What a fun way to review the year's learning! Working in small groups, learners select a major concept covered in class then create a game about it. The type of game is up to each group, but the expectations of what should be included...

In a mock senate hearing regarding the development of ethanol as a fuel source, each person in the class is assigned a role to play and must uphold the stance of their character. Once the senate hearing is complete, each person writes a...

From gas to liquid condensation to solid frost, water undergoes phase changes before students' eyes! Using ice, salt, water, and a metal can, they set up an investigation that can be used in a physical science setting, or as part of a...

If the area you live in is arid, or the preceding experiment in this unit didn't yield obvious results, use this one in place of it to help reveal where condensation comes from. The mini unit that this is part of a comprehensive...

As a stand-alone or as part of the intended unit, this is a valid investigation of what causes condensation to occur.  By limiting the amount of air around a cold cup of water and comparing it to one out in the open, they find that...

Start this mini unit on matter out by demonstrating how food coloring behaves when placed in cold and in hot water. Then have the class experiment with warm water and soap film. Pupils will learn that an increase in thermal energy also...

Physical or earth scientists construct this clever contraption to demonstrate how size effects frequency. Several paper rings of various sizes are taped onto a board and shaken to create vibrations. The resonant frequencies are easily...

Toss 100 pennies (or poker chips or any other two-different-sided objects) and remove all of those displaying tails. Line them up and repeat. The lines of pennies collected get smaller each time, successfully representing half-life.

Using a pinhole in an index card, learners of light find that it can be used as a magnifier. 

By overlapping combs and window screening and by looking at a printed set of consecutively larger circles, learners observe Moire patterns, which provide a visual of what happens during wave interference. 

It's time to break the ice! If you are doing all of the lessons in the unit, children have already seen that increasing heat increases the rate of evaporation, but is the opposite true? Does decreasing temperature cause more condensation...

This is one in several lessons that explore the relationship between temperature and phase changes of water. After some discussion, elementary physical scientists place wet paper toweling on a hot and a room-temperature water bag...

Make sure to consult the teacher's handbook, Inquiry in Action - Investigating Matter Through Inquiry, for two demonstrations that can be done to introduce solubility and measuring crystal mass before having the class conduct this...

Here is the first of four experiments to differentiate among unknown liquids by their behaviors and properties. Pupils observe how different liquids respond to being placed on plastic and paper, and they take notes about their...

Dare your class to drive dissolved carbon dioxide out of carbonated liquid at different temperatures to discover if there is a difference in rate. To make this experiment more sound, have explorers use equally measured amounts of soda...

Not many youngsters realize that solids aren't the only materials that can possibly be dissolved in water. During this investigation, they find out that some liquids can dissolve in water as well. This is part of a unit on solubility,...

Stir chocolate drink mix into hot and cold water to see if there is a difference in how quickly it dissolves. Number three in a six-lesson unit on dissolving, this installment investigates the effect of temperature. If you consult the...

Second of six lessons in a unit on dissolving, this one focuses on how sugar behaves in different liquids. Learners stir it into water, alcohol, and oil and make observations. This lesson can stand alone, but is best used as part of the...

Physical science investigators mix sugar and food coloring into different cups of water and cooking oil to compare how the solid and liquid behave in each. As the introduction to this unit on dissolving, it is relevant.

Once investigators have learned how their mystery liquids interact with water during the preceding activity, they now use their observations to identify them. This is an ideal conclusion to the mini unit on the properties of water. 

Blue-tinted water is added to unknown liquids that have been tinted yellow to find out how they interact. This is a memorable activity that is part of an investigation on the properties of liquids, which is part of a unit on the...

Crystallize the answer to the question that has been investigated since the first of four lessons: What is the unknown crystal? Pupils have examined, crushed, and dissolved four samples plus an unknown as an exploration of the properties...

Crystals are more than meets the eye! Can learners tell them apart simply by observation? As they examine five samples with a magnifier, they find that appearance alone is not enough. This serves as an introduction to a mini unit on...

The first in a six-lesson mini unit, all using M&Ms® candies, this physical science activity gets kids to observe a single piece and discover what happens when it is placed in a plate of water. The activity can be used to...