Curated OER
The Magic School Bus Out of this World
Students explore the craters that objects of different sizes and weights make. They use marbles, Ping-Pong balls, and aluminum-foil balls for this experiment. They investigate what would happen if they drop objects that aren't round.
Curated OER
F = Ma, Inertia, And Action-reaction
Fourth graders investigate Newton's Second and Third Laws of Motion. They determine what makes objects harder or easier to push. While investigating they determine how applying force in order balance out gravity allows things to stay...
Curated OER
Magic Wand
Students observe how an image falling on a CCD array is divided into individual pieces, by the property of persistance of vision.
Curated OER
Air Quality Presentation for Youth
Students read two books about wind and dust and then participate in a demonstration in which they plant seeds and compare dry, dusty soils to moist soils. They identify the rationale and methods for keeping airborne dust down.
Curated OER
Get Out in the Field
Students visit a shoreline--of an ocean, a lake, a pond, a riverbank, etc., survey it and record what they find there. They map the shoreline and surrounding area and conclude where potential waterfront projects could occur.
Curated OER
Finding Jupiter's Moons
Students explore Jupiter's Moons. They calculate and predict the location of Jupiter's 4 large moons. In addition, they draw Jupiter with its moons correctly shown for the time of the observation.
Curated OER
Feel Your Way!
Students investigate the sense of touch as they examine the texture of items in the classroom and from their homes. They watch a computer based video about the senses and draw items that are rough, smooth, soft, and hard.
Curated OER
Coulomb's Law
Ninth graders observe the relationship between electrical charge and force. In this electrical charge lesson students experiment and find the quantitative relationship between force and the center to center distance between objects.
Curated OER
Seasons in 3D: Student Exploration
In this seasons exploration learning exercise, students review vocabulary and answer prior knowledge questions, then use the Seasons in 3D Gizmo to complete exploration activities.
Curated OER
Storms and Extreme Weather
Students explore hurricanes and tornadoes by conducting an experiment. In this weather pattern instructional activity, students define many extreme weather vocabulary terms and discuss the relationship with static electricity. Students...
Curated OER
Lesson 4 Activity 1: Mapping the Third Dimension
Students work in pairs to construct a simple stereoscope.
Curated OER
Weighted Averages
Weighted averages can be tricky to explain! However, this study guide makes it easy for teachers by including definitions, explanations, and breaking down problems into three steps. Includes mixture problems and uniform motion problems.
Teach Engineering
Six Minutes of Terror
Help your class understand the design challenges when trying to land a remote spacecraft on a planet. Class members examine the provided information to understand how each component of a spacecraft is designed in order to safely land a...
Curated OER
Understanding Symbols
In this symbols worksheet, students read about how different symbols are used to represent variables or constants in equations. Then students complete 3 problems.
Curated OER
Wonderful, Wild Weather
Students study the different types of weather, how it affect what they wear, and how it is related to the seasons. They compare the seasons and tell how they prepare for the change in seasons. They design a creative presentation about...
Curated OER
Home on the Biome
Fifth graders study six major biomes, graph temperature and rainfall, and present their findings to the class.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Measuring the Speed of 'Light' With a Microwave Oven
In this experiment, you will measure the speed of light using a microwave oven, some egg white, and a ruler. This short project proves to be an extremely interesting choice for a science lab, with pictures for illustration, and thorough...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Using a Laser to Measure the Speed of Light in Jello
Think it takes expensive, sophisticated equipment to measure the speed of light? Think again. Outfit yourself with a simple handheld laser pointer, a protractor, and Jell-O, and you're ready to get started.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Physical Science: Refraction of Light
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Discusses refraction of light in matter and how light changes its speed and angle of refraction according to the type of medium it is travelling through.
Science Struck
Science Struck: How Does Light Travel Through Space and Other Media?
A detailed discussion of the nature of light, how it can travel through a vacuum, and how the speed of light is affected when light travels through a medium.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Observing Refraction of Light
This video segment adapted from Shedding Light on Science illustrates how light changes speed, and thus direction, in a process known as refraction. Includes background reading and discussion questions. [2:05]
Society for Science and the Public
Science News for Students: Breaking the Universal Speed Limit
Describes research into whether neutrinos travel faster than the speed of light.
PBS
Pbs: Nova: Time Travel: Think Like Einstein
Addressed with questions about relative speed and the speed of light, students begin to "think like Einstein" while exploring the science behind the mystery of time travel.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Diamonds: The Science Behind the Sparkle
This illustrated essay from the NOVA Web site explains why the atomic structure of a diamond slows down light and produces a sparkle more brilliant than from any other colorless substance.