National Institute of Open Schooling
Solutions
Aqua regia, or royal water in Latin, is a solvent that can dissolve solid gold and platinum into a solution. Activity nine in a series of 36 allows classes to learn, through readings and answering questions, what a solution is and the...
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...
Teach Engineering
Surface Tension Lab
What constitutes a good soap bubble? In the second installment of a nine-part series, scholars apply their understanding of surface tension to soap bubbles. They experiment to determine the best solutions to use for the...
Curated OER
Module 5 Revision Guide - Chemistry
If you use this as an outline for your chemistry lecture on metals, your young chemists will absorb a well-rounded overview. This is not a worksheet per se, but a useful summary of the behavior of metals. Save yourself some planning and...
American Chemical Society
Look-Alike Liquids
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...
Curated OER
Grow an Alum Crystal
What an exciting lab experiment to conduct with your high school chemistry class! Crystals are formed naturally in the environment. However, allow your blossoming chemists to create their own unique crystals using alum and...
Curated OER
Swirling and Churning Milk
Students examine the concepts of micelles, polarity, solubility, and properties of detergent in an experiment with milk, water, and food coloring. Students complete a Take-Home Challenge in which they experiment with the behavior of food...
Curated OER
Science Lesson Plans
Learners conduct a variety of exploration activities on various science topics. For this science lesson outline, students design a cell encapsulation to hold a specific type of medicine. They give examples of physical and chemical...
Curated OER
Water-holding Capacity of Earth Materials
Young scholars design and conduct an experiment to test their ideas about how to speed up or slow down the rate of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. They have access to an array of physical and chemical factors that might influence enzyme...
Curated OER
Ice Cream
Open this instructional activity by giving a brief history of ice cream. Using liquid nitrogen to lower the temperature, preteens make their own confection. The accompanying activity sheet queries learners about freezing point, the...
Curated OER
Solubility and Chemical Changes in Groundwater
Middle schoolers test pH of water before and after it travels through different substrates (igneous pebbles and limestone) to detemine how soluble materials can affect groundwater. They answer questions such as: What happended to the pH...
Curated OER
Changes in Nature
Fifth graders identify the chemical and physical changes in the water cycle, carbon cycle, and the effects of weathering. They analyze the periodic table, and observe how vinegar reacts with limestone in a chemical reaction that causes...
Curated OER
An Underground River
Seventh graders describe how water flows through the ground, what an aquifer is and what soil properties are used to predict groundwater flow. They consider the affects of pollution on groundwater supplies and write a letter drawing...
Curated OER
Fizzy Pop
Fifth graders compare and identify variables that affect the rate of a chemical change using Alka-Seltzer, water, ice, and hot water. They time how long each variable takes to pop the canister into the air, and record the results on a...
Curated OER
Density Of A Material
Young scholars determine the density of a material created in the laboratory and observe physical and chemical changes. They engage in a lab activity, and answer questions on a worksheet imbedded in this plan.
Curated OER
Metals or Nonmetals? The Families of Elements
Fourth graders, in groups, compile information on groups of elements. They study Alkali Metals, Alkaline Earth Metals, Halogens, and Noble Gases.
Curated OER
Biochemistry, Secretion, and Transport of Hormones
In this biology worksheet, students look at various steps involved in the biochemistry involved in the use of hormones on the human body.
Curated OER
Water Filtration Competition
Young scholars design water filtration systems. They draw sketches and write paragraphs about their systems. After presenting their systems to the class, each group then builds their system and determines its effectiveness for purifying...
Curated OER
What do Chemists See When they Look at Chemicals?
In this chemicals learning exercise, learners answer 15 multiple choice questions about chemicals, compounds, inorganic and organic molecules.
Curated OER
Harmful Effects of Acid Rain
Seventh graders are able to demonstrate the harmful effects of an acidic solution. They become aware of the harmful effects of acid rain. Students make predictions before they began the experiment. If vingegar contains acid, then how...
NASA
Making Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide
Some like it hot! Scholars observe both exothermic and endothermic reactions as part of the carbon dioxide oxygen cycle. First, scientists demonstrate (or watch) a chemical reaction to create pure oxygen using fire for...
Teach Engineering
Messin' with Mixtures
Do you separate your trail mix before eating it? Then you've been separating mixtures your whole life! Scholars model a contaminated soil sample using trail mix and estimate the percentage of each component. They consider how to clean up...
American Chemical Society
Developing Tests to Distinguish Between Similar-Looking Liquids
Each group talks about how to test unknown liquids based on their findings in the previous experiment. In this second of four activities, they test unknowns on wax paper, newspaper, and construction paper. As a stand-alone, this lesson...
Teach Engineering
Engineering and the Periodic Table
Elements, to the rescue! Scholars first review the periodic table, and then learn about the first 20 elements and their properties and uses in the fourth of six lessons in the Mixtures and Solutions unit. Applying their newfound...