National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Synthesis of Nickel Nanowires
It's all about the scale—they're not just wires, they're nanowires! The second lesson plan of the series builds on the oxidation-reduction experiment in the first lesson plan. Scholars synthesize a sample of nanowires using electrolysis....
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Lab On A Slab
Capillary action is the frugal chemist's dream ... the less liquid used, the more tests they can run! Learners experiment with the best design to maximize the benefits of capillary action. Using a liquid sample, they design a capillary...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
The Effects of Colloidal Silver on Microbial Growth: Investigating Snake Oil Science
Can your classes solve the problem of the smelly sweat sock? Young scientists complete a lab investigation that begins by using electrochemistry to generate colloidal silver. They use their solutions to test the rate of microbial growth...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
The Micro and Macro World Around Us
Don't let your eyes play tricks on you ... use scale to keep your eyes in check! Young scholars observe images without scale and try to identify the structure. Then, they look at the same image with a scale bar and assess whether their...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
What’s In Your Neighborhood?
Chart your way to an understanding of nanoscale. Using a Google map, learners estimate a radius around their location of 1,000 and 1,000,000 meters. Predicting what 1,000,000,000 meters would look like takes them off the charts!...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Shrink Me!
The incredibly shrinking meter—decimeters to centimeters, to millimeters, and now to nanometers! Learners may have a difficult time visualizing particles on a nanoscale. Help them see a little clearer using a well-designed lesson that...
101 Questions
Class Height Distribution
A picture is worth a thousand words, and this is no exception! The introductory photo shows a group of classmates lined up in height categories; females and males are in different colors, and the shape of the curve they create is...
101 Questions
Abundant Aluminium
That would make a lot of cans! Learners analyze a photo of a truckload of aluminum to determine its value. The provided information includes the weight of a smaller block and the dimensions of the larger block. It's up to your pupils to...
101 Questions
Leap the Jeep
Will harm come to the child in the video? Find out by modeling the scenario mathematically! Learners represent the situation with a quadratic model before deciding on a maximum height and time the person is in the air. Too low or not...
101 Questions
Snow Day
Who doesn't like a snow day? Learners watch a snow accumulation over a span of 10 hours. They use that information to make a prediction of the total snow that fell during the 23-hour snowfall. Will it be enough to cancel school?
101 Questions
Blob Jump
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the case of the blob, that reaction is a trip several feet in the air! Learners begin by watching the world-record blob jump. They then analyze the flight of the person using...
101 Questions
Can-struction
Can you solve it?! A New York City art challenge involves making sculptures from cans. The task is to determine the number of cans used in the engineering award-winning sculpture. Scholars consider the patterns in the different layers to...
101 Questions
Jam Session
Don't let the learning in your classroom get jammed up! Intrigue your scholars with an open-ended scenario to explore. A video presentation shows a challenging stretch of road that is susceptible to traffic jams. The task is to determine...
101 Questions
Small Trebuchet
Travel back to medieval time where learning is just a stone's throw away! A video introduction shows a trebuchet (catapult-like machine) as it launches a rock into a lake. Learners use their quadratic modeling skills to predict the...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Hiding Behind the Mask
Microchips are a man-made wonder. Investigate the manufacturing wonder with a hands-on inquiry-based lesson. Scholars simulate the process of pattern transfer using photoresist. Their conclusion identifies how their process replicates...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
The Pinch Test
Test your pupils' understanding of the scale from macro to atomic. While displaying images of different materials, learners identify what they would need to make that material visible. Their choices range from the human eye to an...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Lactase Persistence: Evidence for Selection
What's the link between lactase persistence and dairy farming? Biology scholars analyze data to find evidence of the connection, then relate this to human adaptation. Working individually and in small groups, learners view short video...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Viral DNA Integration
How do reverse transcriptase inhibitors work? Young virologists examine the function of azidothymidine, a drug doctors use to treat HIV patients, during a hands-on modeling activity. Groups create a strand of DNA from an HIV RNA strand...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Developing an Explanation for Mouse Fur Color
Whether or not you think mice are nice, you'll love the colorful activity! Scholars examine evidence for evolution in the rock pocket mouse through video, discussion, and collaborative work. Learners watch a video regarding variation in...
Administrative Office of the US Courts
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier
Freedom of speech is not always free. Scholars investigate how the First Amendment provides for the right to express opinions. Through the court case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, they analyze free speech using primary documents—and hopefully...
American Psychological Association
Psychology Goes to Madison Avenue
As part of a study of well-known psychologists, class members create a name, a business logo, an advertisement for TV, online, radio, or print, and a pamphlet for the business run by one of the psychologists on a provided list. An...
American Psychological Association
Facebook Activity
Imagine if Sigmund Freud or Charles Darwin had a Facebook page. As part of a study of major historical figures in the field of psychology, class members are assigned a psychologist and design a mock Facebook page that includes such items...
American Psychological Association
Do Cookies/Donuts Improve Memory? Errors in Methodology
If the methodology is skewed, the results will be skewed. That's the takeaway from an exercise designed to get class members thinking about research methods and statistics gathering. Instructors manipulate the testing environment to...
American Psychological Association
Sampling or Assignment?
Each discipline has its own vocabulary, terms it uses to identify key concepts and processes. Sample, to psychologists, refers to those people (participants) a researcher is studying, while assignment refers to the treatment conditions...