Are You Smarter Than a Sixth Grader?
Updated: Jan 21, 2022
Meet Ellie. She’s 11 and she attends school in Wayne, New Jersey where she enjoys, in particular, her science and math classes. The fact that there is an Ellie-of-sixth-grade-enjoying-STEM-enrichment is a testament to the fact that young girls can – and do! – like science, technology, engineering and math...if only they knew this were possible.
Ellie is a smart and confident kid. She’s so smart and confident that she has agreed to show off her smarts for JerseySTEM by challenging you, Reader, to a duel. Ellie will demonstrate her aptitude in instances of each of the four areas of STEM. Read along to see if you know as much as Ellie about science, technology, engineering or math.
Science
Question: What causes a tornado? (Think you know? Click the arrow at left to see Ellie’s answer.)
A tornado can happen when cold air and warm air collide in a thunderstorm. The warm air rises up from the ground and hits the cold air in the clouds. The warm air is moving faster than the cold air and the two temperatures prevent the air from moving together. This collision can result in swirling air.
It’s important to understand how the weather works. This can help you see the warning signs of bad weather and make safer choices.
Technology
Question: In Google Slides, how do you import a theme?
(Think you know? Click the arrow at left to see Ellie’s answer.)
When you’re using Google Slides and you want a special theme for your presentation, you click on the word “Theme” in the toolbar when you first create a new presentation. This opens a menu of options to choose from.
I like to use slidescarnival.com to find neat themes for my school presentations. I search and find a theme, then save it to my computer. Back in Slides, I can import that theme after clicking “Theme” – there’s an “Import Theme” button. Using a fun theme can make a presentation better to look
at, which helps the reader or audience learn more about your topic visually.
Engineering
Question: What is a closed circuit and how does it work?
(Think you know? Click the arrow at left to see Ellie’s answer.)
A closed circuit is power flowing through a conductor and back to the power source (like a battery). If the circuit is open, the energy won’t flow. The electrons from one end of the battery are attracted to the other end of the battery, which is why the electron conductor needs to be connected to both ends.
We learned how a closed circuit works using a battery, two wires and a lightbulb. We took one wire and connected it from the positive spot (the bump on one end of the battery) to the lightbulb. Then we connected another wire to the lightbulb and back to the negative part of the battery (the opposite end from the bump). Once closed, the lightbulb lit up. It only stayed lit when both wires provided a closed circuit.
Math
Question: What is seven eighths (7/8) in decimal form?
(Think you know? Click the arrow at left to see Ellie’s answer.)
The answer is 0.875. I got it by dividing 7.000 by 8. The fraction bar tells me I need to divide the top number by the bottom number. This helps me when I’m trying to figure out how much I need of something when I don’t need the whole. When I can put the number in decimal form, it’s easier to add, subtract or multiply it with other numbers.
⅞ = 0.875
We hope you’ve enjoyed testing your knowledge of sixth grade STEM concepts. Furthermore, we hope you’ve seen value in the Ellies of the world gaining access to STEM enrichment.
Ellie – who dreams of one day becoming a marine biologist and working to help whales and porpoises – is fortunate to have wonderful STEM classes and after school programs at her New Jersey school; but many girls aren’t that lucky. That’s why JerseySTEM works to provide mentoring and after school enrichment for middle school girls in underserved communities.
Join us! Thank you.