Curated OER
Magnus Effect
Students examine the Magnus effect and its history. In this forces instructional activity students investigate the lift of a rotating cylinder.
Curated OER
Ocean Layers
Learners investigate how temperature and salinity causes ocean layering. In this ecology lesson, students observe and sketch their experimental result. They report their findings in class.
Curated OER
What Boat Designs Float the Best?
Fifth graders investigate buoyancy by conducting a science experiment. In this water properties lesson, 5th graders predict which of their different paper boat designs will float for the longest period. Students conduct the...
Curated OER
Helping the Body Build Strong Bones
Students explore the effects of diet and weight-bearing activities on bone mineral content. The influence of playing a variety of sports with different weight-loading levels is examined.
Curated OER
pH and Red Cabbage Juice
Students review properties of materials and define what pH tells them about matter. In this pH levels lesson, students determine whether materials are acids or bases using indicator substances.
Curated OER
Energy from the Sun
In this energy from the sun instructional activity, students are given 20 terms to complete sentences about the sun, the energy of the sun, the radiation of the sun, the transfer of energy from the sun and the currents created by the...
Teach Engineering
Clay Boats
Clay itself sinks, but clay boats float. Why? Young engineers build clay boats to learn about buoyancy. They test the weight the boats can hold using washers and then tweak their designs to make improvements, following the engineering...
Teach Engineering
Rock and Boat
Present the class with a question on whether the water level of a pond will rise they take a large rock out of a boat and drop it into the pond. Groups come down on all sides of the question and try to justify their answers. The activity...
Teach Engineering
Measuring Viscosity
Groups use a marble to determine the viscosity of household fluids. The procedure calls for pupils to measure the amount of time it takes a marble to fall a specified distance in the fluids. Using unit conversions and algebra, the teams...
Curated OER
Microbes From a Hay Infusion
Students observe, over time, microbes such as amoebas, protozoa, rotifers and insect larva. They create a hay infusion culture using pond water then sample and record organisms found over a two week period.
Curated OER
Mooring Mobiles Lab
Oceanography experts use candy to construct a model of a bio-physical mooring that would test a variety of factors. Each piece of equipment to be included on the mooring is described within the write-up. As pupils gather the candies for...
Curated OER
Hurricanes
Students state and directly experience two laws of Physics (Law of Gravity, Law of Centrifugal Force) that affect weather. They explain the observations made when using the "hurricane machine" and relate them to other events and phenomenon.
Curated OER
How's the Air Up There?
Students experiment with soda cans and water to discover why air pressure is greater closer to Earth's surface.
Curated OER
What's it Like Inside the Sun?
Students perform experiment in which they model convection as it occurs in our Sun. They also explain that convection acts where the effect of gravity and heat are present (low density fluids can rise and cool, and high density fluids...
Curated OER
Water and Ice
Learners investigate what happens to solids and liquids when they change from one form to another. The amount od space taken by frozen water begins the discussion and students are led to formulate their own hypothesis to research.
Curated OER
Float My Boat
Fourth graders, in groups, experiment with density and the displacement of water by creating and designing their own boats and seeing which boat holds the most centimeter cubes without sinking..
Curated OER
Icebergs Ahead!
Students experiment with density of ice, and examine how density affects how icebergs float in water.
Curated OER
Wind Dynamics and Forests
Students perform experiments to explore differences in wind speed and forest density. Through experimentation and observation, students realize that changes in vegetation affect the atmosphere and wind conditions. They create a model...
Curated OER
Boy, Is That Buoyant!
Fourth graders see that salt increases the density of water and creates a condition wherein objects are more buoyant than would be expected under normal conditions. They describe the relationship between heat energy, evaporation and...
Curated OER
Self Portrait, What Nerve!
Students conduct an experiment to determine the distance between touch receptor fields in parts of the right-hand side of the body. They enter data into the data table.
Curated OER
What is an Estuary?
Students define the terms estuary and watershed. They conduct an experiment to determine the density differences between fresh and saltwater. They examine the salinity distribution of the Peconic Bay Estuary.
Curated OER
Herb is the Word
Students conduct an experiment to determine how different soils affect plant growth over a six-week period. After determining the physical properties of different types of soil, students plant various types of seeds into the soil...
Curated OER
Detecting Magnetic Materials in "Martian" Soil
Students simulate some of the Pathfinder experiments by devising methods of collecting and measuring magnetic substances in pseudo-Martian soil. The efficiency of each of the methods used to collect materials is evaluated in this...
Curated OER
Population Dynamics of Growth of Drosophila
Learners experiment with Drosophila to determine if density of female flies, food sources, temperature and light affect the population dynamics of growth. Students graph their data and compare their results to the number of human...