Curated OER
Potential and Kinetic Energy
Sixth graders explore potential and kinetic energy. In this science lesson plan, 6th graders assume the role of a roller coaster engineer and design a roller coaster. Students use their knowledge of kinetic and potential energy to design...
Curated OER
Surface Meteorological Observation System (SMOS)
Learners investigate local surface weather conditions. They log weather conditions for thirty days, develop a graph, plot cloud cover, and compare/contrast the graphed lines of various weather factors.
Curated OER
Hot Stuff
Students investigate if heat can change the form of matter. In this physics instructional activity, students use heat sources to observe the changes in an ice cube. Students graph which heat source changed the matter the fastest.
Curated OER
Electromagnets: Winding Things Up!
Students explore solenoids and electromagnets. After building an electromagnet, students use a TI Graphing calculator, a CBL 2 interface and a magnetic field sensor to measure the strength of a magnetic field. They create a graph of...
Curated OER
Friction of a Block Weight
Fifth graders hypothesize and design an experiment to study the relationship between a block weight and the number of washers it takes to pull a block across various surfaces. Students graph results and apply their findings to a...
Curated OER
And the Survey Says...
Eighth graders evaluate whether a certain argument is valid or invalid. In this science lesson, 8th graders discuss the importance of using unbiased evidence. They design an experiment that they can test in school.
Curated OER
Specific Heat and Insulation
Students measure the air and soil temperatures at designated times. They graph the temperatures of each on one piece of graph paper with different colors. Students compare the information for the two line plots and analyze their results...
Curated OER
Earth Matters
Students identify Earth's equator, prime meridian, lines of latitude, lines of longitude, parallels, and meridians.
Curated OER
Using A Volunteer Acquired Database Constructed On The Internet, Examine the Relationship between Dissolved Oxygen and Water Temperature
Ninth graders access a database and open a spreadsheet. In this oxygen and water temperature lesson students save the database, sort it and generate scatter plot graphs.
Curated OER
Making and Using a Hydrometer
Students build a hydrometer to measure the densities of fresh and salt water samples. They record the water temperature and density and use the temperature, density, and salinity conversion graph to locate the salinity. Finally,...
Curated OER
Raquel's Radishes
Sixth graders develop a reasonable hypothesis for a fictional science fair investigation. 'Raquel' is going to grow radishes and test for the best way to nourish them. They create a bar graph and write conclusions.
Curated OER
Dirty Water
Students, through a case study of actual water sources in Washington State, identify major sources of aquatic pollution. They also categorize pollutants, make inferences about the effects of pollutants on the environment and construct...
Curated OER
Mass vs. Weight
Why do you weigh more in space? Each individual in your class explores this question and others as they determine the mass and weight of different objects using two types of scales. They perform conversions and discuss their results,...
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The Environment
Students explore the issues that influence our environment and research ways to decrease the negative impact that humans have on the environment. Misconceptions about environmental issues are addressed in this lesson.
Curated OER
Hot and Cold Colors
Students experiment with the color and solar energy absorption. In this color and solar energy absorption lesson plan, students spend two days discussing and experimenting with the concept of energy absorption. They paint cans with...
Polar Trec
Foraging for Fish in a Melting Arctic
How much do you know about the black guillemot of the Arctic region? With great background information, images, and a quick discussion, the class will learn all about the plight of the foraging seabird as they play a fun game. First,...
Curated OER
Observation Milk Fat Lesson
Turn your class loose to experiment with the different fat content in skim milk, whole milk, half and half, and heavy cream. This is a visually vibrant experiment, as learners drip food coloring on the surface of the products and measure...
Curated OER
Animals of the Arctic
Sixth graders research an Arctic animal. They survey the questions in the Animal Report in order to conduct their research. They investigate their chosen animal by using the Internet, library books and reference books.
Beyond Benign
Product Test
It's the moment of truth. Previous lessons in the 24-part series had scholars design and develop shampoo formulas using chemical concepts. The 18th lesson asks them to test the function of their shampoos. To do this, they calculate the...
Curated OER
Science: Hurricanes As Heat Engines
Students conduct Internet research to track the path of Hurricane Rita. They record the sea surface temperature of the Gulf of Mexico during and after the hurricane and draw conclusions about how hurricanes extract heat energy from the...
Curated OER
Ready for Roots
Fourth graders sort seeds and predict what conditions are needed for them to germinate. They keep the seeds moist, observe and measure their growth and graph the results. As the seeds start to grow students compare and contrast the each...
Curated OER
Death by Particles
Emerging epidemiologists define relative risk and read an article about the effect of particulate pollution on the cardiovascular health of women. They record the relative risk values, graph them, and answer analysis questions. This is a...
Curated OER
I'm Inclined to See; Physics, Math, Science, Experiments, Graphs
Students discover the motion of a sphere on an inclined plane and discover basic relationships involving distance, time, speed(velocity), and acceleration.
Curated OER
Locating the Salt Front
Learners use Hudson River salinity data to create a line
graph that shows the location of the salt front, and use math
skills to explore how this location varies over time. They use the graph to estimate the location of the salt front...