5th Grade – Unit 2

Informative/Explanatory Writing

Bubblology

STUDENT PACKET

Name: ______Date: ______

Directions:

1.Todayyouwillreadapassageaboutbubbles.

2.Youwillthenanswerseveralquestionsbasedonthe passage.

3.Youwillnoticeasyouanswerthequestionsthatsomeofthequestions havetwoparts.YoushouldanswerPartAofthequestionbeforeyouanswerPartB.

4.After answering the questions, use information from the article to write an informative essay explaining what is the same and what is different between big bubbles and small bubbles.

YourWriting Task:

Use information from the article titled “Bubblology” to write an informative essay explaining what is the same and what is different between big and small bubbles.

Be sure to use details from the article to support each part of your essay.

Bubblology

Retrieved from Achieve the Core

(bŭb’ l-ŏl -jē) n. The study of bubbles.

1Thereisalottobelearnedfromabubble!Bubblescanteachusaboutlife, lightandstrength.Thewallofabubblehasthreeparts.Thereisanouter wallmadeofsoapordetergent,acenterwallmadeofwater,andaninner wallthatisalsomadeofsoapordetergent.Theinsideofthebubbleisfilled with air. This structure of the bubble’s wall is very similar to that of membranesfoundinlivingcreatureslikeus.

2Did you everwonderhowthefoodyoueatgetsfrominside yourstomach toinsideyourmuscles?Togettoyourmuscles,thefoodmustfirstbe digested.Thenit mustpassthroughasetofmembranesintoyourblood. Thenutrientsthencirculatethroughyourarteriestoyourmuscles,where theypassthroughanothersetofmembranesintoyourmuscles.Thenext timethatyoublowbubbles,lookforaclusterof them,andwatchclosely.If they don’t pop too quickly, you will see that the air from the smaller bubbleswillpassthroughthebubblewallintoalargerbubbleontheother side.Thisisverysimilartothe way that oxygenpasses from yourlungs throughamembraneandintoyourbloodstream.Thelargerbubblesare sturdier,becausetheirwallsarenotcurvedasmuchasthewallsofsmaller bubbles.

3Bubblescanalsoteachus aboutlight.Thelightfromthesunismadeupof many different colors. Mixed together, they look white. However, it is possible to separate the different colors of light from each other with a prism.Smalldropsofwaterorice crystalscanworklikeaprism.Youhave seenthisforyourselfifyouhaveeverseenarainbow.The wall of a bubble can work the same way.That iswhybubblesareiridescent.Whenlighthits abubble,itmaylookblue,oritmaylookred.The colors seem todance aroundonthesurface.Thecolorsthatweseedependuponthethicknessof the wall of the bubble and howmuchit isbent. As waterevaporates from the bubble,thebubble’swallbecomesthinner,andthecolorschange.Also, asthewindblowsabubblearound,itswallbends,changingthecolor.

4Bubblescanalsoteachushowtomakethingsstronger.Bubblesareusually veryfragile.Theycaneasilypop.But if we add sugartothebubblesolution, thebubblesaremuchsturdier.They will last for two or three times as long.This is because the sugar strengthens the wall of the bubble. The sugardissolvesinthewaterlayerofthebubble’swallandtakestheplace of some ofthewater.Sincethesugardoesnotevaporateasquicklyasthewater, thebubbleslastlonger.Inaddition,thesugarmoleculesareverylargeand stiffcomparedtowatermolecules.Likealargeboard nailed to thewallofa house,thesugarmoleculesbracethewallofthebubbletomakeitstronger.


5Bubblesareprettyincredible,butwhoknew?Theobservationsthatpeople havemadeaboutthemhaveledtomanyquestionsandinterestinganswers that help explainthe world around us.

Reprinted with permission from Celebrating Chemistry. Copyright 2002 American Chemical

QUESTIONS:

  1. Basedoninformationinthearticle,whataretwowaysthatabubbleislikeamembrane?

A.It has walls that curve.

B.It is very colorful.

C.It isthinand delicate.

D.Itcanseparatelight.

E.Itletssubstancespassthrough.

F.It lastsonlyashorttime.

2.Accordingtothearticle,whichofthefollowingbubbleswouldlastthelongest?

A.Asmallbubblebeforetheairinsidepassestoalargerbubble.

B.A smallbubble withthin,tightlycurvedwalls.

C.Alargebubblemadewithsoapordetergentandsugar.

D.A large bubble with wallsthat bend in the wind and change colors.

3.Thefollowingquestionhastwoparts.AnswerPartAandthenanswerPartB. PartA:Inparagraph4,whatdoesthewordbracemean?

A.fasten

B.prepare

C.support

D.awaken

PartB:Whichtwophrasesfromparagraph4besthelpthereaderunderstandthemeaningofbrace?

A.“can easilypop”

B.“twoorthreetimes”

C.“strengthens thewall”

D.“dissolvesinthewater”

E.“doesnotevaporateasquickly”

F.“verylargeandstiff”

4.WhatdoesFigure1helpthereaderunderstandaboutbubbles?

A.Figure1showsthatBubbleBislikelytopopsoonbecausesomeofthewaterhas evaporated.

B.Figure1showsthatbubblesareusuallythesameshapeandsize.

C.Figure1showsthatbubblesarefragilebecausetheyaremadeofonlyair,soap,andwater.

D.Figure 1 shows that air can move from one bubble to another.

5.Usingtheideasbelowfrom“Bubblology,”decidewhichtwo items on the list aremainideas fromthearticle,andwritethemonthechart.Thenusethelistagaintowriteinonesupporting detailforeachmainideayouhavechosen.Onemainideaandonesupportingdetailhave alreadybeenwritteninthechartforyouasanexample.NotethatyouwillNOTuseallthe detailslisted.

Details from“Bubblology”

  • Bubbles act like prisms.
  • Bubblewallsaremade of soap.
  • Bubblesappearcolorful.
  • Bubbles with sugar last longer.
/
  • Wallsofhousesaremadestrongwithboards.
  • Biggerbubblesaresturdier.
  • Adding things to the soapy water can
strengthen bubbles.
Main Idea / Supporting Detail
Bubbles show a process that is similar to
something that happens in our bodies. / Air moves between bubbles.
  1. Thefollowingquestionhastwoparts. Answer Part A and thenanswer PartB. PartA: What is the main point the article makes?

A.Thestructureofbubblesmakesthemquicktopop.

B.Manythingscanaffectabubble’scolorandstrength.

C.Bubblescanbeusedtohelpexplainseveralscienceconcepts.

D.Livingcreatureshavebubble-likestructuresintheirbodies.

Part B: How does the structure of the article help support the answer to Part A?

A.Thearticledemonstrateshowbubblewallsarelikemembranes,prisms,andthewallsof houses.

B.Thearticleexplainsthecausesandeffectsofmakingbubbleslastlonger.

C.Thearticleuseschronologicalordertoexaminetheeffectoflightandwindonbubbles.

D.Thearticlepresentsthestepsinvolvedintheprocessofhumandigestion.

7.In paragraph1,the author says that bubbles can teach us about life.

Circlethe sentence in paragraph2that provides evidence for this claim.

YourWriting Task:

Use information from the article titledBubblology to write an informative essay explaining what is the same and what is different between big and small bubbles.

Be sure to use details from the article to support each part of your essay.

Informative/Explanatory Essay

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You may use the space below to include an illustration.

Be sure to revise and edit your work!

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