A web quest designed by: Brian Stone & Rebecca Valero
| Intro | Task | Process | Resources | Conclusion |
Have you ever wondered why every time you eat salty foods, you get thirsty? Or why fresh vegetables tend to shrivel up when you sprinkle salt on them? The answer is simple. Salt is a desiccant - it helps remove water from things, including human bodies. In this activity, you will experiment with different salt compounds and discover which makes the best mummified apple.
Task (mummify an apple)
Your job is to turn an ordinary apple into a dried up piece of fruit resembling the way Ancient Egyptians would mummify a human body.
Materials
http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Tower/4636/egypt.htm#Mummify
http://www.crystalinks.com/mum.html
http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/mummificationinancientegypt.htm
| Collaborative Work Skills : Mummification | ||||
| Teacher:Rebecca Valero & Brian Stone | ||||
| Student Name: ________________________________________ | ||||
| CATEGORY | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Contributions | Routinely provides useful ideas when participating in the group and in classroom discussion. A definite leader who contributes a lot of effort. | Usually provides useful ideas when participating in the group and in classroom discussion. A strong group member who tries hard! | Sometimes provides useful ideas when participating in the group and in classroom discussion. A satisfactory group member who does what is required. | Rarely provides useful ideas when participating in the group and in classroom discussion. May refuse to participate. |
| Quality of Work | Provides work of the highest quality. | Provides high quality work. | Provides work that occasionally needs to be checked/redone by other group members to ensure quality. | Provides work that usually needs to be checked/redone by others to ensure quality. |
| Focus on the task | Consistently stays focused on the task and what needs to be done. Very self-directed. | Focuses on the task and what needs to be done most of the time. Other group members can count on this person. | Focuses on the task and what needs to be done some of the time. Other group members must sometimes nag, prod, and remind to keep this person on-task. | Rarely focuses on the task and what needs to be done. Lets others do the work. |
| Working with Others | Almost always listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others. Tries to keep people working well together. | Usually listens to, shares, with, and supports the efforts of others. Does not cause "waves" in the group. | Often listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others, but sometimes is not a good team member. | Rarely listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others. Often is not a good team player. |
| Date Created: Oct 13, 2003 09:05 pm (CDT) | ||||
To completely mummify the apple will take about a week, but check the apple after two days. Check again after four days. Does it surprise you to see how much moisture the apple has lost? Of course, being buried in plain salt would remove moisture. Natron, though, will also break down fats and oils; plain salt can't do that. According to an ancient Greek named Herodotus who visited Egypt and wrote about his discoveries, the process of embalming a body took about 70 days. The wrappings were added after the body was removed from the natron. When the students complete this process, they should have a finished product that will give them a more realistic view of how the Ancient Pharaohs appeared after the mummification process.