 Subject
Science
Visual Arts
Objectives
The student will:
- Gather pertinent information using senses
other than vision.
- Cooperate with other students to confer and
test theories.
- Make inferences about the layout of something
that has not been seen.
- Sketch an unseen pattern using the information
that has been obtained.
Materials
Tall boxes—one for every 3-4 students. (Shoes
boxes standing on end, or large-size cereal boxes
may be used)
Narrow strips of cardboard to build a pattern inside
the box
Tape
Scissors
String
Small screw
Paper
Pencil
Background
Much of the real action of Old Faithful and other
geysers occurs underground where it cannot readily
be seen. Because scientists often cannot see into
the interior of the Earth, they make inferences
on how it functions using different methods.
In 1984, researchers inserted a small probe into
the plumbing system of Old Faithful during the
period when the geyser’s conduit was refilling
with water. The probe, lowered by feel into the
geyser’s vent, was able to record temperatures
and pressure at 10 foot intervals, and provided
valuable information, including important clues
as to what takes place “behind the scenes”
at Old Faithful.
Building upon this precedent, researchers were
able to lower a tiny video camera into the geyser’s
vent in the 1990s, verifying the layout and recording
images of the upper 45 feet (13.7 meters) of the
geyser’s plumbing system.
Procedure
The instructor will:
- Share the Background information with the
students.
- Divide students into groups of three or four
persons.
- Provide each student group with a box, strips
of cardboard, and tape.
- Inform students to open the boxes and create
a “plumbing system” inside the box
using the strips of cardboard. The only requirements
of the plumbing system are that: a) there must
be a vertical channel large enough in all places
for the string with its attached screw to pass
the length of the box (although the width of
the channel can and should vary), and b) the
channel should not be composed of so straight
a path from top to bottom that the screw will
fall directly to the bottom of the box.
- Direct the students to reseal the boxes with
tape after creating the pattern, and then cut
a small hole in the top of their boxes, coinciding
with the start of the vertical channel. The
students should then present the sealed boxes
to the instructor.
- Distribute the boxes in a way that insures
that each group is presented with a box that
its members did not create.
- Present each student group with a screw and
string equal to or greater in length than their
boxes. Direct students to tie one end of the
string firmly around the screw.
- Direct the students to lower the screw attached
to the string into the “vent” of
the box and try to discern the layout of the
box’s “plumbing system.”
- Instruct student to sketch the “plumbing
system” of their box, based on the information
they have obtained through use of the string
and screw.
- Instruct students to open their boxes and
observe the pattern inside the box, discussing
similarities and differences between their inferences
and the box’s actual layout.
Assessment
Charting
the Unseen Rubric (pdf) |
