American Chemical Society
Why Does Water Dissolve Salt?
Individuals explore solubility by modeling how water dissolves salts. They then view a video and compare how well water and alcohol dissolve salts, relating their comparisons to the structure of each molecule.
American Chemical Society
Surface Tension
A drop of dew holds a sphere shape even when sitting on a seat thanks to the surface tension of water. Learners observe the phenomena of surface tension in water. Through demonstrations, hands-on activities, and discussions they explore...
Baylor College
What Makes Water Special?
Get close up and personal with a drop of water to discover how the polarity of its molecules affect its behavior. Elementary hydrologists split and combine water droplets, and also compare them to drops of oil. Much neater than placing a...
Curated OER
Drops on a Penny
A helpful worksheet describes an interesting demonstration on the surface tension of water. Learners guess how many drops of water the heads side of a penny will hold. This resource does a great job of describing just how a penny can...
Teach Engineering
Balancing Liquid on a Coin: How Intermolecular Forces Work
Let knowledge of chemistry flow like water. Future scientists conduct two different experiments to investigate the properties of water. They learn about surface tension and cohesion as they see how many drops of water they can place on a...
American Chemical Society
What Makes it Rain?
Clouds come alive when curious minds create rain in an action-packed activity. Scholars view a video of rain and analyze an image of water uses to generate a class discussion leading into a hands-on exploration. Using a set of...
American Chemical Society
What Makes It Snow?
Discover the icy world of snow from the comfort of the indoors. Young meteorologists study visuals and a video to examine snow formation and structure. Using the information they learn, scientists follow a procedure to construct a...
American Chemical Society
Why Do Puddles Dry Up?
Bring evaporation right into the hands of young scientists with an entertaining, hands-on activity. Investigators view videos and images while participating in class dialogue focused on water evaporating from surfaces. A short experiment...
University of Waikato
Water Molecules in Drama
The state of molecules is changing. Young actors and actresses perform the process of phase change in front of the class. They assume the roles of water molecules and, as a group, show how the behavior of the molecules in the solid,...
Concord Consortium
Chain Reaction Between Hydrogen and Oxygen
Looking for a simple way to teach conservation of energy in chemical reactions? Pupils can observe energy changes as water forms during a chain reaction between oxygen and hydrogen using an interactive. The resource instructs users to...
Concord Consortium
Unshared Electrons and the "Bent" Shape
Why is water always so bent out of shape? Scholars investigate the molecular geometry of the water molecule using a 3-D resource. The interactive features options such as rotation and the ability to view electron pairs.
Concord Consortium
Reaction Between Hydrogen and Oxygen Molecules
When molecules of hydrogen and oxygen are combined, how does water form? Science scholars observe changes in kinetic and potential energy during a chemical reaction in an interactive. The resource features easy controls that allow users...
Teach Engineering
Surface Tension Basics
Back to the basics (of surface tension). The first installment of a nine-part series teaches young scholars about the basics of surface tension and how it relates to water droplets. They also learn how this concept allows for the...
Teach Engineering
Exploring the Lotus Effect
The Lotus Effect ... is it not some kind of yoga pose. In the last installment of a nine-part series, young scientists observe the Lotus Effect on lotus leaves and water-repellent cloths. They observe how motion and damage affect the...
Teach Engineering
Superhydrophobicity – The Lotus Effect
Discover and demonstrate the Lotus Effect and superhydrophobic surfaces with the eighth installment of a nine-part series that teaches scholars about surfaces that exhibit superhydrophobicity. The lesson continues also describes...
Teach Engineering
Investigating Contact Angle
Discover the properties of water-loving and water-hating surfaces. In the seventh installment of a nine-part series, scholars explore hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces by conducting an experiment. They observe surface coatings,...
Teach Engineering
Wetting and Contact Angle
Explore terminology related to water droplets. The sixth installment of a nine-part series teaches young scientists about wetting and contact angles between water droplets and surfaces. It also distinguishes between hydrophobic and...
Teach Engineering
Capillarity – Measuring Surface Tension
How do cohesion and adhesion work together? The third installment of a nine-part series teaches young scientists the difference between adhesion and cohesion. They also learn how cohesion and adhesion work together to cause capillary...
Teach Engineering
Surface Tension Lab
What constitutes a good soap bubble? In the second installment of a nine-part series, scholars apply their understanding of surface tension to soap bubbles. They experiment to determine the best solutions to use for the...
NASA
The Case of the Wacky Water Cycle
Join the tree house detectives in learning about the processes of the water cycle, water conservation, water treatment, and water as a limited resource.
Scholastic
What Are Clouds Made Of?
Tiny bubbles, in my...clouds? Offer youngsters a hands-on, visual learning experience when reviewing the scientific concepts of condensation, water vapor, and the collection of droplets that make up clouds.
Curated OER
Drops on a Penny
Young scientists explore the concept of surface tension at is applies to water. In this activity, learners use a dropper to place drops of water on a penny. Each group guesses how many drops a heads-up penny will hold, then conducts the...
Curated OER
Student Reading - The Unique Properties of Water
Without water there would be no life on this planet. Biology learners find out why by reading this handout. Create a worksheet of questions to answer after the reading. Follow it up with quick demonstrations or laboratory activities that...
Curated OER
Chemistry of Life Study Guide
Biology learners should understand a few chemistry basics. Here is a worksheet that introduces them to the concepts of chemical reactions, molecular bonding, and the unique combination of properties that make water vital to life....