Sunday, October 10, 2010

The Mystery Tree Revealed - Fall Science For Children





While we were away, at the beginning of week, the leaves on our mystery tree began to change color. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, click here to go back to Fall Science Part Two, or Part Three.

We were quite happy to see we weren't too far off with our predictions, for the fall colors. First, we had thought the leaves would be orange, or possibly even brownish. Then, we modified that to a golden orange, and that is where we stayed.


The leaves are a golden orange, though perhaps more streaked with color than we thought they would be. Below is a picture of the some of the leaves by a yellow, aspen leaf, to give you a better idea of the color.


Of course, after we identified the tree as a boxelder tree (a type of maple, that has leaves that look somewhat like an ash tree), I had looked it up, and found the leaves can turn anything from yellow, to orange, depending on the weather (more rain, more yellow), or soil conditions.

I have to say this series of experiments, and trying to use them to predict unknown results, has been a lot of fun. You can find more science related fun, at this week's Science Sunday link-up, at Adventure's in Mommydom.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

8 comments:

Phyllis said...

Yeah! I love it. That was so much fun!

Debbie said...

Great science experiment, I love the way you stretched this out like you did. My guess was not correct. I was thinking more along the line of a birch tree so even I learned something new here too!

MaryAnne said...

What a great long-term science activity!

Christy Killoran said...

I thought this science experiment was so much fun. I felt like I was playing along!!!

Natalie PlanetSmarty said...

Yeah - the mystery is revealed - what an awesome science project for all ages.

Unknown said...

Good for you guys for sticking to this experiment, and having so much fun along the way! Thank you for sharing.

Ticia said...

That seriously was so incredibly cool!

Anonymous said...

I love a good mystery, especially when it gets solved! I bet you guys had a great time with this.