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    Haf 6

    What is Mummification?

    LO:To make observations

    make a mummy

     

    Imagine you are an Ancient Egyptian embalmer. You have been asked to preserve a body for the afterlife, but you can only choose one of these substances.

    • Salt

    • Water

    • Vinegar

     

    • Which would you choose?

    • Which would preserve something best?

    • Which would cause something to rot fastest?

    • Why?

    Before we start, let's do a little research. Using the Mummification tab on your J2E account, the research booklets and videos, gather all the information you can before making your prediction. 

     

    Scientific Question

    How does the substance surrounding an apple affect its decomposition?

    We are going to place each apple slice in one of our substances, salt, water or vinegar. 

    Variables

    Independent Variable

    What we will change:

    The substance surrounding the apple.

    • Salt

    • Water

    • Vinegar

     

    Dependent Variable

    What we will observe and measure:

    The condition of the apple.

    • Colour

    • Texture

    • Smell

    • Visible decomposition

     

    Control Variables

    Keep the same:

    • Type of apple

    • Size of apple slices

    • Containers

    • Amount of substance

    • Location

    • Length of time

     

    Prediction 

    • I think __________ will preserve the apple best.

    • I think __________ will rot the fastest.

    • I think __________ will change the most.

    • I think __________ will change the least.

     

    • I predict that __________ will preserve the apple best because __________.

    • I predict that the apple in __________ will decompose more slowly because __________.

    • I think __________ will cause the most decomposition because __________.

    • I predict that __________ will have the greatest effect on the apple because __________.

     

    • I predict that the apple surrounded by __________ will have the lowest decomposition score because __________.

    • I predict that as the apple is exposed to __________, the rate of decomposition will __________ because __________.

    • I think the apple in __________ will show the least change as microorganisms require __________ to survive.

    • Based on my understanding of preservation, I predict that __________ will be the most effective because

     

     

    Observations 

    How do we record how the apple decomposes?

    We could use a decomposition score like the one below.

    We should check the slices of apples each day to see if they have changed and record our decomposition score for each day. 

     

     

    Conclusion 

    • I found out that __________.

    • The apple in __________ changed the most.

    • The apple in __________ changed the least.

    • My prediction was right/wrong because __________.

    • I noticed that __________.

    • The best preservative was __________.

     

    • The results showed that __________.

    • I found out that __________ preserved the apple best.

    • The apple in __________ had the highest/lowest decomposition score.

    • My prediction was correct/incorrect because __________.

    • I think this happened because __________.

     

    • The results demonstrate that __________.

    • The evidence suggests that __________ was the most effective preservative because __________.

    • A clear pattern can be seen in the results because __________.

    • The data shows that when the apple was surrounded by __________, decomposition __________.

    • This investigation supports the idea that __________.

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