will observe and record the behavior of water domes on a sloped surface, discuss and generate a rule that describes the direction that water domes move, and determine the relationship between the size of the water domes and the speed at which it moves, and the relationship between the slope of a surface and the speed at which a water dome moves.

English Language Development:

Review the vocabulary words. Illustrate or demonstrate the word “slope” and ask students to name words that describe a slope, e.g., steep, steeper, level, uphill, downhill. Students use the vocabulary words to write the answer to the focus question, “How does water move on a slope?” Students who need scaffolds can use the sentence frames:

Our question was ______.

We found out that the ______the slope, the ______a water dome moves.

We also found out that the _____ the size of the dome, the ______it moves.

My evidence is ______. My drawing shows ______.

Another example is when ______.

I wonder ______.

Essential Question: What are water’s unique physical and chemical properties?

Application at Grade Levels: 3rd, 4th and 5th

  • How does the movement of water affect earth materials?
  • How does water shape our environment?

TEKS for Earth Science:

  • 5th: recognize how landforms such as deltas, canyons, and sand dunes are the result of changes to Earth’s surface by wind, water, and ice
  • 4th: observe and identify slow changes to the Earth’s surface caused by weathering, erosion and deposition from water, wind, and ice
  • 3rd: identify and compare different landforms including mountains, hills, valleys, and plains
  • TEKS for ELA 5th: Write expository texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes - guide and inform the reader's understanding of key ideas and evidence.

Velez & Vargas LHS 2011