Curated OER
Chemical Change
Fifth graders watch a demonstration in which a balloon is inflated using the gas created by combining vinegar and baking soda. Then, in groups, they combine various assigned substances and watch and record the results.
Curated OER
Solids, Liquids, and Gases
Students investigate and explore the three states of matter. They read and discuss the NASA article "The Engine That Does More," identify examples of each state of matter, and as a class complete a section of two worksheets. They...
Curated OER
What is an Atom?
Third graders understand that the smallest particle is an atom. In this matter lesson, 3rd graders make a piece of aluminum smaller and smaller to see that what's left is still aluminum. Students recognize that cutting into smaller...
Curated OER
Emulsions
Students identify the characteristics and composition of emulsions. In this chemistry lesson, students classify household products according to emulsion type. They explain how to make the best emulsion.
Curated OER
Fluid Thinking About Liquids and Solids
Second graders examine the physical characteristics of the different states of matter. In this chemistry lesson plan, 2nd graders observe how matter changes from one phase to another. They classify substances according to its type of...
Curated OER
What's the Matter with My Snow?
Students collect snow samples around their school. They explore the concepts of density and phase change as well as the math skills of measurement and statistics. Students explore the water cycle through an interactive, down loadable...
Curated OER
SAFETY KNOWLEDGE BASE CHANGES
Students research and formulate a hypothesis for research to correlate changing safety regulations in regards to personal and environmental safety polices for storage, handling and disposal of chemicals, risk involved in hazardous...
Curated OER
Convection Activities
Students conduct a series of hands-on activities to demonstrate that heated air expands and that warm air rises because it is less dense.
Curated OER
Warming by Freezing
Ninth graders discover the reasoning behind spraying water on fruit and seedlings in preparation for hard freezes. In this conceptual physics activity, 9th graders conduct an experiment to measure the heat released when water goes from a...
Curated OER
Snack Attack: Food Packaging Activity
Students design and create packaging material for food. In this snack attack lesson, students design a package to protect a food item from heat and water. Students consider costs of materials, design, and test the package to see if it is...
Curated OER
Matter
Learners complete a unit of activities to learn about states of matter and how to measure matter. For this matter lesson, students complete 8 lessons to learn about matter, its states, and how to measure matter.
Curated OER
Activity #6 'Nothing' Matters: A Demonstration
Students observe the 'pouring' of a gas. They compare the masses (weights) and densities of two gases. Pupils define the following terms: matter, mass, and density. Students answer questions after watching the demonstration.
Curated OER
What Changes Occur When Ice Melts?
Students explore the physical process of melting. They observe melting ice and answer questions related to energy transfer during phase changes.
Discovery Education
Cool It!
Adjust the melting time of ice without varying the temperature! Learners experiment with different materials to decide how the materials affect the rate an ice cube melts. They then connect their findings to the conductivity of each...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Carbon, Greenhouse Gases, and Climate
Climate models mathematically represent the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land, sun, surface, and ice. Part two in the series of four lessons looks at the role greenhouse gases play in keeping Earth warm and has participants...
LABScI
Freezing Point Depression: Why Don’t Oceans Freeze?
Can you go ice fishing in the ocean? Learners examine the freezing point of different saltwater solutions. Each solution has a different concentration of salt. By comparing the freezing points graphically, they make conclusions...
Curated OER
Mass vs. Weight
Why do you weigh more in space? Each individual in your class explores this question and others as they determine the mass and weight of different objects using two types of scales. They perform conversions and discuss their...
University of Colorado
Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn?
In the 19th activity of 22, learners determine if distance from a light source affects photosynthesis. Participants capture oxygen in straws and find that the amount of water the gas displaces is proportional to the rate of photosynthesis.
University of Colorado
Happy Landings: A Splash or a Splat?
Huygens spacecraft landed on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005, making it the farthest landing from Earth ever made by a spacecraft. For this hands-on activity, the 12th installment of 22, groups explore how density affects speed. To do this,...
American Chemical Society
Crushing Test
Solidify understanding of the properties of crystals by crushing them to compare hardness. After some class discussion, a procedure is planned, and then small groups go about making observations as they crush five different crystal...
University of Colorado
Terra Bagga
One way to identify possible volcanic activity on other planets is by testing the planet for magnetism. A science lesson begins with pupils constructing their own planet from a dead battery, magnets, paper, and tape before labeling...
Science Matters
Energy Transfer and Transformation
When you take a simple task and create an exceptionally difficult way to complete it, it is known as a Rube Goldberg machine. These machines are filled with many types of energy transfers and energy transformations. Here, pupils...
NASA
Cosmic Microwave Background
Begin your next class with a BANG! Pupils discuss the formation of our universe and its expansion before proceeding with an activity designed to demonstrate what most likely occurred billions of years ago. They conclude with a discussion...
California Academy of Science
Earthquakes and Tectonic Plates
Here is a comprehensive package in which middle schoolers learn about types of seismic waves, triangulation, and tectonic plate boundaries. Complete vocabulary, colorful maps, and a worksheet are included via links on the webpage. You...