Term II, Part II: Science that Smells (Like Sandalwood and Manliness)

I’m continuing to work through my Term II assignment, and having a blast with it, though the sheen will come off once I pick up the laptop and focus more on, you know, writing the darn thing.

This morning, I did the last major piece I needed for my project, a sink and float experiment. A few of the highlights:

1. I told my student yesterday that we could test any objects that he wanted to bring in. I mostly asked so I could gauge his level of interest; would he even remember? He did: he brought a bottle of Axe Body Spray.
2. He was quite surprised by several results, which was probably the outcome I was most hoping for. For example, he expected that a glass bottle would sink (because he’s used to glass sinking in his dish sink), but was surprised when it floated – then decided to test how many pennies he could add to make it sink. He was surprised again when the empty bottle sank, and quickly decided the plastic cap was the reason it had floated initially – only to make it a new cap out of clay (which sank), which shocked him by making it float again.
3. I’m just reviewing my transcript, and am delighted by the number of exclamation points – the student has a voice which is often quite monotone, but he certainly got quite animated while experimenting.
4. I asked if he had ever done an experiment before; “No,” he told me, then corrected himself. One time, he “mixed lemon juice and relish, and milk. It turned orange!” And yes, he told me, it eventually got lumpy too.

Like I said last week, it’s a luxury to be able to spend so much time working one-on-one with a single student, especially in a class as large as ours, and get to really explore their personality and interests. Even if those interests include Anarchy for Him™ Axe Body Spray. Especially so?