NEED Project
Calibrating Thermometers
Engage young scientists in the upper-elementary and middle school grades with this collection of simple experiments. Whether you're teaching about heat transfer, density, or potential energy this resource has a lab for you.
Curated OER
Density - An Intrinsic Property
Learners discover the property of density while participating in a lab exercise. For this scientific measuring lesson, pupils utilize a scale to measure the density of different metal materials. They document their work and present their...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Float or Sink?
Experiment with mass and density as scholars figure out what makes things float or sink. First, they watch a podcast introducing these concepts. Be sure to use the comprehension question to test their understanding. Young scientists...
Curated OER
Density of Liquids
Students explore the density of liquids. In this scientific inquiry lesson plan, students discover the density of water, corn syrup, and cooking oil through an experiment. In addition, students will draw and label pictures of the...
Curated OER
Liquids of Different Densities
Students compare the densities of different liquids. In this liquids lesson plan, students compare color, viscosity, weight, volume, and graph their findings.
Curated OER
What Floats Your Boat?
This open-ended boat building exercise is meant to be part of a three-activity series on ships. Links to the other two lessons are included. This particular part is mostly a group lab activity in which they build a boat, find its load...
Curated OER
Weighing a Dinosaur
Learners role play as paleontologists who make inferences about the weight of dinosaurs. They use models and the density of water to make these inferences.
Curated OER
More Volume Please! Don't Be Dense!
Fifth graders determine volume and density through their knowledge of mass, volume and density.
California Academy of Science
Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
Ice is nice, and its condition on the planet has a significant effect. Junior geoscientists experiment with ice melting in both water and on land to discover how each affect the rising sea level. This detailed instructional activity...
Polar Trec
Do You See What Icy?
Here is a lesson that kicks off with a question. "How does ice floating on the ocean act as it melts?" As learners investigate this natural phenomenon, they'll discover that it has a lot to do with temperature, salinity, and the effect...
Curated OER
New Jersey Estuaries
Students experiment to discover that salt water is denser than fresh water by creating color coded solutions. They examine how heavy rainstorms and high tides develop layers of different degrees of density.
Curated OER
Time to lend NASA a hand
For this measurement worksheet, students complete an experiment answer questions about how they measure the units of volume, temperature, and mass of certain objects. Students answer 5 questions.
Curated OER
The Sun as the Driving Force of the Water Cycle
Students study the water cycle and how the sun is an important factor. In this water cycle lesson students investigate how to desalinate water and explore the different densities of fresh versus saltwater.
Curated OER
Icebergs Ahead!
Students examine icebergs and how they are suspended in water, why ice floats, the melting process of an iceberg, and the floating behavior of ice compared to that of a cork through a lab activity.
Curated OER
Sports Helmets and Impact Testing of Polymers
Students examine the importance of good quality safety gear. In this investigative lesson plan, students will tests various polymers, collect data, and analyze the data to determine which polymer is best for safety helmets. They will...