American Chemical Society
Why Does Water Dissolve Sugar?
Did you know that if you wait long enough, the M on the outside of an M and M will float to the surface when submerged in water? Learners observe the sugar coating of an M and M while it is dissolving in water. They explain how this...
Curated OER
Science: Safety Rules Videos
Students examine and practice science laboratory safety rules. In groups, they discuss ways to illustrate the rules. Students plan and record videos demonstrating the safety rules.
Curated OER
Bernoulli's Principle Lab
High schoolers are introduced Bernoulli's Principle and how it shows the relationship between fluid speed and pressure change. In groups, they participate in experiments in different processes in the industrial world. They share their...
Curated OER
Soil Nutrients - Phosphorus Lab Lesson Plan
Students list sources of phosphorus in soil. They explain how phosphorus is removed from the soil and used by plants. Students list the symptoms of insufficient or excess phosphorus. Students perform experiments to examine the effect of...
University of Georgia
Heating and Cooling of Land Forms
Compare heating and cooling rates of different land forms. A lab activity has groups collect data on the rate of heating and cooling of soil, grass, saltwater, fresh water, and sand. An analysis of the rates shows how the different land...
University of Georgia
Density and Texture of Soil
All soil is not created equal! A lab activity asks learners to collect and analyze soil. Specific calculations determine the amount of sand, silt, and clay in a sample and allow individuals to identify the soil texture.
Santa Monica College
Mole Ratios and Reaction Stoichiometry
Stoichiometry sounds complicated, but it really means the study of the amount of substances involved in a reaction. The sixth lesson plan in an 11-part series has scholars use stoichiometry to find the theoretical yield of a reaction....
Curated OER
Science Lab Safety Procedures
Eighth graders watch a Lab Safety video and discuss particular questions related to lab safety. Lab equipment is then distributed and the students inspect the equipment and record their finding in their journal. Finally, in groups, 8th...
Curated OER
Microbes Are Everywhere - Biology Teaching Thesis
High schoolers are able to list at 3 rules for operating in a laboratory and to explain why each is important. They are able to identify problems with laboratory scenarios presented by the teachers. Students execute a lab protocol using...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Understanding Wave Motion - Slinky vs. Snaky: Which Spring is Dominant?
Ride the wave to an understanding of refraction! The first in a series of two inquiry-based lessons challenges learners to create transverse waves with two different types of springs. As their wave hits an object, they observe the change...
It's About Time
Color Reactions that Involve the Transfer of Electrons
Demonstrate the aging of materials as you assist the class in creating rust. Individuals demonstrate oxidation-reduction reactions that result in the rusting of materials, differentiate between materials that will and will not rust, and...
Curated OER
Measurement and Safety
In this measurement and safety worksheet, students find the terms in a word search puzzle for 13 statements about the SI units of measurement, the prefixes for the units and measurements of mass, length, and volume. They answer 2...
Teaching Ideas
Investigation Prompts
Get your class started with experimentation and investigation by providing sentence starters. This chart is made up of three columns. The first column lists steps of the scientific process and the second provides sentence starters for...
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
Lab Safety
In this lab safety worksheet, students use an illustration of students in a lab classroom to complete 10 short answer questions about what they see as safe and unsafe lab procedures.
Curated OER
Safety in Numbers
Students investigate social behavior patterns of primates. Next, students research a specific primate-analyzing individual and group behavior patterns particular to the species. They create informational posters and present findings to...
Curated OER
Rock Density Lab
Students use a balance and weigh a rock sample. They weigh the rock suspended on a sling in a glass of water. They tabulate the rock's density using the two weights and compare the density of various rocks of similar sizes.
Curated OER
Teen Driving: Skills, Responsibilities and Reactions
As an introduction to the skills required for and responsibilities of driving, pre-teens and teens engage in a series of activities, chart their response times, and analyze how variables effect these reaction times. Class groups use the...
Curated OER
Science Lesson Plans
Young scholars conduct a variety of exploration activities on various science topics. In this science lesson outline, students design a cell encapsulation to hold a specific type of medicine. They give examples of physical and chemical...
Beyond Benign
Green"er" Precipitation Reaction
All sodium carbonate may not have the same amount of carbonate, but it should have the same percent. Learners write and balance an equation to predict the chemical reaction between sodium carbonate and zinc acetate. Through the lab...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Organic Molecules Day—Chemistry Outreach
In search of an organic lab that employs real-life techniques and analysis methods? Groups carry out the nitration of methyl benzoate, then attempt to determine the number and location of the nitro groups added to the benzene ring....
Teach Engineering
Earthquakes Living Lab: The Theory of Plate Tectonics
Find out if your class agrees with Ice Age: Continental Drift ... or if it's just a fun family movie! Class members research the theory of continental drift, examine evidence of plate tectonics, connect this information to engineering,...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Investigating Temperature Changes on Evaporating Liquids—Microscale Chemistry
Is there more to evaporation than just less liquid? Show young scientists the energy transformation that occurs during a phase change through a series of simple experiments. Lab partners place drops of water, ethanol, and ethoxyethane on...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Synthesis of Nickel Nanowires
It's all about the scale—they're not just wires, they're nanowires! The second lesson of the series builds on the oxidation-reduction experiment in the first lesson. Scholars synthesize a sample of nanowires using electrolysis. As they...