Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Rainbow Challenge Lab

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this inquiry lab activity, students will attempt to layer 6 different kinds of soda pops in a large test tube using their knowledge of density and other physical properties of liquids.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Investigating Floating and Sinking: Density

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
This investigation introduces the concepts of volume, mass, and density and how they interact. Students will make predictions of whether an object will float or sink after finding mass and volume of an object.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Newton's Second: Having a Ball With Motion

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students will create a gravity ball launcher to demonstrate their understanding of mass, force, momentum, and motion. The students will use critical thinking, measurement, and observation and analysis of data to make changes and improve...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Investigating Inertia

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this investigation, students will perform a simple ordering activity and demonstration to determine what inertia is and recognize how inertia affects objects. They will compare and contrast the masses of objects to predict the...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Air Is Matter

For Teachers 9th - 10th
It's difficult at times for younger young scholars to realize that air has mass. Matter is something that has volume (takes up space) and has mass (*can be weighed). Air does take up space, even if we can't see it, and air has weight,...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Investigating Motion: What Causes Objects to Move?

For Teachers K - 1st
Young scholars will have an opportunity to determine what makes everyday objects move. Students will be given objects and asked to make predictions on how far each object will move after they blow on it. Then they will measure the...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Using Your Marbles: Making Energy Work for You

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This activity is based on the common experiment of running a marble down a ramp to do work on a cup. Students will be able to see the relationship between mass and energy of the marble and the ramp height.
Activity
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Activity: Identifying a Solid Using Density

For Students 9th - 10th
Students will measure the length, diameter, and mass of twelve cylinders made of the same element. The first set of measurements are made with a standard metric ruler and 0.1g balance. The measurements are then repeated using a Vernier...
Lesson Plan
University of Hawai'i

Density (Lesson Plan)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The purpose of this lesson plan is to find the density of regular (volume can be with a mathematical formula) or irregular objects through water displacement. Uses actual SI units (g/cubed cm).
Unit Plan
SRI International

Performance Assessment Links in Science: Measurement: Using the Balance (Lesson)

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
This performance task assesses students' ability to use a balance and to measure the mass of objects accurately.
eBook
Crescent Public Schools

The Internet Science Room: The Periodic Table and Atomic Theory of Matter

For Students 9th - 10th
A chemistry tutorial highlighting historical development of the atomic theory of matter and the periodic table of elements.
eBook
Crescent Public Schools

The Internet Science Room: Percentage Composition and Empirical Formulas

For Students 9th - 10th
Students learn how to find percentage composition, the percentage of a formula mass represented by each element. Percentage composition compares the mass of one part of a substance to the mass of the whole.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Mathline: Sand Babies (Pdf) [Pdf]

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
In this engaging lesson, students use a variety of measurement strategies in creating their own Sand Babies. Students explore standard and non-standard measurements, area, data collection and analysis, and graphing. Adaptations are...
Article
Open Curriculum

Open Curriculum: Conservation of Energy

For Students 9th - 10th
This Kahn Academy tutorial helps students understand the principles of conservation of energy and mass. [10 min, 6 sec]
Activity
PBS

Pbs: Buoyancy Basics

For Students 3rd - 8th
NOVA explores the basic principle of buoyancy. Also included at this site are some interesting brain-teasers related to the topic.
Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Materia

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the concept of matter in this Spanish-language encyclopedia entry. This site features the properties of matter, the Law of Conservation of Matter, and other important features of matter.
Unit Plan
Other

Easyphysics: Chapter 4 Forces

For Students 9th - 10th
Learners investigate forces and Newton's laws. Some topics examined are mass, friction, and Newton?s laws of motion. The resource includes example problems with solutions and a chapter quiz.
Website
Other

Uc Riverside: Usenet Relativity Faq

For Students 9th - 10th
A physics usenet listing of frequently asked questions relating to relativity, answered by a number of scientists. Administrivia and Reference, Speed of Light, Special Relativity, General Relativity and Cosmology, Black Holes. Loads of...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Show Me the Money

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Just what is a penny worth? Students explore various websites or printed fact sheet investigating the history and changes in density of pre- and post- 1982 pennies. They will also research the current price of copper and zinc and compare...
Unit Plan
State University of New York

State University of New York: The Ideal Gas Law

For Students 9th - 10th
The behavior of gases near room temperature and 1 atm pressure can be described using four main properties: amount, pressure, volume, and temperature. In this simulation the mass, pressure and temperature can be varied.
Unit Plan
Scholastic

Scholastic: Study Jams! Math: Measurement: Tools of Measurement

For Students 2nd - 7th Standards
A slideshow, a karaoke song to sing along to, and a short multiple-choice quiz on the topic of measurement and the tools that can be used to measure things, depending on the purpose, e.g., temperature, length, mass, angle, time, etc.
Interactive
Concord Consortium

The Concord Consortium: Molecular Workbench: A Pendulum

For Students 9th - 10th
Change the mass of a suspended object to see how its movement and forces are affected by gravity.
Activity
Middle School Science

Mss: Density Demonstration: Coke vs. Diet Coke

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In this demonstration, students will brainstorm to find a solution as to why Diet Coke floats and Coke sinks. Through this exercise students will arrive at a definition of density.
Unit Plan
Scholastic

Scholastic: Study Jams! Science: Matter: Properties of Matter

For Students 3rd - 5th
A video and a short quiz on the properties of matter, covering mass, density, weight, and volume.