Curated OER
Gas Pressure, Volume, and Temperature
Physical science learners conduct a simple experiment using the heat of their hands to affect the fluid pressure. They place a balloon atop a freezing cold bottle and observe what occurs as it warms up. Both activities demonstrate how...
Curated OER
Neurons and the Nervous System
The highlight of this series is activitiy #4. Anatomy pupils examine slides of three unknown cells. With the function of the nervous system in mind, they consider the structure of each and try to guess which one is part of that system....
Curated OER
Animal Behavior
Can you train a worm? Biology buffs will have a blast trying! Using planaria or earthworms, they introduce a certain stimulus repeatedly until the desired response happens more quickly. They also explore the response of their own eyes to...
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Newton's Second Law
Three memorable activities build on each other to give physics masters a firm grasp of Newton's Second Law. Pupils play with a lab cart on a flat surface and on an incline to confirm that force is equal to mass times acceleration. In the...
Curated OER
Forces Acting on a Spring
Teaching elastic forces in your physics class is a snap with this resource! Scholars compare the stretch of rubber bands with differing width, then measure the stretch of a spring and calculate force. In a whole-class experiment, wire is...
Curated OER
Physical Properties of Matter
Five fabulous procedures introduce physics or chemistry classes to special properties of matter. They discover adhesion and cohesion, solubility, melting and boiling points, and viscosity through hands-on experiences. Tests are...
Curated OER
Identifying and Explaining Reactions
Introduce high schoolers to chemical reactions with this series of activities. In a little over an hour, scientists observe four gas-producing reactions: the combination of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide, placing pasta in...
Curated OER
Magnetic Induction
Physicists of the future observe the behavior of current in relation to a magnet through several inquiry activities. They construct a generator and experiment with solenoid coils. They learn and apply electromagnetic laws, most often...
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Qualitative Examples of Conservation of Mechanical Energy
Instructions for series of six activites, a reading of scientific literature, and a choice of six assessments await you in this physics resource. Well-written plans guide you in guiding your pupils to experiment with levers, pulleys,...
Curated OER
Hooke's Law, Vibrations, Mechanical Waves, and Sound
Dangle a spring to experiment with vibration and discover if period is dependent on amplitude. Strum a guitar and adjust the strings to compare displacement and sound. Use a Slinky® and guitar strings on a ring stand to uncover the...
Curated OER
Floating Fishes: How do Fishes Control Buoyancy?
Playing with balloons, water, oil, and bottles help put this lesson over the top! Participants use air-filled balloons in water tanks to experience gas compression. They also use oil-filled bottles to experiment with buoyancy. Included...
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Playing With Science
Young scientists investigate the scientific concepts and principles that help make common toys such as hula hoops, yo-yos, slinkies, and silly putty work. As a class, they read "Backyard Rocket Science, Served Wet" to get a look behind...
Curated OER
Juvenile Court - The Law
An interesting activity on juvenile law, and the juvenile court system. Young law makers are given a lengthy document to read on the basics of juvenile law, then they must answer some questions about what they've read. Additionally, they...
Curated OER
Inertial Mass, Weight, and Newton's Second Law of Motion
The stage is set for you to guide future physicists through three forceful activities about motion. In the first, learners experiment with rolling carts to discover how objects interact. In the second, they inspect images of an object in...
Curated OER
Impulse, Momentum, and the Conservation of Momentum
What happens when two worlds collide? In the first of several activities, future physicists experiment with colliding ball bearings or Newton's cradle. Another activity requires the use of an air track with cars to examine collision....
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Measures of Circular Motion
Physicists become Olympians in a competition using centripetal force. They ride a bicycle to comprehend relationships between linear and rotational motion. If you have an old-fashioned record player, it can be used to help pupils...
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Qualitative Aspects of Rotational Dynamics
Explanations for six different physics lab activities and five suggested assessments are contained in this resource by the National Science Teachers Association. Any combination can be used to open learners' eyes to rotational motion....
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What Makes a Seed Breathe Faster?
Here's a five-star lesson plan in which inquisitors conduct sophisticated experimentation with cellular respiration in plant seeds. Placing seeds in a closed system they measure the amount carbon dioxide produced and relate it to...
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Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor
Need a musical lesson for your drama or performing arts class? VH1 has put together a really neat lesson, in which learners use biographical information about Alicia Keys to write and perform a one-act musical related to her life. This...
National Security Agency
A Balancing Act: Solving Multi-Step Equations
Wow! Put on that thinking cap and solve multi-step equations. To solve equations, learners review the use of the distributive property and combining like terms. This three-day lesson comes with about 20 pages of worksheets, warm-ups,...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Finding Slope of a Line from Graphs, Tables, and Ordered Pairs
Middle schoolers explore the concept of slope in numerous ways and start to look at simple linear equations. They describe the slope in a variety of ways such as the steepness of a line, developing a ratio, using graphs, using similar...
Curated OER
Unlocking New Words: Partner Presentations
Following extensive modeling about how to apply word analysis and vocabulary skills to learn new words, partner teams create brief word presentations to teach new vocabulary to the class. Preselect words from upcoming social studies,...
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"Movies That Rock": Moulin Rouge
Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...
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Solar Kit Lesson #7 - Positioning Solar Panels I: Explorations with Tracking
In this first part of a two-part lesson, learners track and record the sun's azimuth using a solar panel. They graph and analyze the data to identify relationships among the time of day, the altitude and azimuth of the sun, and the...