American Chemical Society
Float and Sink
We're not talking about the kitchen sink. Learners explore what types of objects sink and float in water in an inquiry-based lesson. With experimentation, they find similarities between materials that float and those that sink.
American Chemical Society
Dissolving is a Property
Believe it or not, it is possible for liquids and solids to get along! A hands-on instructional activity has individuals explore dissolving properties of candies in water. They complete an activity guide to record observations about...
American Chemical Society
Liquids Have Properties
Liquids have many similarities, but their differences can set them apart. Using a student activity guide, learners conduct different property tests on water, oil, and syrup. They record their results and use them to rank the liquids by...
American Chemical Society
Using the Properties of Materials to Improve a Model Boat
Work together to stay afloat. Using a paper boat, pupils connect properties of materials to their usefulness. They test different paper to determine how many pennies each boat will hold and learn that combining materials with different...
American Chemical Society
Testing Materials to Learn About Their Properties
Storing food in plastic makes more sense than storing it in paper. Young learners research the properties of these materials along with aluminum foil. They then connect the properties of the materials to their usefulness by completing a...
American Chemical Society
Classifying Objects Based on their Observable Properties
Sorting objects by properties is a lesson plan in justification. Learners begin by studying different types of properties of materials, including those based on appearance and texture. They examine the properties of specific items and...
American Chemical Society
Different Substances React Differently
Looks don't tell the whole story. Young experimenters explore reactions with substances that look similar. They observe the reactions that take place when combined with baking soda and use indicators to conclude they react differently...
American Chemical Society
Density and Sinking and Floating
Keep your class afloat with a hands-on density lesson. The challenging lesson has learners experiment with different materials to compare their densities. They learn that increasing or decreasing the amount of the material doesn't change...
American Chemical Society
Using Dissolving to Identify Substances
It's time to test observation and dissolving skills! After investigating the process of dissolving in previous lessons, pupils see if they can use their dissolving skills to identify substances. They dissolve known and unknown substances...
Bonneville
Designing a Solar Phone Charger
What a bright idea! Working in groups, scholars design a solar phone charger by applying concepts from the unit. They use solar modules and buck and boost converters in their creations, which must be able to charge a phone after...
Bonneville
Exploring Buck and Boost Converters
Boost one's knowledge of converters. The fourth of seven installments in the Off the Grid unit looks at buck and boost converters, which lower and raise the input voltage. Scholars apply the converters to adjust the output voltage to...
Gfletchy
Geared Up
Get the class's gears turning! Pupils first watch a video that introduces the situation: Given three gears, how many turns will it take for the dots shown on the gears to line up? They count the number of spurs on each gear, then use the...
Gfletchy
The Clapper
Give a round of applause for completing the task. Scholars watch a video that shows an extremely fast clapper and a timer. The activity requires applying concepts of rates and proportional reasoning to estimate the number of claps in one...
Gfletchy
Rope Jumper
Jump at the chance to use the idea of rates. Young mathematicians watch part of a clip of a Japanese TV show where a contestant jumps rope as fast as possible. They use the data for the number of jumps and the number of seconds shown in...
Gfletchy
Deep Freeze
Warm up to the idea of subtracting integers. After watching a video where the contents of a cup instantly freeze when tossed into the air, pupils estimate the air temperature of Duluth, Minnesota (where the video was made). They then use...
Gfletchy
Thumbs on Fire
How fast are those thumbs? Pupils view a short video showing a person typing out a text message in a speed challenge. They use the information they can glean from the video to estimate the number of seconds it will take to completely...
Gfletchy
Fill ‘er Up
Drink in a lesson on volume. Individuals first view a video clip where a conical cup is used to pour water into a water cooler jug. Using provided dimensions of the cup and the jug, they estimate the number of cups required to fill the...
American Chemical Society
A Closer Look at Crystals
It's about to become crystal clear! Learners compare and contrast three different types of crystal substances. First they observe their structure and then investigate how they interact with various substances.
American Chemical Society
Mentos and Diet Coke!
Let the bubbles tell the story. Using a hands-on lesson, budding scientists learn how carbon dioxide in soda interacts with objects placed in the soda. The lesson explains how the gas adheres to the surface of the objects based on the...
American Chemical Society
Flame Out
Add a little heat to your science lesson. Young experimenters work to understand the chemical reaction taking place when a candle burns. They experiment with both oxygen and carbon dioxide to make conclusions about the reaction.
American Chemical Society
Time for Slime
Slime is more than just a fun pastime. Learners study the bonding of polymers using a mixture of glue, borax, and water. They then explore the properties of the slime and learn how the polymers in glue bond with ions in borax.
American Chemical Society
Dissolving M-and-Ms
Learning ... how sweet it is! A hands-on lesson uses colored candies to demonstrate how positive and negative charges interact. Pupils use different types of liquids and watch as the color from the candies spreads—or doesn't.
American Chemical Society
Diapers: The Inside Story
There shouldn't be any accidents with this activity! An inquiry-based lesson has learners explore the absorption properties of the gel compound in diapers. After testing its properties, they learn the science of the molecules that make...
American Chemical Society
Colors on the Mooove!
It does a mind good! Learners experiment with a combination of food coloring, detergent, and milk. They observe how the food coloring reacts with the different liquid combinations and relate their observations to the charges on the fat,...