Curated OER
The Chemistry of Life
Students study atoms and chemical compounds. They identify certain elements essential to human health, describe physical and chemical properties of water, and name four types of polymers unique to all life forms. They explain how each...
Curated OER
Hazardous Chemicals in Your Neighborhood
Students examine the effect of hazardous chemicals on humans. They discover how the chemicals are cleaned up and the facilities in their neighborhood. They identify federal and local agencies that oversee environmental hazards
Beyond Benign
Essential Oil Extraction Using Liquid CO2
When life hands you lemons ... experiment on them! Green chemistry gurus compare extraction methods for essential oils through a lab activity. Lab groups use traditional distillation and liquid carbon dioxide extraction...
Curated OER
Math, Chemistry, and Food
Learners explore the effects of chemical reactions when cooking. Using the Internet, they research enzymes and then mix jello. They examine their results and test enzyme activity by adding pineapple to the jello. Finally, they test...
University of Georgia
Would Your Cat Eat This Stuff?
Processed foods use inorganic compounds for flavoring and preservation. This take-home laboratory challenges scholars to find 20 different compounds identified on the labels of foods to list on their data collection sheet. The activity...
University of Georgia
Antacid and Uncle Heartburn
Household materials can be used for more than cleaning! In this collaborative experiment, emerging chemists use products such as vinegar and liquid antacid to explore chemical reactions that commonly occur in the human body.
Curated OER
Testing for Life’s Molecules
Want to hear a joke about sodium? Na. Young scientists test various materials to identify if they include protein, starch, and glucose by using the Biuret test, iodine starch test, and Benedict's test respectively. After practicing with...
Curated OER
The Nutrient Cycles
Young scholars investigate the circle of sea life by creating nitrogen compound models. In this oceanography lesson, students discuss sea creatures and where their waste goes. Young scholars identify nitrogen cycles in the...
Chymist
Alum from Waste Aluminum Cans
Turn aluminum cans into pickles! An engaging experiment has learners chemically change aluminum into a substance with many purposes including the manufacture of pickles. After performing the chemical conversion, the experimenters verify...
Kenan Fellows
What Element Would You Be?
Primo Levi wrote a collection of short stories comparing his life from Italy to Auschwitz to elements in the periodic table. Pupils read an excerpt from his book and research the characteristics of various elements. Then, they make a...
Curated OER
The Good, the Bad and the Nasty Tasting
Pupils examine the effect of chemicals from marine plants or animals on predator's preferences. In this ecology lesson, students conduct taste tests and collect necessary data. They write their conclusion after analyzing...
Curated OER
Circle of Life
Here is a well-designed science instructional activity that shows learners that everything that organisms do in ecosystems, including running, breathing, burrowing, growing, requires energy. After a thorough discussion of their own...
Curated OER
Sea Connections: Marine Ecosystems
Students identify producers and consumers from marine ecosystems and describe the balance among them in the environments. After constructing a food chain from a marine ecosystem, they examine human activities that can upset the balance...
Curated OER
Creating Biodiesel and Mitigating Waste
Biotechnology pros produce their own biofuel using waste oil and fresh vegetable oil. They test the quality of their product using titration techniques and pH analysis. They write their observations and report their findings. Be aware...
Curated OER
Bromine: An Important Arkansas Industry
Arkansas ranks first in the entire world in the production of bromine! Here is a activity which guides middle schoolers through a study about the formation and history of Arkansas' bromine reserves. They also looks at the many uses of...
Curated OER
Introduction to Coral Reefs
Students identify locations of coral reefs, both in the water and around the globe, identify relative depth of corals in the ocean by observing behavior of cold and warm saltwater, and create models of coral reefs.
Curated OER
Life Processes and Water
Explain the properties of water. Identify the properties of water that make it a polar molecule Describe hydrogen bonds and how they differ from covalent bonds Discuss the differences between hard water and soft water Compare the heat of...
Curated OER
Plankton / Phytoplankton
High schoolers discuss the importance of plankton in the ocean ecosystem. In this biology lesson, students identify the different types plankton by observing them under the microscope. They explain how plankton population affect global...
Curated OER
Salt, To Use or Not To Use
Fifth graders develop a deeper understanding of chemical and physical changes. They explain how salt is made, used, and the affects it has on the body. They explain that salt in moderation is important to our health.
Cornell University
The Making of Macromolecules
Compare and contrast macromolecules made from the same elements. Young scholars learn how the structure of a molecule has as much influence on a compound as the elements in the molecule. They experiment with molecular model kits to...
Cornell University
Bacteria Take Over and Down
Bacteria outnumber all other forms of life on Earth. Scholars observe the growth of bacteria in petri dishes to understand their role in maintaining good health. Then, they observe the growth of bacteria after they introduce...
Curated OER
Playing With Polymers
Students explore the world of polymers. In this chemistry activity, students make polymers and observe their properties. Follow-up questions and extension activities are included.
Mascil Project
Molecular Gastronomy - Science in the Kitchen
Some say cooking is an art—and a science! Scholars scope out the savory subject of molecular gastronomy with a series of related activities. The teacher's guide contains printable worksheets and helpful tips for implementing the lesson.
Curated OER
How do plant & animal cells make and use energy?
Young scholars show the relationship between the need for plants to undergo photosynthesis in order to generate oxygen. They see the flaws associated with this thinking because of the lack of CO2 and H2O and lack of sufficient gravity in...