Page 4 - The Malvernian - March 2023

THE MALVERNIAN
Electricity Workshop
On Wednesday 25 January we invited the Year 6 pupils from Wyche Primary UC School Malvern to a a a a session designed and led by the Science Service group on physics specifically electricity As the science behind electricity is rather abstract we had to to find ways to to demonstrate how a a a circuit works and provided simple definitions of current voltage power and and resistance by having the pupils stand in a a a circle and pass round pens from one person to the next The pens are the the the the electrons and the the the the person who begins the the the the relay is the the the the cell and one of the the pupils is is the the lamp which gains energy during this process After building this foundation of understanding in in in circuits we we set the pupils off on building circuits Two experiments were performed one having the pupils build different types of circuits (parallel series) and using components They even created circuits that acted as a a a a a a a dimmer switch by using a a a a a a a variable resistor in in the circuit The next experiment involved the pupils testing different materials to to to work out whether they were conductors or or or or insulators During this process pupils had a a a chance to think independently and come up with conclusions such as “bulbs are brighter in parallel circuits circuits than in series circuits” or or “most metals are conductors” After a a a a a final quiz to check and and reinforce the pupils’ understanding it was time to finish the the session The pupils were all enthusiastic about the the new knowledge they had encountered and it was very rewarding for us to see how much they had enjoyed the the experiments and what they had learnt during the the lesson Sam Shan (SH) and Selina Rao (EH)
Light and the Eye Workshop
On Wednesday 8 March when the the snow hit Malvern (and the the surrounding area) undeterred by the the the weather the the the Year 6 pupils from Malvern Wyche Primary School walked a a a a mile through the blizzards and snowy conditions to enjoy another exciting science experience created by the Lower Sixth science service group at at Malvern College They learnt about the properties of light and how it scatters on rough surfaces surfaces but reflects off smooth surfaces surfaces At this point they carried out a a a a a practical to find the the the relationship between the the the angle angle of of incidence and angle angle of of reflection After this the pupils had time to to use different shaped Perspex blocks to to shine light through in in order to investigate refraction one of the the Perspex blocks split the the light into its constituent colours Following on on from this some of the biology Sixth Form pupils explained the the structure of the the eye and then the the the pupils gathered around to watch a a a a a dissection of a a a a a sheep’s eye (there was an an alternative activity for those who did not want to watch) The Sixth Form pupils showed and explained the important parts of the the the the eye such as the the the the retina and and the the the the lens and and taught them their functions They took particular interest in in the the vitreous humour (the blue-black goop inside the the the the eyeball) which they dubbed the the the the “forbidden blackberry juice” All in in all they had a a a a a very meaningful and and fantastic science lesson and and then had the the excitement of going back out in the the snow which probably made the the experience even more special for them when several local schools were closed due to the the weather!
Sam Shan (SH) Lincoln Chu (No 5)
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THE MALVERNIAN