What an exciting way to introduce your blossoming chemists to the world of metals, nonmetals, metalloids, and polymers! Here is a lab activity that is designed to allow pupils the opportunity to visualize the reaction of metals,...

How does heat move from one item to another, even when the items are in different states of matter? Pupils experiment with adding washers to hot water and adding hot washers to room temperature water to observe the heat transfer. 

The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth lesson in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal energy. Scholars build...

Liquid or not, here comes the electricity. Scholars test the conductivity of various substances using a circuit that includes a light bulb. If the light bulb lights up, then the liquid is a conductor. What a bright idea!

Explore soil, genetic traits, natural resources, and pollution in a series of lessons that focus on biodiversity. Kids complete experiments to learn more about the importance of varied genes and organisms in an ecosystem.

How are chemical bonds similar and how are they different? Provide your young chemists with the resources to more thoroughly understand the concepts of ionic and covalent bonds. Pupils research these topics, diagram examples of each...

From windows that tint themselves to OLED technology, electrochromic polymers are redefining our ideas about conducting materials! Introduce your chemistry class to the emerging trend with an exciting lab activity. Budding materials...

Light a fire in your pupils! Scholars conduct a flame test and observe the emission spectra of several different salts in an enlightening hands-on investigation. They use their observations to make comparisons and conclusions about the...

Put those old holiday lights to good use. Individuals use a section of ornamental lights to create electric circuits. If the lights glow, it's a success; otherwise, it's time to try again!

Let the true colors shine through. Pupils conduct a flame test to identify an unknown element. Class members calculate and prepare specific molarity solutions of three chemicals. Using their observations of the colors emitted, they...

Introduce emerging engineers to the process of metal plating. This resource provides background reading on chemical engineering, plating, and corrosion. It concludes with a copper plating activity. The standards alignment list includes...

Want to add a wow factor to your current chemical changes lesson plan? Try a microscale experiment with colorful precipitates! Partnered learners conduct 10 single displacement reactions and record their observations.

Make sure to consult the teacher's handbook, Inquiry in Action - Investigating Matter Through Inquiry, for two demonstrations that can be done to introduce solubility and measuring crystal mass before having the class conduct this...

I need something to test. The three sessions in this instructional activity have individuals build and test a prototype of their design. The first two sessions are devoted to prepping for the prototype by drawing up specifications and...

Contemplate the causes of corrosion. An interesting lesson has learners first conduct an experiment where they place nails in different types of water. Based on the results, they consider how corrosion occurs and how engineers need to...

Curious physical scientists follow a activity on the properties of water with this activity on distillation. They observe a miniature water cycle model that filters dirty water into clean water. These two lessons combined are an...

It might not be easy, but it is worth recycling electronics. Small groups determine the percentage of the materials that make up an iPad 2 and display the information in a circle graph. They then research the recycling process for...

How many planets can you name? Did you get all 13 in our solar system, including the dwarf planets, or were you surprised when you read there are 13 planets? The lesson helps scholars understand the scale of the universe including the...

Should Pluto be considered a planet or a dwarf planet? Scholars research planets in our solar system to understand their similarities and differences. It also includes memory activities related to the order of the planets. 

This is what all of the excitement has been building up to! Young engineers create engineering drawings, use machines to manufacture their products, test, and evaluate their designs in the last step in the engineering design...

What a big job for such a small particle. Young scientists learn about the role of nanoparticles in catalytic converters for cars. They conduct an experiment to create alginate-MnO2 catalytic spheres. 

Give small groups of physical scientists tokens that represent electrons in a photovoltaic cell. They play a dice game in which they move the tokens around, representing the flow of electrons through the p-n junction of a semiconductor...

Attracted class members to an activity-packed journey through the science behind the invisible forces at work all around us. From jump rope generators to junkyard wars, there's never a dull moment when eighth grade physics scholars...

Couches, carpets, and even computer keyboards now advertise they are spill-resistant, but what does that mean? Scholars use physical and chemical methods to coat surfaces with thin films to test their hydrophobic properties. Then they...