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The Founder of Electromagnetism
Students identify and study the founder of electromagnetism. In this magnetism lesson students complete several experiments including building a galvanometer.
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Sports Helmets and Impact Testing of Polymers
Students examine the importance of good quality safety gear. In this investigative lesson, students will tests various polymers, collect data, and analyze the data to determine which polymer is best for safety helmets. They will design a...
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Photovoltaics and Solar Energy
Students experiment with photovoltaic cells and determine the energy use of their appliances. In this renewable energy lesson, students calculate the energy emitted by a photovoltaic cell through an inquiry-based lab. They keep track of...
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Galvanometers
Learners construct their own galvanometer. In this physics lesson, students explain how it is used to detect electric current. They conduct an experiment to measure how much electricity flows through the circuit.
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You've Got to Be Cool to Make Igneous Rocks
Students describe how igneous rocks are formed, design a classification system to group igneous rocks and develop a controlled experiment to prove that the rate of cooling affects the size of the crystals.
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Tornado!
Students examine the characteristics and types of tornadoes. They discuss how they are formed, conduct an experiment with two liter bottles, analyze data and determine mean and median, and design a house to withstand tornado-force winds
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Squiggly, Wiggly Worms
Students, who are in early elementary grades, pair with fifth grade students to study worms. They observe worms in experiments, create research questions, and complete the research using Internet sites. They participate in a "Worm...
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Falling Water
Students drop water from different heights to demonstrate the conversion of water's potential energy to kinetic energy. They see how varying the height from which water is dropped affects the splash size. In seeing how falling water can...
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Hovercraft Racers!
Students gain first-hand experience on how friction affects motion. They build a hovercraft using air from a balloon to levitate a craft made from a compact disk (CD), learning that a bed of air under an object significantly reduces the...
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Beautiful Butterfly Tiles
Third graders create a butterfly drawing that includes the elements of art and principles of design. They create artwork that can be made into ceramic tiles to be installed around the classroom doorways in our new addition.
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Erosion Lab
Eighth graders explore variables that influence the rate of erosion due to the 4 major agents. They work as a group and practice conducting experiments according to the scientific method. Students comprehend that communicating ideas...
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Name That Taste
Students analyze taste buds. In this taste lesson, students complete an experiment in groups of four people. Students have four cups with a different substance in each cup. One student dips a Q-tip into each cup and tests on another...
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Understanding Kidney Disease
Students experiment to determine information about kidney function. In this kidney function lesson, students use the scientific method to experiment with eggs, water, salt, sugar, and vegetable oil to simulate kidney function. They...
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Frozen, Canned or Fresh?
Young scholars compare spinach. In this Science lesson, students construct an experiment to test fresh, frozen, and canned spinach taste and texture. Young scholars record their findings in charts and graphs.
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Rechargeable Batteries
Students explore how rechargeable batteries work by conducting a series of experiments. In this physics activity, students discuss the benefits of using rechargeable batteries over disposable ones. They build their own battery charger...
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Bombs Away!
Students design and build a device to protect and accurately deliver a dropped egg. They review and study a number of vocabulary words that are associated with this instructional activity. They work in a small group in order to develop...
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soil, Water, and Plants
Students examine the relationship between water retention and plant growth by conducting two experiments. They first compare the water retention qualities of clay, sand and loam soil types. Then they use the data from the first...
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Natural Disasters: An Adventure in Non-Fiction
Students study different natural disasters. In this natural disaster lesson students read a nonfiction book followed by a discussion, an experiment, then collect illustrations from their experience.
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The Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF)
Young scholars design an experiment for NASA's STEREO/IMPACT mission to measure the interplanetary magnetic field. This lesson includes 3 excellent hands-on and critical thinking activities in which students explore magnetism in the...
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Skateboard Disaster
Students conduct a hands-on experiment with collisions between two skateboards of different masses. They are introduced to the concept of conservation of momentum in collisions and consider how their observations might help engineers...
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Kidney Filtering
Learners investigate how kidneys function. They discuss how a dialysis machine works, and conduct an experiment in which they filter different substances through a plastic window screen, various sizes of hardware cloth, and poultry...
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Two-Cell Battery
Students build their own two-cell battery and determine which electrolyte solution is best suited for making a battery. They discuss background information for their experiment, construct and test their battery, and using the chart on...
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Rocket Car
Students construct a balloon-powered rocket car from a Styrofoam tray, pins, tape, and a flexible straw, and test it along a measured track on the floor. They experiment with ways of increasing the distance the rocket car travels.
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What is That White Stuff?
Fifth graders identify, through experimentation, what properties of substance are, determine what variables tested will be, identify constants and variables of experiment, conduct experiment to conclusion with measurable, recorded...