Chemistry classes pretend to be consultants to a grocery story trying to decide what polymer to use for therir new non-paper bags. They prepare tensile bars and use them to test plastic film samples for strength and stretchability. Both...

Students examine elastomeric polymers in a lab activity in which they design a bungee cord. Students must determine the tensile strength, percent elongation, and plot stress versus strain graphs for their experiments on rubber bands...

Students participate in an investigation in which they compare a polyethylene bag designed for recycling or disposal with a polyethylene food storage bag. Students use hexane to determine the differences between the low density...

Everyone loves a good mystery ... can your class actually solve one? Partnered pupils take on the role of forensic investigators during a three-part activity focusing on DNA evidence processing. Learners discover the methods used to...

Placing a thermometer and a glass tube into a flask of cold water and sealing it, you can expose it to heat and very visually demonstrate thermal expansion to your earth science class. Follow it with a discussion about how the increasing...

What better way to learn how to use a microscope than building your own? A lab investigation has scholars use lenses from magnifying glasses and sheets of cork to design their own compound microscopes. They calculate focal length...

The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation combined logarithmic terms with the application of carbonic acid as a buffer solution. Scholars learn investigate equation and its applications through hands-on experiments. They collect data and...

By mounting a light bulb on a stand and a PV cell on another, physics apprentices experiment with the angle of incidence. Their goal is to determine the optimum angle for collecting solar energy. The use of a scientific calculator...

Analyzing and interpreting satellite data takes knowledge and patience. Through a detailed lab investigation, young scholars learn the process of analyzing this data. They use technology to create color images and maps from real...

What do lab tests reveal about a patient's health? Scholars perform a simulated urinalysis on two different patients by testing color, pH, glucose levels, and protein levels. Then, they compare their findings to what they know passes...

Budding biologists often ask how scientists know what they do about different topics. In the lab described here, they have a chance to find out first-hand about the requirements for photosynthesis. Three sequential investigations are...

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, check out wing shapes for common ancestry! Beginning biologists compare wings as analogous structures and discover that environment influences evolution of adaptations. A third activity relies on...

Earth, life, and physical science classes can all benefit from understanding heat transfer. There is not room enough to describe these seven exceptional laboratory experiments that explore conduction, convetcion, and radiation. Several...

Teacher pages for four different activities and three assessments are provided in this resource. Topics deal with how the sun's position and Earth's atmosphere affect the amount of solar energy reaching Earth's surface. The concepts and...

Some background information about density and Newton's Laws of gravitation and motion assist pupils in the following experiment. The procedure will help them further their understanding of gravity, pendulums, and a drop-ball experiment....

This series opens with diagrams of experimental setups. A data table is displayed and questions are asked, indicating that the intent is for lab groups to perform the depicted experiments. At slide twelve, a coherent lesson about the...

Learn about the factors that affect the way oxygen dissolves in salt water with a chemistry lab. After studying the molecular structure of water, young scientists figure out how aeration, temperature, and organic waste affect...

Encourage your classes to be laundry helpers! Learners explore the chemistry of stain removal with a lab investigation. By identifying the components of the stain, they identify the most effective solute for its removal.

Let the lab be a catalyst to learn about enzymes. Scholars create alginate beads filled with yeast. As part of an investigation into enzymes, they see how these beads provide a catalyst to the reaction of glucose into ethanol.

If you are setting up a rotation lab where learners are investigating vision at different stations, this activity can be used to explore depth perception. Setting up a giant needle eye, students attempt to pass a pencil through it with...

Students explore digestion/nutrition and utilize scientific investigation skills. They complete meal logs for several days and graph their results. After analyzing their data, they write formal lab reports.

Hopefully you have a sensor interface for your physics class to use with graphing calculators when collecting data with a light sensor. If so, read on. Use this resource for learners to predict and then test whether or not the intensity...

Emerging electricians build a simple ammeter for making measurements on an electric current. They test the placement of solar cells in both series and parallel circuits and examine the magnetic field produced by the movement of electrons...

In groups of three with the lights off and the shades drawn, investigators place inactivated light sticks, in three beakers: one filled with ice water, another with lukewarm water, and the other with room temperature water. They wait...