Curated OER
Newton's Three Laws of Motion Lesson Plan
Students explore Newton's three laws of motion using a variety of activities. In this physics lesson, students calculate the average speed of a vehicle they constructed using distance and time information. They identify and draw the...
Curated OER
Upside-Down Wings
Students use FoilSim to demonstrate that the graphic analysis of the airflow around one object can be used to hypothesize airflow graphs for objects as they are elongated from a sphere to an airfoil shape.
Curated OER
Design of Airfoil for Given Lift
Students use FoilSim to design an airplane wing that generates a given lift. As they change parameters such as airspeed, altitude, angle of attack, thickness and curvature of the airfoil, and size of the wing area, the software...
Curated OER
Lift Relationships
Students use FoilSim (downloadable) to determine how lift is affected by varying parameters on the Airfoil simulation.
Curated OER
Actual Airflow vs. Ideal Airflow: Stalls
Students use 3-D modeling techniques to observe the characteristic signature of the stall condition apparent on an airfoil at high angles of attack. They use FoilSim to compare the above with ideal airflow.
Curated OER
Ice Melting
Students design investigations to test various materials to prevent heat gain in frozen water. The task assess students' knowledge of scientific inquiry including the following skills: observation, data collection, measurement,...
Curated OER
Insulators
Students design and carry out an investigation to test which materials is the best insulator: they predict which way heat energy flows in a system and analyze the flow of energy in a system from one point to another and from one form to...
Curated OER
Unknown Liquids
Students must design and conduct an experiment to determine which unknown liquid has a greater density based on basic information about the liquids and containers. Students are given specific materials to work with.
Curated OER
Friction of a Block Weight
Fifth graders hypothesize and design an experiment to study the relationship between a block weight and the number of washers it takes to pull a block across various surfaces. Students graph results and apply their findings to a...
Curated OER
Velocity
Students determine the average speed of a toy car as it travels six different distances set up by Students. Three trials are done for each distance. The only requirements is that the longest distance must be at least three times longer...
Curated OER
Starch and Sugar Testing 2
Students design and conduct an experiment to determine which of three solutions contain starch or sugar. This task assess students' ability to make simple observations, design simple experiments, utilize indicators, and make generalized...
Curated OER
Pond-water Populations
Young scholars design and conduct and experiment on algae, for a two week period, to answer the question "In your investigation, how does changing one factor affect the growth of organisms?"
Curated OER
Stimulus/Response in Invertebrates
Students design and conduct and experiment to determine how invertebrates react to an outside stimulus such as light and other stimuli. Student must develop a clear plan of action, collect data in an organized manner and analyze their...
Curated OER
Erosion
Students design and conduct an open-ended investigation using a variety of earth materials to answer a questions posed by the teacher: How does the erosion of sand compare with the erosion of gravel? After producing evidence that...
Curated OER
Chemical Weathering
Students measure the effect of water temperature on the rate of a chemical reaction, similar to the interaction of a weak acid and carbonate rock, using hot water and effervescent antacid tablets.
Curated OER
Water-holding Capacity of Earth Materials
Students 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
Barometer Investigation
Learners construct a barometer to use in an experiment that they design to measure the air pressure on a daily basis. These observations of air pressure allow students to determine how weather is affected when a storm is approaching and...
Curated OER
Rate of Solvation
High schoolers test factors that may affect the rate at which sugar dissolve in water. They conduct two studies: One is to test the effect of temperature on the rate of solvation and the other is to test a factor which Students come up...
Curated OER
The Nutritional Content of Food
Students are given three unknown samples and must perform two chemical tests in order to determine if the samples contains protein and/or starch. Students work with corrosive or toxic reagents.
Curated OER
Leaf Pack Study
Young scholars conduct an experiment using leaf packs. For this leaf lesson students complete an activity in groups and complete a handout.
Curated OER
Critter Encounter Chart
Students record data found at an assigned web site. For this data collection lesson, students access an assigned web site in order to complete a data chart about animals they see. They travel to different sections of the web site to find...
Curated OER
Slow Times Mean Pay Cuts For Many
Students explore the concept of a slowing economy. In this slowing economy lesson plan, students discuss the trickle-down effects of a slowing economy. Students create an estimated budget for living expenses after high school. Students...
Curated OER
Antlion Pit Building Investigation
Students design and perform an experiment related to comparing and contrasting antlion pits. Given a set of parameters, students select a hypothesis and perform observations on antlion pits. They record data and use this date to support...
Curated OER
Towel Testing
Students examine how to design and implement experiments. In this paper towel experiment activity students test the strength of paper towels.