Curated OER
Water and Ice
Students explore what happens to water as it goes from solid to liquid and back. In this state of matter lesson, students observe, measure, and describe water as it changes state.
Curated OER
The Pressure's Off
Students investigate air pressure with four hands-on activities. They observe experiments by viewing Take a Look 2 #21.
Curated OER
HOLD ON TO THAT
Students will analyze how water enters different soils, how readily it passes through and how much water is held.1. Materials needed for the activity are; pint of clay, pint of sand, pint of loam, newspaper,
three frozen fruit juice...
Curated OER
Is There Water on Mars?
Young scholars decide whether or not there is or has even been water on Mars. They analyze temperature and pressure data from the Pathfinder mission to Mars, and then they analyze images of Mars, interpreting the landforms they see and...
Curated OER
Keep it Bottled Up: Linear Rates of Pressure Increase
Pupils explore linear functions in this lesson when they collect and analyze data as a chemical reaction proceeds. Learners record pressure versus time data and model the data as a linear function. They also examine the concept of slope...
Curated OER
Electricity: Will It Conduct?
Students build conductivity testers and investigate which solids and solutions conduct electricity. Working in groups, they predict which items will conduct electricity and record their answers on worksheets.
NASA
Cleaning Water
Give young scientists a new appreciation of fresh, clean drinking water. After learning about the ways astronauts recycle their air and water, your class will work in small groups creating and testing their very own water filtration...
Curated OER
Oobleck, Goop, and Glurch
Sixth graders use teacher prepared samples of substances. They perform the same observations and complete charts for each substance. After recording and analyzing their results, 6th graders make changes in the recipes to create a better...
Curated OER
Ships 2: What Floats Your Boat?
Students design, build, and test the specifications (water displacement and load line) for a model boat. The lesson focuses especially on integrating design principles with inquiry-based experimental skills.
Curated OER
The Abiotic Limits to Purple Loosestrife Growth
Learners investigate the effects of soil temperature, water availability, photo period and other variables of the growth of purple loosestrife. They observe the growing conditions of plants and alter them by adding water, isolating the...
Cornell University
Buoyancy
Swimmers know to float by turning their bodies horizontally rather than vertically, but why does that make a difference? In an interesting lesson, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test cups to see which...
American Chemical Society
Temperature Affects Dissolving
Stir chocolate drink mix into hot and cold water to see if there is a difference in how quickly it dissolves. Number three in a six-lesson unit on dissolving, this installment investigates the effect of temperature. If you consult the...
Cornell University
Non-Newtonian Fluids—How Slow Can You Go?
Children enjoy playing with silly putty, but it provides more than just fun. Young scientists make their own silly putty using different recipes. After a bit of fun, they test and graph the viscosity of each.
Curated OER
Floating Fishes: How do Fishes Control Buoyancy?
Playing with balloons, water, oil, and bottles help put this lesson over the top! Participants use air-filled balloons in water tanks to experience gas compression. They also use oil-filled bottles to experiment with buoyancy. Included...
Cornell University
Forensic Science: Case of the Missing Diamond Maker
Someone stole a diamond-making machine. Who done it? Scholars use forensic science at six different stations to determine the culprit. They analyze fingerprints, use their senses, and complete chemistry experiments to determine the...
It's About Time
Volcanos and the Atmosphere
In the summer of 1815, snow fell every month in New England. Was this related to the volcanic eruption of Tambora in Indonesia earlier in the year? Young scientists design their own experiments to research the long-term effect a volcanic...
Curated OER
Bubble-ology and Bernoulli
Students explore aerodynamics and Bernoulli's principle by devising ways to keep bubbles aloft.
Curated OER
Oobleck
Here is a good lesson which aptly describes how to do the classic "Oobleck" lab with your young scientists. Unfortunately, the "Oobleck Investigation Sheet" in the plan doesn't open. However, this is a very clear description about how to...
Curated OER
Water Pressure Blaster
Third graders complete an experiment to introduce them to the concept of water pressure. In this water pressure lesson plan, 3rd graders create pressure in a water bottle and observe the force of water that is created.
Cornell University
Atomic Bonding
Explore the connection of surface area to bonding within atoms. Learners complete lab investigations to model changing surface area with different sizes and concentrations of atoms. A flour fireball demonstration follows the labs to...
Curated OER
The Air We Have Around Us
Students listen to story, The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, discuss air quality and how people affect the earth and its atmospheric cycles, and give oral reports on what they have learned.
Curated OER
Bubbles
Third graders perform an experiment using different mixtures of dishwasher detergent. They construct bar graphs that record their bubble data for each detergent set.
Curated OER
Density
Learners predict when an object will float or sink based on comparison of density of the object to the density of the substance in which it is placed. The access a website and sketch the object in the first column of their table and then...
Curated OER
Filling Up-Gasoline
In this fuel sources worksheet, students calculate the E85 alternative fuel costs per gallon compared to the cost of gasoline. Students complete a table to show the comparison prices. They create a triple line graph to show the...