Color Mixing

AUTHOR: Sue Fischer; Cheney, WA

GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: K-3 Science

OVERVIEW:

 Science needs to be integrated and hands-on right from the beginning of school. Students need to get used to handling the tools and materials of science as well as learn scientific method and how science is a part of almost everything.

PURPOSE:

 This lesson introduces 1st - 3rd graders to the idea of scientific experimentation - data collection, hypothesis forming, and trial and error.

OBJECTIVES: At the conclusion of this lesson the student will know:

1. The primary colors, red, blue, and yellow
2. How these colors mix to make other colors
3. How to use a simple data chart.

1. 6 baby food jars or equivalent for each group
2. four or more straws (thin ones work best) for each group
3. three test tubes or equivalent for each group
4. large bottle of red, blue, and yellow food coloring
5. sponges to clean up spills water
6. bucket for waste if no sink
7. data sheet for each group

• Students work in groups of two to three (or one large group if no one can write except the teacher) to brainstorm as many colors as possible. Research may be done at this point by looking in crayon boxes, dictionaries, wallpaper books- whatever resources are available if a group cannot think of at least thirty colors.
• Each group then gets:
1. Baby food jars with the following contents:
2. 1 - red food colored water
3. 2 - blue food colored water
4. 3 - yellow food colored water
5. 4 - plain water
6. 5 - empty ( for dumping waste)
7. 6 - empty ( for holding test tubes)
8. Four straws
9. Three test tubes, along with many admonitions about the fragility of said test tubes (baby food jars can be substituted for the test tubes, but you will need 6 times as much food coloring.)
• Using the straw as a pipette, students put drops of colored water from the baby food jars into the test tubes to make different colors. Allow ten to fifteen minutes for exploration.
• When everyone has had a chance to play and experiment on their own, introduce the data sheet. On this sheet each group records how many drops of each color it takes to make a new color. Some will need to record the drops of each color and then write what color they made, some will be ready to hypothesize what it will take to make a certain color. The activity can be continued for older students by having groups exchange sheets and try to replicate others' colors.

 At the end of the time, groups share prettiest, ugliest, and most unusual colors they made and tell how they made them. Only colors with formulas may be discussed. Ask who might do this task for a living and why. How will what they learned today help with any other tasks they might encounter in school or at home?

May 1994

These lesson plans are the result of the work of the teachers who have attended the Columbia Education Center's Summer Workshop. CEC is a consortium of teacher from 14 western states dedicated to improving the quality of education in the rural, western, United States, and particularly the quality of math and science Education. CEC uses Big Sky Telegraph as the hub of their telecommunications network that allows the participating teachers to stay in contact with their trainers and peers that they have met at the Workshops.