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Understanding Air Pressure
Fifth graders complete experiments with air to understand that air takes up space, has mass, and that air pressure can be changed. In this air pressure lesson, 5th graders test the air pressure by using balloons, syringes, and water to...
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What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Soil
Students conduct an experiment to evaluate whether plants need soil to survive and grow. They plant two seeds, one with soil and one without, make predictions, and record and analyze the seed germination results on a worksheet.
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Seeping Stones
Students explore and experiment with oil traps in rocks. In this rocks lesson plan, students explore the porousness of different rocks and how the more porous a rock is, the more oil it can trap. Students also participate in a lab step...
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Light and shadow
Students experiment with light and shadow. In this light lesson, students look at the relationship between shadows and light. They experiment with light source, shadow size, transparent objects and reflective objects.
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Skateboard Disaster
Students conduct a hands-on experiment with collisions between two skateboards of different masses. They are introduced to the concept of conservation of momentum in collisions and consider how their observations might help engineers...
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Photovoltaics and Solar Energy
Students experiment with photovoltaic cells and determine the energy use of their appliances. In this renewable energy lesson plan, students calculate the energy emitted by a photovoltaic cell through an inquiry-based lab. They keep...
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What is a greenhouse?
Students experiment to gain understanding of how a greenhouse retains heat. In this greenhouse lesson, students work with soda bottles and simulate a greenhouse. Students compare data from a vented and intact bottle. Students record and...
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Rock Cycles, Crayon Cycles
Students examine the rock cycle and the path that rocks go through to rearranged in different ways. They define key vocabulary terms, then in small groups conduct a variety of experiments using crayon shavings as simulated rocks and...
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Gravity Gets You Down
Students investigate the force of gravity and how it effects different objects that are put into acceleration when applied the experiment of free falling. They drop different objects that have a variety of masses and some that cause air...
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Understanding the Rutherford Model
In this Rutherford model worksheet, students read about Rutherford's experiment with gold foil and alpha particles which led to the discovery of subatomic particles. Students answer six analysis questions about the experiment and...
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Warm Air versus Cold Air
Students discover that warm air takes up more space than cold air. In this science lesson plan, students perform 4 experiments using balloons to determine that the molecules of warm air are more spread out than those of cold air.
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Problems and Solutions in Aircraft Design
Students watch demonstrations of paper folded designs that do and do not fly and discuss their observations. They identify problems that they, the Wright Brothers, or NASA scientists face when designing an aircraft, and identify...
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Do the Twist...(Learning about Screws)
Learners investigate how screws are a twisted incline plane. They observe the teacher screw a screw into wood and participate in a class discussion. Next, they make and test a prediction about how the spacing of the threads on a screw...
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See the Stars
Students explore the nighttime sky. In this space science lesson, students read the book Maria's Comet and and investigate the sky using their naked eyes. Students compare the view of their naked eyes to the view of a telescope.
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Flight Dreams - Flight Factors
Students investigate the physics of flight by experimenting in class. In this history of flight instructional activity, students define terms such as gravity, lift, and drag in order to better understand how a plane is able to stay in...
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Oil Spill
Students explore an important role of environmental engineers by studying the Exxon Valdez oil spill. They experiment with different strategies in order to clean up their own manufactured oil spill.
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Wilderness Survival: A Field Practicum
Students use hands-on field-testing of authentic application from principles pertaining to: Psychology- A. Develop a positive, can-do attitude with a high degree of self-reliance that is transferable to human interactions outside of the...
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Air Pressure
Students perform experiments that demonstrate the characteristics of air pressure. In this physics lesson, students participate and observe experiments using simple household items. The results of these experiments are used to help the...
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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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Our Sky Clock
Students explore space science by completing a worksheet in class. In this astronomy lesson, students discuss and identify star patterns in the night sky and relate these patterns to the approximate time they appear. Students complete an...
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Moon: NC Summer Tour Lesson 2007
Students investigate craters and marea. In this crater and marea instructional activity, students conduct an experiment to create craters. Students participate in a dance activity.
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Hot Air
Students conduct an experiment to determine how hot air affect the path of laser. In this physics lesson, students explain why stars appear to twinkle at night. They discuss how light travels from space to Earth.
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Simple Machines: Levers
Students discover the fundamentals and daily applications of simple machines. They practice basic engineering theory through their hands-on demonstrations of levers.
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Microorganism Multiplication
Sixth graders conduct experiments with yeast to study characteristics of microorganisms. They, working is small groups, change the variables in the experiments and note the results which they later discuss as a class.