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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Disposable Diaper Comparison and Mystery Powder Identification

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students investigate which diaper is the most absorbent. In this chemistry lesson, students calculate how much water is absorbed by diapers. They identify an unknown powder based on physical and chemical properties.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

To Diaper or Not to

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Pupils examine the environmental impact of disposable diapers.  In this environmental impact lesson students discover the materials used in disposable diapers. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

To Diaper or Not To

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students list the functions of diapers, and the materials used in disposable diapers; students then identify environmental problems caused by diapers in landfills.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Diaper Challenge

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers compare the absorbency of a regular diaper and a swim diaper in fresh water and salt water. In this absorbency lesson plan, students mass the diapers and place them in water and determine the change in mass. They do the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Super Polymers

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students investigate polymers and compare the absorbency of a disposable diaper to cotton dish towels They determine the absorbency of sodium polyacrylate.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cell Energy - Bubbling Yeast

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students identify that yeast are a single celled fungi that are a great model organism for studying respiration in the classroom. They also fill the bulb of a disposable pipet (eyedropper) with yeast, then submerge the pipet in a test...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Amazing Bean Races

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students experiment with bean growth in varied conditions.  In this plant biology lesson, students plant beans in soil and in spun cellulose (absorbent material in diapers) and measure the growth of their seedlings. They collect the data...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Internet Fact Hunt at the "Fact Monster" Web Site- April #4

For Students 3rd - 5th
In this Internet fact hunt activity, students access the "Fact Monster" web site to answer 5 multiple choice questions. They answer science, weather, sports, and invention questions.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reduce, Re-use, Recycle

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners determine the importance of recycling to reduce waste, to employ trash in useful ways, and to save the environment. They estimate the percentages of landfill waste that items constitute, based on what they found in their own...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Adventures With Super-Absorbers and Substance Solubility

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students understand the concepts of absorption, swellability and solubility and recognize that science is all around us in our everyday lives and is fun to explore.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Principles of Flight: Bernoulli's Lift

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students discover how air pressure effects flight.  In this physics lesson, students create two types of airplane wings so they can observe the way air pressure creates lift.  Students utilize a printout to create the airplane wings.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solid Waste/Recycling

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners see that when we throw away garbage, it usually ends up in a landfill. Landfill space is getting increasingly scarce, and every time we throw something away we throw with it the energy, the money, and the raw materials it took...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Miracle Fish: Learning to Design an Experiment

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners develop procedures to explore the behavior of fish.  In this scientific experiment lesson students from a hypothesis, write a question, identify different variables and controls in their experiment. 
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Landfills and Dumps

For Students 12th - Higher Ed
In this environmental issues worksheet, students learn about sanitary landfills and dumps by reading a one page information text. Students also study the cross section of a landfill. There are no questions to answer.
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Website
Other

Co Op America's Real Money: Solving the Diaper Dilemma

For Students 9th - 10th
Here's a look at the pros and cons of disposable diaper use as opposed to the use of cloth diapers, either washed at home or by a diaper service. Landfill space is just one of the issues in this well-reasoned article.