Today, i was teaching the Year 8's and it was time to demonstrate sodium reacting with water (again, for the second class). I was feeling confident after wednesday's extravaganva, so i was expecting it all to run smoothly.
The girls had their goggles on, the lights were dimmed. i struggled to get a peice of sodium out of the jar, and the girls were waiting in anticipation. eventually i managed to take out a piece of sodium, i cut a 'small' piece off and put it in the water.
it wizzed around, then caught alit, then it all went terribly wrong. the sodium started to splatter up and out of the large beaker, landing on my and the girls bench. it was like a small fireworks display, small fireballs flying into the air. some even melted the side of the sink. there was a small amount of smoke, and i asked the girls to exit out the back door. after a few minutes, the girls were asked to come back inside and explained how that was not supposed to happen. the girls were absolutely thrilled, asking 'can you do that again'......'no way' i said. some even said that they will never forget that....... so i have left my mark on the girls and also on the sink in the science lab.
the moral of the story is: miss bron should be a bit more careful when trying to make science fun, using sodium.
3 comments:
Oh Dear! Now at least all your kids will have a good sodium story....that topic comes up from time to time and your girls will be well prepared!
A very generous act, sacrificing yourself so that your girls could have a bit of excitement and a ripper of a story to take home!
I think it has to happen to each teacher at least once. It's like a rite of passage.
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