Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate and Forest Ecosystem Services
Forests, through sequestration, capture excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and store it, aiding in climate change. The third installment in a four-part series on how climate impacts forests explores carbon sequestration. Classes...
Curated OER
Household Chemistry
Young scholars use indicator paper to determine if substances are acidic, basic, or neutral. They test for Ph levels in them. They investigate the effect of oxygen on darkening fruit cut and exposed to the air. They observe vitamin C as...
Curated OER
The Structure of Matter and the Chemical Elements
For this chemistry worksheet, students answer 73 fill in the blanks and multiple choice questions on the structure of matter and properties of elements in the periodic table.
Curated OER
Nothing New? A Physical Change
Fifth graders discuss the differences between chemical and physical changes. In groups, they complete experiments and discover how a physical chnage can be reversed. To end the lesson, they review the steps of the water cycle and...
Curated OER
Physical Changes of Water
Students observe changes in water. In this lesson plan about water and its forms, students perform an experiment to determine how water changes. Students analyze what causes water to be solid, liquid, or gas. Students record their...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Synthesis and Characterization of CdSe Quantum Dots
Does the size of a sample change the physical properties of that substance? It turns out it can! Young scientists combine physics and chemistry to synthesize CdSe quantum dots and record their color properties. Learners should notice a...
Curated OER
Energy and Matter
A review of a full unit on energy and matter, this slide show starts with basic definitions of states of matter and their mass. It then develops the ideas of the forces that that matter can exert. Details about bonding within matter and...
CK-12 Foundation
Air Matters
What makes up the air we breathe? Young scientists explore the atoms and molecules in the air. An interactive lesson allows individuals to watch the movement of the particles in the air and change the makeup from a mixture to a compound....
I Teach Bio
A Changeable Day
Twenty changes have occurred today, and Dr. Sparks needs help sorting them out! First-time physical science fans simply decide whether each represents a physical or a chemical change. The handout would make a useful quiz or review...
University of Minnesota
Dendritic Spines Lab
This is your brain on drugs ... literally! Your neuroscientists-in-training examine the evidence of drug use on the human brain and how neurons change their connectivity when altered by drugs. They then work together to create testing...
University of Georgia
Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions
Equip your chemistry class with the tools to properly understand endothermic and exothermic reactions. Young chemists collect, analyze, and graph data to determine how the Law of Conservation of Matter is applied to chemical composition...
Curated OER
Emulsions
Students identify the characteristics and composition of emulsions. In this chemistry lesson, students classify household products according to emulsion type. They explain how to make the best emulsion.
Curated OER
The Same, But Different
Third graders examine the phase change between solids and liquids and determine it to be a physical change. Ice is the perfect item to use to demonstrate this phase change. Pupils experiment with measuring and weighing solid ice and the...
Beyond Benign
Sublimation
Ah, caffeine! What would some of us do without it? Teach your high school chemistry class the concept of sublimation as they complete a hands-on experiment to visualize the changes caffeine undergoes during heating and cooling. They...
Curated OER
Investigating Chemical and Physical Changes
Young scholars explore physical and chemical changes by looking at how different powders react to a variety of substances. They observe and identify the difference between physical and chemical change using a mystery powder.
Curated OER
It's Alive! Using Microorganisms in Cooking
Students create a KWL chart about food. In this chemistry lesson, students differentiate physical and chemical changes. They explain how microorganisms are used in food preparation.
Curated OER
Activit #2 Matter: Is It Conserved?
Students support the law of conservation of matter with evidence. They discuss the changes observed from the burning of the candle, and the differences in mass which are observed when the same reaction is carried out in an open or...
American Chemical Society
Changing State: Evaporation
Why do experiments require a control? Guide scholars through designing an experiment to see what they can do to evaporate water faster with a lesson that stresses the importance of controlling all variables. The second activity allows...
Curated OER
The Right Chemistry
Students see that chemistry is the study of matter, how matter reacts and combines to create new chemicals, the changes that take place in matter and what makes up matter. This lesson plan provides many good ideas across the curriculum...
Curated OER
The Chemistry Connection
In this proteins worksheet, students read about the chemical compound, protein. Students determine where proteins are found in the body and how enzymes help the body react. Then students complete 3 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Changes of State
Students examine molecules and the changes in energy of a system. In this energy systems lesson students complete a lab activity and describe changes of state.
Normal Community High School
Density
Change the density of water by adding minerals. The presentation discusses density—from the definition to calculations—and applies it to the real world. It briefly mentions specific gravity, and finishes by showing Archimedes' principle.
Virginia Department of Education
Heat Transfer and Heat Capacity
It's time to increase the heat! Young chemists demonstrate heat transfer and heat capacity in an activity-packed lab, showing the transitions between solid, liquid, and gaseous phases of materials. Individuals plot data as the changes...
Virginia Department of Education
Molar Heat of Fusion for Water
How can you describe heat of fusion in a way the class understands and relates the importance of this concept to present day issues? In this third lesson of the series, learners conduct an experiment, demonstrating the flow of heat...