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Catapults
Students are introduced to the concept of a catapult and how it is used with the help of a media presentation. They use catapults in a large, open area and record the distances objects travel. Students use the scientific method while...
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Lift Relationships
Students use FoilSim (downloadable) to determine how lift is affected by varying parameters on the Airfoil simulation.
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Upside-Down Wings
Young scholars 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.
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Electromagnets
Students are introduced to the relationship between electricity and magnetism. Using a compass, they observe and record the effects of placing the object near magnetic fields and electric currents. They also experiment using a steel and...
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How Does Altitude Relate To Density?
Students demonstrate an understanding of the properties of matter by applying them to density, pressure, and temperature. The educational software program, "Foilsim" is used in this inquiry.
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Describing the Motion of a Battery Powered Cars
Learners explore distance a toy car travels by changing the amount of batteries used to power the toy car. In this force and motion lesson, students calculate the average speed of a car while investigating the power from various...
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Elements In Chemistry: Solids, Liquids and Gases
Students investigate the kinetic-molecular theory. In this state of matter lesson, students consider the differences of melting glaciers, melting icebergs and investigate on what happens when submerged water melts.
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Uranium On a Diet
Students examine how nuclear reactions differ from other chemical reactions they have studied. They add up atomic masses of both the product and reactant side of an example of uranium decomposition, demonstrating mass loss involved.
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Using Mathematic Models to Investigate Planitary Habitablity
Students examine how the sun's intensity affects the temperature on various planets. They determine whether or not these planets could be habitable. Finally, they factor in the average albedo of the planets to determine whether or not...
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Soil Morphology
Students analyze images of five different soil types from various locations and discuss how climate, vegetation, parent material, topography, and time can contribute to soil characteristics.
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What Can We Lose? What Do We Lose as we Gain Force With A Lever?
Third graders view a demonstration of a teeter totter as a basis for assessing pre-knowledge of a lever. They create a KwL chart. Students work in small groups to conduct a variety of experiments. The first requires students to tie books...
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Survival
Young scholars determine the best material from which to make a jacket to keep the body warm in a cold, dry, windy climate. This task assesses the student's abilities to perform an entire investigation.
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Transformations of Energy
Seventh graders investigate the relationship between energy and matter, and measure the mass of various objects. They listen to a teacher-led lecture about potential energy, and in small groups measure the mass of various objects such...
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Free Fall Graphing Exercise
Twelfth graders practice their graphing skills in an exercise about acceleration due to gravity. Lesson opens with a demonstration of acceleration due to gravity and a brief discussion. Students complete a worksheet and go over answers...
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Starch Yer Thinkin' About Corn Products
Seventh graders study the parts of corn and explore the role of starch. In this corn products lesson students prepare a model of water and stones.
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Center of Gravity
Seventh graders determine the center of gravity of an object. They get card stock objects to balance on pencil eraser and a meter stick to balance with same # of weighted string(s) on each side. They get meter stick to balance with...
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Keep the Environment Clean
Students discuss ways our environment becomes polluted. They make a list of ways to keep it clean.
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Land Safely...
Students model the preparation needed for a soft-landing on a planet or object in space. They do this by packaging a raw egg with certain material, and dropping the egg from a given height to test the packaging effectiveness.
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What To Do After The Hands-Are-On
Young scholars perform various demonstrations for each of Newton's Laws, collect data, and write a conclusion for each.
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Meteorology (Condensation)
Second graders define condensation and evaporation. They identify and describe the steps in the water cycle. They ask questions to end the lesson.
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Coat Caper
Students examine pollen and fibers taken from a garment. They analyze pollen from new hybrids and compare it to the samples from the garment then make individual conclusions concerning the specific historical authenticity of the garment.
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Coffee Cooling
Students explore the factors that affect how long coffee stays hot. They develop a question and a testable hypothesis for one factor such as initial temperature or size of opening of the container. Then they design and conduct an...
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That's the Way the Ball Bounces
Students investigate and compare the bouncing ability of the materials from which four different balls are made. They determine which material performs the best for use as a basketball. After collecting data in a small group they...
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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.