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Lesson Plan
University of California

Hot! Hot! Hot!

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
Calories are not tiny creatures that sew your clothes tighter every night, but what are they? A science activity, presented at multiple levels, has learners experiment with heat, heat transfer, and graph the function over time. It also...
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Activity
It's About Time

States of Matter: Solid, Liquid, and Gas

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Solid, liquid, and gas: they all matter. Scholars create an animation of the various states of matter, experiment with the temperature of water as it changes states, and observe carbon dioxide as it changes states. The lesson also...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Heat and Thermal Energy Transfer

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How does radiation affect our daily lives? Answer that question and others with a lesson that discusses radiation and its use in thermal energy transfer through electromagnetic waves. Pupils investigate vaporization and evaporation while...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

The Rate of Motion

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How much time does it take to jump over three balloons? Pupils calculate the speed of tasks that require different motions. They determine motions for tasks such as walking, skipping, hopping, and jumping before creating a spreadsheet...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Work and Power

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Assist your class with correctly calculating the values for force, work, and power as they determine the amount various activities require. They gather data and participate in a group discussion to compare results upon conclusion of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Caterpillars and Climate: How Temperature Affects Feeding Rate In Insects

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Do you eat more when you are hot or when you are cold? Young scientists observe the eating pace of two caterpillars at different temperatures. The differences in endotherm and ecotherm animals' ability to adjust to temperature change...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Thermochemistry: Heat and Chemical Changes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What makes particles attract? Here, learners engage in multiple activities that fully describe colligative properties and allow the ability to critically assess the importance of these properties in daily life. Young chemists conduct...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Molar Heat of Fusion for Water

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How can you describe heat of fusion in a way the class understands and relates the importance of this concept to present day issues? In this third lesson of the series, learners conduct an experiment, demonstrating the flow of heat...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Macromolecules

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Finally, a chance for the class to play with their food! Allow pupils to simulate stomach acid with common foods, and introduce specific macromolecules into the mixture to explore characteristics of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins....
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

The Law of Conservation of Matter

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The Law of Conservation of Matter can be complex for young scientists to fully grasp. Use this experiment to help simplify the process as pupils perform two experiments to determine mass: one that melts a substance and the other that...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

States and Forms of Energy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Energy is just energy, right? Explain various forms of energy to your young scientists by using an interactive experiment that contains common objects to demonstrate complex concepts. Pupils conduct experiments for radiant, thermal,...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Heat Loss from a Fur-Insulated Animal

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How do animals adapt to weather changes? Provide your class with the ability to understand adaptations and body temperature as they participate in this hands on experiment, using fake fur and hot water. Pupils collect data and analyze...
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Assessment
Balanced Assessment

Pen Pals

For Students 6th - 8th
It's always nice to hear from friends. Your budding mathematicians read letters from pen pals and convert customary measurements into metric units and vice versa. They also write letters to an imaginary pen pal using metric units.
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Lesson Plan
S2tem Centers SC

Seasons

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Winter, spring, summer, and fall—take the learning of the seasons beyond the elementary level to the middle school classroom. Curious learners begin by watching videos about the seasons and the rotation of planet Earth. Then, they...
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Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Can Carbon Dioxide Act Like a Greenhouse Gas?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Ninety-seven percent of scientists who study climate agree that human activity is warming the planet. Learners explore carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, a gas causing this warming, through a hands-on experiment. Once complete, they...
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Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Frozen Fish? Unique Adaptations of Antarctic Fish

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Some fish contain proteins that act like antifreeze in order for them to live in the frigid waters of Antarctica! High schoolers determine how much antifreeze a fish needs to lower its body temp to -2.5 degrees. Teachers act as a...
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Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Design Challenge: How to Keep Gelatin from Melting

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
The inside of the spacecraft Messenger, which explores Mercury, will experience temperatures from 32 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit. In the final installment of a series of four space-related activities, groups spend time discussing and...
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Lesson Plan
University of Georgia

The Power of Peanuts

For Students 9th - 12th
Measure the amount of energy in a peanut by igniting a chemical reaction. Classes use a laboratory setup to burn a peanut and measure the amount of heat it releases through a temperature analysis. They calculate the number of Joules of...
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Lesson Plan
1
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PBS

Inspector Detector

For Teachers 4th - 8th
How do spacecraft detect magnetic fields? The fourth installment of a five-part unit has learners develop a device with magnets that allows for the detection of magnetic fields. They use a map of an imaginary planet to try out their...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Albedo, Reflectivity, and Absorption

For Teachers 5th - 6th
What is reflectivity, and what does it have to do with the Earth's climate? As reflectivity is measured by albedo, scientists can gather information on Earth's energy balances that relate to global warming or climate change. Budding...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Dive into the power of the sun with a two-part instructional activity. Budding scientists model the greenhouse effect in a hands-on activity, and then participate in a skit that explores the earth's energy balances and what really occurs...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
The greenhouse effect is important, for without it, life on Earth would not exist. An activity that includes modeling the greenhouse effect and acting out the Earth's energy balance makes up the first part in a series of seven lessons....
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Peanut Energy

For Teachers 6th Standards
How do humans get energy since they aren't mechanical and can't photosynthesize? Learners explore this question by relating potential energy in food to human energy levels. Scholars measure the change in mass and a change in temperature...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Oceans on the Rise

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Temperature rises and land disappears! Through a lab exploration, learners understand the effect of temperature increase on water similar to the effect of global warming on our oceans. As they heat the water in a flask, they measure the...

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