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Is the Coast Really Toast?: A Lesson About Volcanoes, Phase Changes, and the Art of Estimation
Clever! Use a clip from the 1997 film, Volcano, to get your chemistry class knee-deep in heat concepts related to lava. In the movie scene, lava flow is stopped in the nick of time. Your class must use calculations to determine if this...
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State Change
Eighth graders explore the physical change of matter. As a class, they discuss their favorite super hero and determine if the hero undergoes a physical or chemical change. Students examine the change of state and phase change. In groups,...
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Edible Transformations
Learners differentiate the different phases of matter. For this chemistry lesson, students conduct several hands-on exercises to discover how matter transforms when mixed together. They identify the different stages in the water cycle.
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Properties of Water with a Splash of Color
Students explore the properties of water. In this cross curriculum art and physical science lesson, students experiment with a variety of materials to demonstrate the cohesive forces and adhesion of water. Students create a water color...
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Changes All Around Us
Sixth graders, in groups, observe the difference between physical and chemical changes and create a collage of pictures to show the difference.
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Ice Cream
Open this instructional activity by giving a brief history of ice cream. Using liquid nitrogen to lower the temperature, preteens make their own confection. The accompanying activity sheet queries learners about freezing point, the...
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Creative Expressions: Phase Changes
Learners place themselves in the position of a water molecule, ice molecule, or steam molecule and then describe the process of changing phase.
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Rock Candy Crystals
Students discover how rocks are created. In this rock formation lesson plan, students investigate saturation, evaporation, and phase changes in geology. Students create rock candy from skewers, string, boiling water and sugar.
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Chemistry E3 Lesson Plan
Ninth graders perform a series of experiment to investigate heat transfer and phase changes. In this physical science instructional activity, 9th graders identify and calculate the different subatomic particles. They explain the...
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Ice Floats
Students explore the changing density of water. In this physics lesson plan, students investigate how an object's density determines whether it will float or sink in water. They explain why this unique property of is important to living...
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Season's Greetings
Students explore Earth's seasons using an interactive website. In this earth science lesson plan, students watch video segments and explain Earth's seasonal milestones. They discuss the factors that causes seasonal changes.
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Dry Ice: Simply Sublime
A fascinating lesson on states of matter is here for your young scientists. Dry ice is used to challenge learners preconceived notions about how solids work. They discover all sorts of interesting facts about states of matter from...
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Condensation Lab
High schoolers investigate condensation in the lab. In this chemistry lesson plan, students explain molecular motion during phase changes. They relate this observation to Earth's weather conditions.
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Google Earth Geology Field Trip
Students take a virtual field trip around California using Google Earth. In this geology field trip lesson, students explore landforms and a variety of rocks located in California. Students compare environments where rocks are...
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Metamorphosis Magic
Students make different motions for each stage in the butterfly life cycle and plant a garden. In this butterfly life cycle lesson plan, students can take the mini gardens home and discuss how butterflies help gardens.
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Crystal Growing
Students explore the different phases of a crystal. In this mineral lesson plan students grow their own sugar crystals using a sugar recipe.
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A Frog's Life Story
Students examine a frog's life cycle. In this amphibians lesson, students read a book about frogs and discuss how frogs are born and how they grow. Students complete worksheets on the life cycle of the frog, and hold a discussion...
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The Discovery of Photosynthesis
Learners explore how scientists discover photosynthesis. In this biology lesson, students identify the basic requirements for photosynthesis to happen. They recreate past scientists' experiments and record their observations.
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Energy Defined
Fourth graders complete activities to study the sources of energy and forms. In this energy lesson, 4th graders discuss the origin of energy and define it. Students participate in several experiments to further study energy including a...
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Dragons Of China And Japan
Students create drawings of dragons that could be found in the art of Japan or China. The lesson plan involves two-days of instruction and leads to student examples of dragons four-times larger than the originals.