Teach Engineering
Floaters and Sinkers
Whatever floats your boat. Young engineers learn about density by measuring the masses and volumes of boxes filled with different materials. Using their knowledge of densities, they hypothesize whether objects with given densities will...
Chemistry Collective
Virtual Lab: Alcohol Density Problem
Assume the role of Canadian border control! The percent of alcohol and density of a solution are related. Young scholars use this fact to classify solutions by their alcohol content to determine if they meet Canadian import laws.
Chemistry Collective
Virtual Lab: Identifying an Unknown Liquid from its Density
Mislabeled bottles can cause a dangerous situation! Young chemists design a method for determining the true contents of a solution in a virtual lab activity. Their study of density helps them identify the makeup of the solution.
Chemistry Collective
Virtual Lab: Identifying the Unknown Metal (Metals Density Problem)
A metal's density could be considered its fingerprint! A virtual lab activity has learners calculate the density of a sample of metal to make its identification. The simulation allows individuals to perform the measurements as if they...
Chemistry Collective
Virtual Lab: Cola and Sucrose Concentration Problem
Recreate the secret Coca-Cola formula in a virtual lab. Young scholars create the solution and then calculate sucrose concentrations in terms of percent mass, molarity, molality, and mole fraction. Then using density, learners determine...
Colorado State University
Can Gravity Push Something Up?
How does a hot air balloon fly? An experimental lesson has scholars build a balloon from a garbage bag and monitor the movement of air. As the temperature of the air in the balloon increases, gravity moves the denser cool air down,...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Gimli Glider—Anecdotes for Chemistry Teachers
What's the moral of this story? Units save lives! Teach measurement conversion through storytelling in a quick math-based lesson. Young scientists learn how one country's decision to swap from imperial to metric standard units caused an...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Alloys
What are alloys, and why do we use them? Through a series of interactive puzzles, scholars examine the components and uses of several common alloys. The accompanying teacher's resources provide support in using the lesson, printable...
Cornell University
Density
Certain things just do not mix, including liquids of varying densities. Learners collect data to determine the densities of several liquids. They then use the density information to predict the type of liquid.
Beyond Benign
Packed Up Properties
Determine physical properties of potential packaging materials. Continuing from previous lessons in the series, the resource asks groups to identify physical properties of the substances. They test for conductivity, solubility, water...
Cornell University
Casting
Don't cast a great hands-on resource aside! Scholars learn about the process of casting by actually trying out an example. Plaster of Paris and cookie cutter molds help them complete the activity.
NOAA
A Quest for Anomalies
Sometimes scientists learn more from unexpected findings than from routine analysis! Junior oceanographers dive deep to explore hydrothermal vent communities in the fourth lesson in a series of five. Scholars examine data and look for...
NOAA
The Oceanographic Yo-yo
How does chemistry help deep-sea explorers? Part four of a five-part series of lessons from aboard the Okeanos Explorer introduces middle school scientists to technologies used in ocean exploration. Groups work together to analyze data...
NOAA
What's a CTD?
Why are the properties of the water important when exploring the ocean? Young scientists discover the tools and technology used in deep sea exploration in the fourth installment in a five-part series. Groups work together to examine...
Florida International University
Simulating Microgravity with Buoyancy
How do astronauts know how to live and work in a weightless environment? It doesn't come naturally! Junior physicists conduct experiments to examine the link between buoyancy and microgravity. Each activity illustrates a different aspect...
Polar Trec
Nature's Density Column
Nature provides density columns in the polar regions that provides food for many animals. Young scientists build their own density columns with water in order to answer analysis questions. Through a slideshow presentation, scholars...
University of Southern California
Design and Test an Air Lift Siphon
Build an air lift siphon using your mad physics skills! Learners first investigate the importance of circulating water in aquaponics systems. They then use density to their advantage as they engineer an air lift siphon
NOAA
A Matter of Density
Larvae transportation on the New England seamounts is based on the density of the water. Scholars calculate density and graph salinity versus temperature to better understand the distribution of organisms in a water column. Discussions...
American Physiological Society
How Does the Density of a Liquid Affect the Buoyancy of an Object?
Here's a lesson plan that will really float your boat! Introduce physical science scholars to the relationship between buoyancy and density through an assortment of individual and collaborative exercises. Lab groups work together to...
Columbus City Schools
What is Up Th-air? — Atmosphere
Air, air, everywhere, but what's in it, and what makes Earth's air so unique and special? Journey through the layers above us to uncover our atmosphere's composition and how it works to make life possible below. Pupils conduct research...
Columbus City Schools
Planet X
How did the earth become the mass that it is now? Your young scientists explore this question through the concept of density. Their inquiries consider the impact of gravity on the formation of planets. The culminating activity of the...
CK-12 Foundation
Hot Oven
Why does the air in a hot oven not burn skin, but metal in the oven does? The simulation focuses on the difference between temperature and thermal energy and the way these are transferred. Scholars adjust the temperature of an oven and...
Columbus City Schools
Keeping It Hot!
Hot off the presses, this collection of thermal energy activities, lessons, and printables is sure to amaze. Demonstrate how thermal energy moves about in a system using simple materials. Pupils demonstrate their understanding...
NOAA
Please Pass the Salt
Salinity is the focus of two experimenters that work to answer the question, How does salt change the physical properties of water? Super scientists compare the freezing rate of salt and fresh water, combine the two waters to observe how...