Change Checks on the Riverboat

Two Tests Before the Boat Trip

A riverboat carries visitors between two towns. Before a trip, its baker, Imani, prepares chocolate-covered pretzels. She records two tests. An adult handles the oven, hot trays, and warm bowls. Children read the notes instead of touching or tasting the materials.

First, Imani puts hard chocolate buttons in a bowl. She gently warms the bowl. The chocolate becomes liquid and runs from a spoon. She spreads it into a thin sheet and leaves it in the cool cabin. Later, the chocolate is hard and does not flow. Nothing was added to the chocolate or taken away.

Next, Imani makes two equal strips from the same pretzel dough. Both are pale and soft. She leaves one strip uncooked in the cabin. She bakes the other strip in the oven. The baked strip becomes brown and firm.

Imani lets the baked strip cool to cabin temperature. Then she compares both strips by gently pressing each with a spoon. The uncooked strip is still pale and soft. The baked strip is still brown and firm. She records the color and firmness after cooling, not just while the strip is hot.