Monthly Archives: April 2020

Investigate Chromatography

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Well… day whatever of self isolation. I’m missing routine. I’m unmotivated and finding it difficult to find things to blog about. They’ve just announced that school won’t be back in session until at least May 31st. Pray for us mommas. In light of all this, I thought I would repost this article I wrote for a fellow blogger looking for some science ideas. It’s not been posted on my site, so – perhaps it would be a fun project you could do during isolation? God’s creation is vast and colourful, and hopefully spring will bring me some new ideas to muse about, but until then, enjoy this one! Stay safe, friends.

Greetings!  I am so pleased to share some thoughts with RedHeaded Patti as a guest blogger!  As a scientist and mom of four (plus the extra odd neighbourhood kids and students that sometimes visit) it was a no brainer for me to answer her call for a SUMMER OF STEM ideas!  We are always learning and love to share with others! So let’s get right down to it:  Let’s investigate Chromatography!  We originally tackled this project for this year’s science fair and it is a perfect investigation for all sorts of children or students… you can tailor it to any age by investigating just a bit deeper or a little less.  We wanted something easy, fun and colourful to learn about!  To read about our finished project, check out the link here.  We post every Tuesday and would love to have you join our adventure over at mittonmusings.com!

ChromatographyChromatography, in its simplest terms, means “separating parts of a mixture”.  Scientists do this for all kinds of mixtures:  gases, liquids and solids can all be separated into their various parts.  For example, blood can be separated out to search for specific diseases.  Oil companies often use chromatography to weed out impurities in their products. Gases can be diffused and distilled to investigate all about bombs and warfare.  Distillation is closely related to chromatography and is another method for separating mixtures.  Perhaps you can investigate the differences!  For our example, we are going to be using paper chromatography to separate liquid pigments (in markers) into their various colours.  Pigments are also found in other everyday objects like leaves and candy… even more to investigate!

So… let’s gather our materials:

paper cups

coffee filters

markers (various colours and types)

rubbing alcohol

elastic bands

a dropper

a coin

water

Once you have all your materials now is when the fun starts!!  Here’s the basic method and what our results were.  Feel free to try all sorts of markers and colours and see what results you get!

We took 6 cups and wrapped one coffee filter on the top of each cup and secured it with an elastic band

We picked 5 sharpie colours and traced the coin to make a circle on the filter

We dropped a few drops of alcohol inside the ink circles and watched the circle as it “grew” and separated by moving along the filter paper

We did the same with the Crayola marker, except we used water instead of alcohol (you’ll see why later)

Our Results:

colours

The ink separated (spread) and some turned into different colours along the coffee filter.

Green…. showed yellow

Dark Blue…. showed a light then darker blue

Purple…. showed pink and violet

Teal…. showed yellow and blue-green

Black (Sharpie)…. showed purple

Black (Crayola)…. showed blue and pink

Our favourites were teal and purple!!

Wasn’t that fun?!  Now, as good scientists, we have to ask the question: WHY?  Markers have ink — that’s what makes the colours.  Ink is a mixture of a fast-drying liquid and pigments (the substances that give something colour).  Sharpie markers have alcohol-based ink (permanent), and Crayola markers have water-based ink (not permanent).  So, when we added more liquid (alcohol or water), the ink spread out and separated into other colours.  Did you notice that black is really a mixture of a whole bunch of colours?!

We also observed that some colours spread out further than others.  The water based marker spread the most. This is because “solutes” (the things that make up a mixture) will move along depending on how much of the solute there is in the mixture.   Water based inks have a lot of “solvent”(the stuff that solutes are mixed into)…which is why they are not permanent and are easily washable. Some inks showed more than one colour even though they started out looking like only one!  This shows us that inks (or pigments) are really made up of a mixture (or solution) of different colours that produce the various shades of “single” marker colours.  Isn’t science great?!

We hope you enjoyed this fun and easy science experiment.  Remember it next time you are enjoying some colouring this summer with your markers — and don’t ever stop learning!leaves

A Season of Growth

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Back when school was actually in, and I was musing about if homework was actually necessary, (Ha! Little did I know!) there was a lot of talk about this idea of “growth mindset” among educators and how it influences our students and how they learn. I suppose, it really is how we all learn. In case you have no idea what I am talking about, here is the general idea:

A growth mindset, proposed by Stanford professor Carol Dweck in her book Mindset, describes people who believe that their success depends on time and effort. People with a growth mindset feel their skills and intelligence can be improved with effort and persistence. They embrace challenges, persist through obstacles, learn from criticism and seek out inspiration in others’ success.

Those who hold a growth mindset believe that they can get better at something by dedication of time, effort and energy. Working on one’s flaws, and the process—not the outcome—are the  most important components. With time and practice, people with a growth mindset believe they can achieve what they want. The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed mindset.

From: https://tophat.com/glossary/g/growth-mindset/

There is some confuddled methodologies and thought processes surrounding this whole idea — but it is what I have been musing about this week. “Growth”. I’ve been thinking about literal growth — changes you can physically see, as well as the more mystical, unseen growth, that we all do as people when faced with situations like this global pandemic we are all experiencing right now. Three weeks in, and people are starting to talk about the consequences. I’m curious to see how this will change us. Will it change us for the better? Or will we revolt and protest? Only time will tell. Speaking of time; it is finally starting to be “spring-like” around here and, like I have said so many times before, time has a way of moving forward… worldwide pandemic or not. The buds are starting to show up on the trees. We have started our little seeds and the kids have cleaned up the backyard garden (hurray for quarantine — we are ahead this year!) and we are dreaming about fresh veggies! We also fostered some baby ducklings for 3 weeks — which was definitely a growth project! Those tiny things grew fast! I’m not sure I am cut out for farming — as much as this city girl dreams about it, (constantly) it would certainly take some “growing” on my part. Perhaps these cuties will be a topic for a future muse.

Our baby ducklings went from this — to this — in only 3 short weeks!!

Which brings me back to my muse. I think growth is a unique entity. We have “growth spurts” and we have long, slow, lengthy times of maturing that seemingly takes forever. It’s hard to see growth in those times. We think that nothing new is happening. Like a young tween waiting to get curves or the first facial hair. Often, those are times of renewal and recovery (or perhaps discovery?) — so that all the conditions are right for good growth. It’s been a month of ups and downs for the Mitton crew during lockdown 2020. I get excited about a new project or homeschool, and just as quickly get sad and frustrated. Some days I dream big, and other days I can’t seem to get moving at all. They tell me that’s normal. It seems we are in a season of growth.

So as I navigate this time, I’ve been encouraged by the words of Lamentations 3. Verses 22 and 23 are the most famous, of course, and the most uplifting when it comes to sparking Hope and Encouragement:

But it is interesting to note that the full chapter is a lament. It’s not that encouraging. It’s full of despair and depression. Then the writer comes to the realization of God’s ancient idea of a growth mindset. Each morning is a new day. And God’s love is faithful. It’s a process, with ebbs and flows of good and bad. A journey with a goal, where success is measured by time, effort and persistence. And failure is part of the process.

So, what about you all? Are you feeling stuck in the lament? Are you wallowing in the darkness of unemployment, uncertainty or just simple boredom? Tomorrow is a new day. Filled with new doses of mercy, light and hope from a God whose faithfulness is timeless. May you be encouraged, my friend, by the journey itself. Your successes will be achieved through time, effort and tiny steps forward. Oh… I am certainly not there either. My mind dreams big, but the flesh is weak, and laziness, to be truthful, is a whole lot easier. Share me some love, okay? Post a thought, some encouragement, or something you’re doing to make this season of “slow growth” helpful for all of us! I love to hear your comments.

Want some ideas for some things to do during your “slow growth” time at home? Check out these posts: How to Stay Motivated Brag Tags DinoSaurs or browse through my old muses like the Colouring Party!

Death and the Wind

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Well. It’s been quite the week. Our “new normal” of self isolation continues, much like all of you. It seems we’ve had quite a lot to ponder over these weeks — but not much to share. I’m finding it hard to be inspired when nothing new is happening. Perhaps that’s a cop-out because there should always be something new, right? Never stop learning and all that. Should take my own advice sometimes! So here goes: As I write these words, the wind is howling outside. Empty and angry, yet cleansing, in a way. It seems to be clearing the world of debris. My poor, old house creaks and groans as it gets shoved around along with the trees outside. My windows are rattling. It’s grey and overcast, and today has been a quiet, slow one after our makeshift festivities and family chats over the internet, remnants of an unusual Easter weekend.

It’s supposed to be a season of rebirth and resurrection. Honestly, I had planned to write about growth this week…. but it seems like I am stuck back on Good Friday and am in the limbo between it and resurrection Sunday. Death seems to be on my mind. Which sounds horrid and morbid and is a terrible title for a blog post. It evokes images of heavy metal thrasher bands and dark images from gothic artists. So my apologies if you came looking for some bright and cheery words of encouragement today. Perhaps we will get there by the end of my 700 or so words.

There seems to be plenty of depressing reports in the news these days during this world wide pandemic. Current data shows over 119 000 deaths as a result of the Coronavirus across our planet. People are dying at an alarming rate. Then, of course, there are unrelated deaths: people are still starving, people are still getting older, people are still without proper healthcare, clean water and hygiene. Hate is still part of our lives. Depression and mental health is still running a muck — maybe even more so — as we are cooped up and forced to face our own thoughts and fears. Our personal demons are joining forces with some very real ones. And in many places, fear and chaos are becoming their leaders.

I’m hearing stories of good, hard working people getting knocked down by the overwhelming death toll. Refrigerated box cars becoming makeshift morgues. Mass graves being dug for the homeless and unnamed. Bodies are literally being dumped on the streets in some parts of the world. Day after day it’s all we see and hear about. It’s easy to see how those on the frontlines are quickly becoming bogged down by the pain and sorrow of it all. And then, how do you mourn? How can you comfort one another from a proper “social distance”? What happens when you cannot say “goodbye”? Closure is difficult from your phone screen. We have etiquette and social graces for death. We say the right things and send flowers and cards. But for so many? What is the response? I don’t know either.

I’m listening to the wind again. Trying, like Nicodemus in John 3, to figure out how God will use all this for His good. He will — because He loves us. It says so in that very same chapter: John 3:16. One of the first verses you learn. Even the football players and sports fans know it. It tells us the story of that fateful day so many centuries ago. The wind was there on Good Friday, too. It shook the houses and the windows rattled as the sky grew dark. The wind eventually will calm down again. Life will carry on and we will once again see that Hope of Easter Sunday. We have the Hope. It’s just a little bit hidden right now. Death was conquered permanently on that weekend. Have you been like Nicodemus, my friend? Trying to figure out what on Earth is going on when people speak of new birth, resurrection and that hope in this dark world? Why do we celebrate Easter weekend? Because of Faith in what is unseen — like the wind. We cannot predict it, like the curves on the covid 19 stats wall… or even death itself. It’s beyond our control. Faith is that big step into the unknown. Where the wind will then carry you.