Curated OER
Physical Science Project-Atom
Fifth graders investigate atoms. In this atom instructional activity, 5th graders investigate the parts of an atom. Students explore atom numbers and determine the number of electrons is in each atom.
Curated OER
Boot Reer Root Beer
Fifth graders investigate chemical reactions. In this physical science activity, 5th graders make dry ice root beer and identify the type of change that occurs to the root beer mixture.
Curated OER
Elements and the Periocic Table
Eighth graders draw the structure of an atom. They construct atomic models, list parts/locations of an atom, organize parts of the periodic table and write a descriptive report about an element.
Curated OER
Static Electricity and Lightning
Students study concepts related to static electricity, based on a single example: lightning. They explain how static electricity, lightning, and sparks are all related phenomena. They draw a diagram illustrating the negative and positive...
Curated OER
The Big Bang
Fifth graders relate the elements in the human body to those produced during a supernova. In this space science and chemistry lesson, 5th graders listen to a lecture and view visuals about the big bang. They relate the production of...
American Chemical Society
Air, It's Really There
Love is in the air? Wrong — nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide are in the air. The final lesson in the series of five covers the impact of temperature on gases. Scholars view a demonstration of gas as a type of matter before performing...
Cornell University
Atomic Bonding
Explore the connection of surface area to bonding within atoms. Learners complete lab investigations to model changing surface area with different sizes and concentrations of atoms. A flour fireball demonstration follows the labs to...
Cornell University
The Science of Snowflakes
Who can grow the best crystals? Challenge class members to develop strategies for enhancing growth in the crystals. Through a lab investigation, learners study the properties of crystals and test the effectiveness of different...
University of California
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Calories are not tiny creatures that sew your clothes tighter every night, but what are they? A science lesson, presented at multiple levels, has learners experiment with heat, heat transfer, and graph the function over time....
NASA
Development of a Model: Analyzing Elemental Abundance
How do scientists identify which elements originate from meteorites? Scholars learn about a sample of material found in a remote location, analyzing the sample to determine if it might be from Earth or not. They study elements, isotopes,...
Curated OER
Atomic Structure
Students list the names and symbols of common elements. They describe the present model of the atom. Students describe how electrons are arranged in an atom. They identify quarks as particles of matter that make up protons and...
Curated OER
It's Just a Phase: Water as Solid, Liquid and Gas
Students construct models of the way water molecules arrange themselves in three physical states - solid, liquid, and gas. They explain the molecular behavior of ice, water, and water vapor.
Curated OER
Hot Cans and Cold Cans
Learners investigate the physics of heating and cooling through conduction, convection, and radiation. Working in groups, they determine the best way to cool a can of water and warm a can of water. Temperature is taken at five minute...
Curated OER
Teaching Radioactive Decay: Radioactive Half-life And Dating Techniques
Young scholars generate a radioactive decay table for an imaginary element using a box filled with pinto beans and M&M's. They use their data to plot a decay graph, develop the concept of half-life, and use the graph to "age" several...
Curated OER
Space: Our Star, the Sun, and Its Friends, the Planets
Students examine the solar system. In this space lesson, students identify the order of the planets and their relative size to the sun. Students create a scale model of our solar system using a variety of household objects.
Curated OER
Classifying Matter Game
Pupils identify the different states of matter. In this chemistry lesson, students differentiate the physical properties of the three states. They apply what they learned by playing a team game at the end of the lesson.
Curated OER
Atoms, Kinetic Theory, Solids and Fluids
Students identify and describe the building blocks that make up an atom. They also compare the ages of atoms to the ages of the materials they compose,as well as, give examples that illustrate the small size of atoms.
Curated OER
The Periodic Table of the Elements
High schoolers investigate the origin of the modern periodic table of elements, and explore an interactive version that teaches them how to extract information from it.
Curated OER
How Can You Study Things You Can’t See Like: Atoms?
Students simulate how scientists studied things they can't see like atoms. In this chemistry lesson, students predict what is inside the numbered obsertainers. They design a way to investigate what's inside without opening it.
LABScI
Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table of Elements: The Secret Agent Lab
Food always gets attention! Model atomic structure using fruit loops to represent the subatomic particles. After building models, scholars create ionic bonds using their models. Finally, they use these concepts to create a periodic...
Cornell University
Light Waves: Grades 6-8
Explore the behavior of light with different materials. Collaborative groups determine whether certain materials absorb, reflect, diffract, or transmit light waves. They then measure the angle of incidence and angle of reflection.
American Chemical Society
The Same Parts Can Make Many Objects
Snap to it! Young experimenters use Snap Cubes to model how a larger object is created from a smaller parts. Using a guide, they rearrange their cubes to create all possible arrangements of four and five cubes.
American Chemical Society
Mixing Liquids to Identify an Unknown Liquid
Yellow and blue make green in a colorful instructional activity on liquid solutions. The seventh installment of a 16-part Inquiry to Action series asks pupils to mix different-colored solutions and record their observations. They then...
Curated OER
How Does a Liquid Become a Solid?
Students explore the energy changes from a liquid to a solid. They model the arrangement of a solid and the change in states due to changes in energy using desks and chairs. Assessment questions are provided in lesson plan.