Curated OER
Fuel Cells
Students examine how fuel cells and combustion engines work. Using the internet, they research the positives and negatives of the various energy sources. In groups, they complete an experiment with a working fuel cell model and take a...
Curated OER
TECH:Robotic Hazardous Materials Squad
Students use a remote controlled robot to simulate a hazardous materials removal exercise. They are introduced to the following career: Robotics, Hazardous Materials Specialist, Robotic Technician, Environmental Scientist, Manufacturing...
Curated OER
How Electronics Come to Us: Distribution and Use
Students identify environmental challenges that can be solved throughout a product's life cycle. They experiment and examine how we can choose and use products in an environmentally responsible manner. Each student is also involved in...
Curated OER
Charge It!
Students complete an experiment using balloons to help them examine the concept of static electricity. They discover how engineers use this information to create better air filters for homes. They describe how to charge an insulator as...
Curated OER
Composting -- Nature's Disappearing Act
Studenst work together to discover the concept of biodegradability. They build a model of a landfill and how different items decompose. They examine how engineers use this information for better waste management.
Curated OER
Is the Earth Warming? a Test of the Effect of Increased Carbon Dioxide on the Thermal Properties of Air
Students investigate the environmental and economic effects of increased carbon dioxide (CO2) content in the atmosphere.
Curated OER
A House is a House for Me
Students evaluate the impact climates have on the building of structures. They research the different types of materials used to build houses in various climates and build small models of houses which are tested against different climates.
Curated OER
Create Your Own Investigation
Students design and implement an experiment intended to measure and analyze the air quality of a particular location. They focus on looking for ozone and particulate pollutants.
Curated OER
Biodiesel Combustion and Its Influences in NOx Emissions
Tenth graders evaluate the physical mechanisms that cause a change in NOx emissions. In this combustion lesson plan, 10th graders participate in a research project. Students create a presentation of their findings.
Teach Engineering
Air Pollution in the Pacific Northwest
Scholars investigate levels of nitrogen dioxide in the Pacific Northwest by examining the role of nitrogen in air pollution and how remote sensing can be used to measure nitrogen levels. An Excel spreadsheet calculates the difference...
Teach Engineering
Density Column Lab - Part 1
Mass and density — aren't they the same thing? This activity has groups use balance beams and water displacement to measure several objects. The pupils use the measurements to calculate the density of the objects.
Teach Engineering
Air Pressure
Investigate what is pushing on us. An intriguing lesson has pupils calculate the amount of force on various squares due to air pressure. Using the data, individuals create a graph in the third lesson of the Up, Up and Away unit...
Teach Engineering
Global Climate Change
The greenhouse effect and its relationship to global warming is the focus of an activity that asks class member to consider the effects of climate change on weather. Pupils work with their families to determine their carbon footprints...
Teach Engineering
Density Column Lab - Part 2
Groups suspend objects within layers of liquids to determine the densities of different liquids and compare them to the densities of objects calculated in Part 1. The groups then carefully test their calculations by layering the liquids...
Curated OER
Mice Rule!
Pupils explain what biodiversity is and how adaptive features are maintained in a population. In this biodiversity lesson students complete a simple activity involving mouse populations.
Curated OER
Where Does All the Water Go?
Students view a demonstration of how groundwater flows and define several related vocabulary terms. They complete a worksheet, participate in discussion and make a poster.
Curated OER
Dripping Wet or Dry as a Bone?
Students use a sponge and water model to explore the concept of relative humidity and create a percent scale. They define humidity and saturation, build a simple humidity/saturation model, collect, predict and interpret data, and create...
Curated OER
Solid Waste Takes Over
Learners explore solid waste and its effects on the environment. They explain some of the major problems caused by waste disposal and the use of landfills. They suggest ways to reduce the amount of solid waste going into a landfill.
Curated OER
I Can't Take the Pressure!
Young scholars explore the concept of air pressure. Using candy or cookie wafers to model how air pressure changes with altitude, they conduct an aluminum can crushing experiment, compare the magnitude to gravitational force per unit...
Curated OER
The Dirty Water Project
Students investigate different methods (aeration and filtering) for removing pollutants from water. They design and build their own water filters. Students identify the pollutants in a water sample using sight and smell, explore what...
Curated OER
What Do Bread and Beer Have in Common?
Students listen to an explanation of yeast cells and how they effect bread and beer. They discuss the ways alcohol affects the human body and participate in an indirect observation about cell respiration in yeast-molasses cultures.
Curated OER
TE Activity: Yeast Cells Respire, Too (But Not Like Me and You)
Student observe and quantify the respiration that occurs in yeast-molasses cultures. They complete an effective experiment in order to examine how to think critically about the results.
Curated OER
Break the Tension
Learners experiment with the concepts of surface tension. They participate in a number of different experiments that introduce them to surface tension. They work in a small group in order to conduct these experiments.
Teach Engineering
Weather Forecasting
According to the Farmers' Almanac, the weather will be nice today. Class members examine how weather forecasting plays a part in their lives with a resource that provides information on the history of forecasting, from using cloud...