Teach Engineering
Piezoelectricity
What effect makes children's shoes light up? Answer: Piezoelectric effect. Here is a PowerPoint presentation that describes piezoelectric materials as being able to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. Individuals learn how...
Teach Engineering
Bone Mineral Density Math and Beer's Law
Hop into a resource on Beer's Law. A PowerPoint presentation introduces Beer's law as part of calculating bone density from X-ray images in the sixth lesson in the series of seven. Individuals work on practice problems with this law and...
Teach Engineering
Exploring Energy: Kinetic and Potential
The potential of the energy in the class is moving. The third segment in a six-part unit on energy provides a deeper understanding of kinetic and potential energy. Learners understand the relationship between mass, speed, and energy and...
Teach Engineering
Manned Mission to Mars
To go or to not to go — the question for a mission to Mars. This resource provides details for a possible manned mission to Mars. Details include a launch schedule, what life would be like on the surface, and how the astronauts would...
Teach Engineering
Problem Solving
Need a activity? Problem solved. Scholars learn about the problem-solving process in the sixth installment of a 25-part Energy Systems and Solutions unit. The particular process in question is the Technological Method of Problem Solving.
Teach Engineering
Biot-Savart Law
Electrical current going round and round,produces a magnetic field. After a demonstration of the magnetic field surrounding an electrical wire, class members use the provided formula associated with Biot-Savart's Law to calculate the...
Teach Engineering
Efficiency of a Water Heating System
Tired of waiting for hot water? Groups of three determine the efficiency of an electric water-heating device. They calculate the amount of energy it takes to heat the water and the theoretical amount of energy required to heat the water....
Teach Engineering
Light vs. Heat Bulbs
Careful, that light bulb is hot! Compare heat and light energy using a simple light bulb. The exercise addresses energy conservation and presents actual calculations to determine the most cost-effective light bulb.
Teach Engineering
Energy Systems
Is electricity created in the outlet? Using posters of several energy systems, collaborative groups identify and describe the parts of their systems. The groups also look at the environmental impacts of the systems and present...
Teach Engineering
Things That Matter to Flocculants
How does the dirt get out of your drinking water? A hands-on activity introduces the use of flocculants to help clear solid particles out of water. The plan walks learners through the process of setting up an experiment that...
Teach Engineering
Slinkies as Solenoids
What does an MRI machine have to do with a slinky? This activity challenges learners to run a current through a slinky and use a magnetic field sensor to measure the magnetic field. Groups then change the length of the slinky to see...
Teach Engineering
Using Hooke's Law to Understand Materials
Provide a Hooke for a lesson on elasticity with an activity that has groups investigate a set of springs. They use a set procedure to collect data to calculate the spring constant for each spring using Hooke's Law. The groups...
Teach Engineering
Drawing Magnetic Fields
Class members use a compass and several points to map out the magnetic field of a magnet. Pairs trace the magnetic field lines produced by a permanent magnet by positioning the compass in numerous spots around the magnet to view the...
Teach Engineering
Density Column Lab - Part 1
Mass and density — aren't they the same thing? This activity has groups use balance beams and water displacement to measure several objects. The pupils use the measurements to calculate the density of the objects.
Teach Engineering
Measuring Surface Tension
How do you measure surface tension? The fifth installment of a nine-part series is an experiment where young scientists use tubes of different sizes to measure surface tension. They calculate the average and standard deviation of the...
Teach Engineering
Matching the Motion
It is not always easy to walk the straight and narrow. In the sixth portion of a nine-part unit, groups actively recreate a graph depicting motion. Individuals walk toward or away from a motion detector while trying to match a given...
Teach Engineering
Linear Regression of BMD Scanners
Objects may be more linear than they appear. Scholars investigate the relationship between the number of bone mineral density scanners in the US and time. Once they take the natural logarithm of the number of scanners, a linear...
Teach Engineering
Solving Energy Problems
Here's your chance to save the world. The eighth lesson in a 25-part Energy Systems and Solutions unit has young scientists come up with ideas for individual or group projects. They identify ways to solve the energy crisis. Hope they...
Discovery Education
Urinalysis
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...
Teach Engineering
Determining Densities
Don't be dense—use a robust resource. The second installment of a five-part Floaters and Sinkers unit has learners determine the densities of several objects. As part of the activity, they learn the displacement method for finding...
Teach Engineering
Searching for Bigfoot and Others Like Him
Individuals create a GIS data layer in Google Earth that displays information about where one might find seven different cryptids. The class members research to find data on cryptid sightings they can include in their data...
Teach Engineering
Magnetic or Not?
The class must determine the magnetic properties of different materials, including aluminum and steel by sorting through materials using a magnet. Groups make a prediction on whether a material is magnetic and then perform...
Teach Engineering
Restriction Enzymes and DNA Fingerprinting
Show your class why restrictions aren't always a bad thing. In the third segment of a four-part series, the instructor develops the idea of restriction enzymes. Pupils learn how scientists use restriction enzymes in DNA analysis and DNA...
Teach Engineering
Grow Your Own Algae!
Develop a model of a wastewater treatment center. The last activity of the unit has pupils mix a lake water sample into a tank of water containing fertilizers. Over time, the algae from the lake water grows and removes the nutrient-rich...