Curated OER
The Pure, The Mixture, The Unknown
Ninth graders participate in classroom discussions, demonstrations and hands-on laboratory activities about pure substances and mixtures with a focus on common household materials. They investigate: What is a pure substance? What is a...
Curated OER
Toxicology and Living Systems
Students investigate how toxic chemicals affect biological systems. They determine the toxic dose of a chemical that inhibits seed germination in a Brassica rapa. They investigate the effect of environmental tobacco smoke on human lung...
Curated OER
Through Thick or Thin!!!
Learners differentiate between high and low viscosity. Students collect, graph, and interpret data, then quantitatively measure polymer solids. Learners experiment with a household example of an emulsion polymer.
Curated OER
Understanding the pH Cycle within the Aquarium
Students discuss places they have been where the air seemed hard to breathe. They discuss if they could "see" the humidity or smell. Students discuss ways this might relate to the fish in the aquarium. The teacher introduces pH and how...
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Fifth graders investigate how humans pollute the water supply with a number of different contaminates. While working in small groups they examine screening, sedimentation, filtration, and chemical treatments as methods of water treatment.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Biomass: Biogas Generator
It's a gas. Middle schoolers build a biogas generator following the directions in this resource. After a few days of observation, they demonstrate that the gas given off by the decomposing manure is flammable. The activity concludes as...
Curated OER
Toxics Lesson Plan
Students discover that chemicals and toxics are all around us and we can make a choice whether or not to use them.
Curated OER
Pollution Prevention
Students investigate how to reduce solid and hazardous waste, and estimate the amount of household hazardous waste in their community. Students discuss methods of changing people's habits, and how to convince them to use alternative...
Curated OER
Understanding Filtration
Students discuss the work "Filter." They list types of filters they know about and look at both clean and used filters. Students speculate on how a filter might be important to a fish. They listen to the instructor tell them about...
Curated OER
Electrical Circuits And Switches
Students design and draw circuits with batteries, small light bulbs and common household conductors. They build and test the circuit then modify it so someone who couldn't use their hands could turn the circuit on and off.
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Fifth graders examine what contaminated water looks like, and how it becomes polluted. They examine a teacher demonstration of water is not polluted but does contain rocks and other things that do need to be cleaned out before drinking...
What happened to the frogs?
Students will select ten rubber frogs and determine their pollutant source based on their malformations. Students will write a brief essay on their findings. Students will be engaged in the lesson the entire time!
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Get your scientists engaged in both recall and life application responses after reading a selection from a McGraw Hill science text (not included). Based on chapter 14, this water pollution worksheet has students review where water...
Curated OER
Acid(s)-Base(s) Detective
Students investigate acids, bases, indicators and universal indicators. In this acid and base lesson plan, students test 6 samples with litmus paper and determine if they are acids or bases. They separate out 7 samples using litmus paper...
Curated OER
What in the World Is a Watershed?
Students discover the role of a watershed. In this geography lesson, students are shown a diagram of a watershed and discuss the definition of a watershed. Students demonstrate the role of a watershed by using an umbrella and spraying it...
Curated OER
Investigating the Effect Of Successive Heat and Cool Cycles on a Thermoplastic material.
Students investigate hot melt glue using a hot melt glue gun as an an injection molding simulator and a melt index viscometer. They evaluate the effect of heating and cooling by weighing the glue extruded over a constant time period.
Curated OER
Energy
In this science worksheet, students learn about renewable, non-renewable and sustainable energy and examine alternative fuel sources by studying the information on these 8 pages. Students complete 20 questions about energy. These pages...
American Chemical Society
Using the Combining Test to Identify Unknown Liquids
Once investigators have learned how their mystery liquids interact with water during the preceding activity, they now use their observations to identify them. This is an ideal conclusion to the mini unit on the properties of water.
NOAA
Importance of Deep-Sea Ecosystems – What Killed the Seeds?
Most drugs used today come from nature, so the discovery of new ecosystems in the deep sea is exciting from a medical perspective. Scholars develop their own bioassay to test germination rates in seeds.
American Chemical Society
Curious Crystals
Crystals are more than meets the eye! Can learners tell them apart simply by observation? As they examine five samples with a magnifier, they find that appearance alone is not enough. This serves as an introduction to a mini unit on...
American Chemical Society
Look-Alike Liquids
Here is the first of four experiments to differentiate among unknown liquids by their behaviors and properties. Pupils observe how different liquids respond to being placed on plastic and paper, and they take notes about their...
American Chemical Society
Density: Sink and Float for Liquids
We don't think of liquids as floating typically, but a quick look at any oil spill tells a different story. Lesson explores various densities of liquids and why this fact is important. After observing the density variation, scholars...
Virginia Department of Education
Solution Concentrations
What happens when you combine 6.022 times 10 to the 23 piles of dirt into one? You make a mountain out of a mole hill. Scholars use dehydration to obtain percent composition and then calculate the molarity of the original solution.
Curated OER
Sour and Bitter: Acids and Bases
Tenth graders distinguish between acids and bases. In this pH activity, 10th graders view a PowerPoint and discuss the characteristics of an acid and a base. They investigate natural substances to determine the pH level of each.