Lesson Plan
Santa Monica College

The Density of Liquids and Solids

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
There are underwater rivers that flow on the ocean floor thanks to a difference in density. Scholars learn about the density in both liquids and solids in the second lesson of an 11-part series. They then determine the density of water,...
Lesson Plan
LABScI

Viscosity: The Fluid Lab

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
There's more to fluids than meet the eye—they include gases, liquids, and polymers, too! Scholars complete three hands-on activities exploring different properties of fluids. They explore viscosity by measuring the resistance, or...
Lesson Plan
LABScI

Conservation of Momentum: Marble Collisions

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What happens to the momentum of an object when it strikes another object? Scholars roll a marble down a ramp so it collides with another marble. By measuring the speed of each marble before and after the collision, pupils answer this...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Constructing and Visualizing Topographic Profiles

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...
Lesson Plan
LABScI

Kinematics: The Gravity Lab

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Falling objects can be brutal if you don't protect your noodle! Scholars explore the motion of falling objects through measuring short intervals to determine if the distance traveled varies with time. Building off of this, scholars...
Lesson Plan
LABScI

Potential and Kinetic Energy: The Roller Coaster Lab

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Ron Toomer, a famous roller coaster designer, suffered from motion sickness. Pupils design their own roller coasters, learning about potential and kinetic energy in the process. Labs focus on the importance of drop height, energy...
Lesson Plan
LABScI

Acoustics: The Sound Lab

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
If the delay between a sound and its echo is less than 1/10th of a second, the human ear can’t distinguish it. Through the use of a Slinky, rubber band guitar, and straws, scholars explore where sound comes from and how it travels....
Lesson Plan
LABScI

Circuits Lab: Lightbulbs

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Electrons flow from negative to positive, but the general consensus is that current flows from positive to negative. Scholars explore current through construction of circuits in both series and parallel. The focus is on voltage,...
Interactive
Berkeley Lab

Virtual Frog Dissection Kit

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Fluffy is one of the most common names for a pet frog. Fluffy, the digitized frog in this dissection kit, opens up quite literally to allow scholars to see what's inside. The basic kit encourages pupils to click on various organs to see...
Lesson Plan
University of Texas

Matter and the Periodic Table Chemical Families and Periodic Trends

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Is assembling the periodic table as simple as Tetris? Scholars arrange colored cards into a logical order and then make connections to the arrangement of the periodic table. Hands-on activities include adding trend arrows and analyzing...
Handout
National Institute of Open Schooling

Nomenclature and General Principles

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Carbon, the base for all organic compounds, exists in nature in its purest form as graphite or diamonds. The 25th lesson in a series of 36 teaches pupils the nomenclature of organic compounds. Learners read about how to use the IUPAC...
Handout
National Institute of Open Schooling

Chemical Kinetics

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Not all chemical reactions happen at the same rate because some, like explosions, occur quickly and some, like rusting, occur over time. Here, learners explore chemical reactions and their rates in the 16th lesson of 36. Through readings...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Branching Out – Exploring Dendrochronology

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Tree rings from North America give a continuous history of El Nino intensity over the last 1,100 years. Scholars learn how scientists use tree rings to create timelines demonstrating variations in weather patterns. The cumulative...
Lesson Plan
University of Colorado

Are All Asteroids' Surfaces the Same Age?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Did you know scientists can tell the age of an asteroid by looking closely at its craters? This final activity of a six-part series focuses on two asteroids, Gaspra and Ida, in order to demonstrate the concept of dating asteroids....
Lesson Plan
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)

Life in an Ocean World

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does the shell color of crabs and the habitat they live in impact the predator-prey relationship? The fourth lesson in a series of five is a game where participants try not to get eaten if they are a prey and try to eat if they are...
Lesson Plan
University of Colorado

Looking Inside Planets

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Researchers use scientific data to understand what is inside each of the planets. The first in a series of six, this lesson builds off of that concept by having pupils use a data table to create their own scale models of the interiors of...
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Deep-Sea Ecosystems – Chemosynthesis for the Classroom

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Photosynthesis was discovered in the 1770s, but chemosynthesis wasn't discovered until 1977. While many have performed an experiment to show how photosynthesis works, the activity allows pupils to observe chemosynthesis. Scholars set up...
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Biological Oceanographic Investigations – Signals from the Deep

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill directly impacted an area of the Gulf of Mexico the size of Oklahoma. A marine biology activity looks at the impact of an oil spill on the deeper parts of the ocean. Scholars download actual data collected...
PPT
National Energy Education Development Project

Exploring Hydropower

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
In 2006, about 20 percent of the world's electricity was generated from hydroelectric power. In the presentation, scholars review the water cycle and gravitational energy to begin to understand how humans harness the power of water. They...
Unit Plan
European Schoolnet

Chemistry: All About You

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Developed for the 100-year anniversary of Marie Curie's Nobel Prize, a book offers lessons and activities to interest scholars in chemistry. It is divided into modules, so you can pick information from each to create your own lesson...
Lesson Plan
Lesson Plans

Photosynthesis Activity

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
When is the last time pupils did a happy dance in class? Scholars act out photosynthesis and dance excitedly in front of the class. The resource also comes with a worksheet for those waiting or who have already completed the...
Lesson Plan
US National Library of Medicine

Science and Society: Preventing the Spread of Disease

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Looking for a valuable resource on the spread of infectious diseases? Here is a lesson plan in which pupils simulate the spread of diseases and learn about how to prevent them from spreading. Class members read case studies about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Macromolecule Lab

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
During a macromolecule lab, young chemists perform multiple tests, including iodine starch tests, to determine if eight mystery foods contain lipids, sugars, or starches.
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Formulas and Percent Compositions of Ionic Compounds

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Try not to blind anyone with science by following the safety rules. The lesson encourages scholars to form an ionic compound from magnesium and chlorine. Then they determine the empirical formula and determine the mole ratio and percent...