US Department of Energy
Solar Distiller
Explore the sun's ability to distill contaminated water with this simple set of classroom experiments. After filling two glass bowls, one with muddy water and the other with salt water, they are covered with plastic wrap and placed in...
Curated OER
Survival Still
Lead your class to construct a solar still on campus to demonstrate how water can be extracted from the soil. The power of solar energy is emphasized, as is the concept of how capillary water can be recovered and purified by using a...
Curated OER
What's In Crude Oil?
Students research the process of fractional distillation. In this chemistry lesson, students perform simple distillation of two liquids. They collect data and share results in class.
Curated OER
What's In Crude Oil?
Students investigate crude oil. In this crude oil lesson, students investigate fractional distillation and use this technique to separate two liquids.
Nuffield Foundation
Digestion of Starch: Microbes
Sugar isn't good for you, but it's great for microbes. A simple experiment has pupils investigate the digestion of starch by microbes to produce sugars. They apply two bacterial cultures, an amylase solution, and distilled water on a...
Virginia Department of Education
Mystery Anions
Lost an electron? You should keep an ion them. Young chemists learn qualitative analysis in the second activity of an 11-part chemistry series. After observing reactions of simple salts, the teacher provides pupils with unknown samples...
Curated OER
Seashore Explorers
There are three separate lessons within this resource that can be used together, or that can each stand alone. In the first, five simple activities allow junior scientists to examine the amazing properties of water. In the second, they...
Curated OER
Rain Machine (Solar Still)
Students experiment with a solar still. In this distillation lesson, students find a simple way to use evaporation to make salty water drinkable.
NOAA
Importance of Deep-Sea Ecosystems – What Killed the Seeds?
Most drugs used today come from nature, so the discovery of new ecosystems in the deep sea is exciting from a medical perspective. Scholars develop their own bioassay to test germination rates in seeds.
NOAA
Watch the Screen!
Can a sponge cure cancer? Life science pupils visit the drugstore under the sea in the fifth activity of six. Working groups research the topic then get hands-on experience by testing the inhibiting effects of several plant extracts on...
Sciencenter
Carrying Charges
What's all the buzz about electricity? Scholars take part in a scientific activity to test the conductivity of liquids and solutions. They first see if water, salad oil, alcohol, and vinegar cause a buzzer to buzz when electrodes are...
NOAA
What Killed the Seeds?
Can a coral cure cancer? Take seventh and eighth grade science sleuths to the underwater drugstore for an investigation into emerging pharmaceutical research. The fifth installment in a series of six has classmates research the wealth of...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Creating and Testing Silver-Nanoparticle Socks
Antibacterial socks are a product of nanotechnology. An inquiry-based instructional activity asks collaborative groups to create their own antibacterial socks and then test them against other products on the market. The sock with the...
Nuffield Foundation
Making a Calibration Curve for Starch Concentration
How well can your class concentrate on solutions? Scholars use colorimeter absorption to explore a starch concentration calibration curve. They add iodine to different starch solutions to see how the concentration of the solution changes.
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 plan of the series builds on the oxidation-reduction experiment in the first lesson plan. Scholars synthesize a sample of nanowires using electrolysis....
Curated OER
The Sun as the Driving Force of the Water Cycle
Learners study the water cycle and how the sun is an important factor. For this water cycle lesson students investigate how to desalinate water and explore the different densities of fresh versus saltwater.
Curated OER
Electrolytic Titration
Middle schoolers observe an electrolytic titration using a conductivity tester. In this titration lesson, students observe a solution of acid conducting electricity using the conductivity apparatus. They observe the acid solution being...
Curated OER
Infectious Disease Detectives
Students participate in a simulation of how diseases are transmitted. Each student holds a test tube, with only one containing the "disease" while the others have water. They move around the room until told to stop. Using droppers to...
Curated OER
Acids and Bases: Together again!
Young scholars identify principles behind acid-base reactions. They predict factors that may affect an acid-base reaction. Students identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations.
Curated OER
Topic Sentences
Students rearrange three groups of sentences within three paragraphs in numerical order. In this topic sentences instructional activity, students write a topic sentence for three already formed paragraphs and write three original topic...
Curated OER
Juicing the Differences
Seventh graders investigate the vitamin C content of orange juice. In this chemistry lesson plan, 7th graders analyze the variables that cause result variation in their experiment. They design a new experiment to test variables in question.
Curated OER
Simulating the Spread of an Infectious Disease
In this health worksheet, students identify various infectious diseases and explore the available options for stopping or preventing the spread of disease. They participate in a simulation experiment on how to measure and prevent. There...
Curated OER
The Miracle Fish: Learning to Design an Experiment
Students develop procedures to explore the behavior of fish. In this scientific experiment lesson students from a hypothesis, write a question, identify different variables and controls in their experiment.
Curated OER
Survival Still
Students explain how to desalinate water using solar energy. In this solar lesson students complete a lab activity and explain capillary water.