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Blame It On El Nino
Learners understand what the weather phenomenon El Nino is and what causes it. Students recognize how remote sensing technology can detect and predict El Nino. Learners discover how El Nino effects weather conditions throughout the globe...
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MASS
Students distinguish between weight and mass. They examine how in oscillations of a mass against an elastic spring--in the absence of gravity, or in horizontal motion--the length of the oscillation period is proportional to the square...
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NEWTON'S 3RD LAW
Young scholars examine the formal definition of Newton's 3rd law: "forces always originate in pairs, equal in magnitude and opposite in direction." --The informal, qualitative version: "Each action has an equal and opposite reaction."
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MOTION IN A CIRCLE
Young scholars explore uniform circular motion, and the relation of its frequency of N revolutions/sec with the peripheral velocity v and with the rotation period T, and the "centripetal acceleration" of an object.
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FRAMES OF REFERENCE: THE BASICS
Students examine the concept of frames of reference in physics: that two frames of reference, each moving with respect to the other with a constant velocity v, observe the same accelerations and therefore Newton's laws are the same in both.
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WAVES AND PHOTONS
Learners examine the many types of electromagnetic waves, the concept of an EM wave, how James Clerk Maxwell proposed a slight modification of the equations of electricity, Heinrich Hertz and his radio-frequency, wavelengths, and light...
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Creating Station Models
Learners review weather conditions at various cities and create station models on a weather map.
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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...
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More Rocket Science
Young scholars observe two rocket science experiments, and create a graph to demonstrate the results. They draw a picture and write an explanation of the results of the experiments.
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Our Own City
Students will construct their own functioning city. Each day students will add to the city requiring adjustments and planning. They solve problems caused by increase in human settlement such as stacking houses creating apartments so that...
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Volcanoes are a Blast-Working with Simple Equations
For this projectile motion worksheet, high schoolers solve 3 problems and an inquiry problem using three equations that describe projectile motion. One equation is for the maximum velocity to reach a height, H, the other is the maximum...
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The Moon's Atmosphere
In this moon's atmosphere worksheet, students read about the tenuous lunar atmosphere and solve 4 problems. They find the density of helium particles, they find the grams of given atoms in the moon's atmosphere and they find the volume...
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Locating Echo
Students read the book The Adventure of Echo the Bat. For this animal science lesson, students read the book and create a chart labeled "Land Feature," "Habitat," and "Food." Students fill in the table according to where the character...
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Create a Cloud in a Bottle
Students look at how clouds form. In this cloud lesson plan, students make a cloud using water, 2 liter bottles and a match. They watch how the pressure and temperature changes the atmosphere in the bottle to create a cloud.
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Create a Cloud In a Jar
Students investigate cloud formation. In this weather lesson, students examine how clouds are formed. Students participate in experiments that model how water vapor in the air works.
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Rover Races
Students identify the challenges encountered by astronauts in operating a planetary rover. In this space science lesson plan, students create a rover using their team members. They follow a command sequence from the driver and navigate...
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Cake Batter Lava
Students examine how lava flows change the landscape. In this lava lesson students complete a lab activity where they create a lava flow using cake batter.
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Impact Craters: Holes in the Ground!
Middle schoolers simulate crater formation through a lab activity. In this space science lesson, students calculate how much energy is transferred during meteorite impact. They identify different factors affecting the size and depth of...
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Investigating Planetary Soils
Students study soil characteristics and identify properties of soils from different parts of the solar system. In this soil instructional activity students divide into groups, read soil descriptions, test and record soil samples.
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Exploring Meteorite Mysteries: Building Blocks of Planets
Students simulate the formation of chondrites and asteroids. In this astronomy lesson, students demonstrate accretion using balloons and static electricity. They compare and contrast their models to the actual process of chondrites and...
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Edible Rocks
Students create meteorite models using candy bars. For this earth science lesson, students describe the physical features of a meteorite. They sketch it and write a short description about it.
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Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn?
Students identify the different requirements for photosynthesis to take place. In this space science instructional activity, students simulate conditions in Saturn to investigate if photosynthesis is possible there. They use data and...
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What Color is the Ocean?
Students view satellite pictures of the ocean, and discuss the presence of phytoplankton and the colors of the ocean. Students compare/contrast ocean satellite images with maps and globes, then color world maps to replicate the satellite...
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Show Me the Way To Go Home
Students place a pencil perpendicular to the ground and trace its shadow between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM. They measure the length of the shadow, periodically over several hours, in either English or Metric units. Using the data, they find...