Scoreboard Samples: Identify the Materials

A Delivery at the Softball Field

The community softball field is getting a new scoreboard. Before any parts are chosen, a supplier sends a kit of small material samples. Some samples have name labels, but others have only letter labels. A science club investigates the samples at a table beside the field. The club will compare the lettered samples with five known materials: steel, aluminum, copper, clear acrylic plastic, and pine wood.

An adult provides smooth blocks with no sharp edges. Every block has the same size and shape. The blocks have no paint or other coating. First, the club dries each block and measures its mass with a balance. The students record mass to the nearest gram. Next, they bring the same magnet equally close to each block. They record whether the magnet pulls the block. They also place each block in front of the same lamp and record whether light passes through it.

For the water test, the students place each block in its own cup of room-temperature water. They use the same amount of water and leave every block in the water for ten minutes. Afterward, they lift out each block and gently blot water from its surface in the same way. They immediately measure its mass again. The increase from its dry mass is recorded as its water gain. A gain of zero means the balance detected no increase under these test conditions.

The students test the known materials twice and get the same results both times. Their reference table appears below. They then follow the same steps with the lettered samples. The supplier says each lettered block is one of the five reference materials. Students must check the whole set of results before attaching a name label. The club records observations instead of guessing from where a material might be used. No one opens or tests the scoreboard itself.