Curated OER
Science Lesson: Home-made Generator
Students are able to design and conduct an experiment related to electrical generation. They are able to list the factors that affect the amount of current that can be generated by a simple generator, such as the number of turns of...
Statistics Education Web
Double Stuffed?
True or false — Double Stuf Oreos always contain twice as much cream as regular Oreos. Scholars first measure the masses of the filling in regular Oreos and Double Stuf Oreos to generate a class set of data. They use hypothesis testing...
Annenberg Foundation
Evaluating Evidence
Was the Civil War fought only due to slavery? Using an interactive web tool, scholars investigate the four main causes of the Civil War. Gathering evidence and data to support their claims, they present a final statistical breakdown...
Curated OER
Beans and Birds: A Natural Selection Simulation
Students solve the following problem concerning the evolution of seed color in pinto bean plants: "How does natural selection change the frequency of genes or traits over many generations?" They use the constructivist approach to...
Curated OER
Sampling Snoops
Students practice formulating a hypothesis and designing an experiment to test the hypothesis. They identify several sampling techniques they can use to test their hypotheses.
Carnegie Mellon University
Lab Report
A set of instructions and a 100-point grading rubric have been designed for writing lab reports. Appropriate for middle schoolers, this lays out what to include for each of the six steps in the scientific method: title, hypothesis,...
Curated OER
The Mozart Effect
Music has been said to effect short term memory. Learners test out this hypothesis, graphing how knowledge retention in a biology classroom changes when music is played in the background. In the end, a better appreciation of the dynamics...
Curated OER
How Much Sugar is in Bubble Gum?
Students conduct an experiment to determine the percentage of sugar in various types of gum. They weigh the gum after chewing it to determine the amount of mass lost from each piece of gum, analyze the data, and create a graph of the...
Curated OER
Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor?
Learners determine the amount of sugar in various types of gum. They chew a piece of gum until it loses its flavor and leave it to dry in order to weigh it and determine the amount of mass lost, and describe an experiment to determine...
California Academy of Science
What Would Happen?
Nothing says classroom fun like an invertebrate and a magnifying glass! Snails, earthworms, and roly-poly bugs become the center of attention as pint-sized investigators hone their inquiry and observation skills. They are guided through...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Seed Dispersal in Tropical Forests
How do seeds get around? It's not like plants can control seed dispersal—or can they? Dig deeper into the amazing mechanisms of seed dispersal observed in tropical plants through interactives, a video, and plenty of hands-on data...
Perkins School for the Blind
Introduction to Scientific Inquiry
Every great scientist knows that the process of inquiry is a very important skill. Provide your learners with visual impairments with an opportunity to explore objects scientifically. They examine several pieces of fruit and generate...
Curated OER
Porosity
Students investigate the concept of an aquifer and use a 2 liter bottle and other materials to conduct a simple lab experiment or demonstration. They calculate the volume of water that can be stored in the aquifer. The lab is used to...
Curated OER
What is a P-value?
Students test the hypotheses using p values. In this statistics lesson, students define and examine conditional probability. They test each statement for a true statement or a false statement, based on the sample size.
Curated OER
Shining the Light on Skin
Students investigate the relationships between certain environmental factors and levels of exposure to sunlight. The variables of location, time of year, and day, and the weather which affect the intensity of the sun are explored in this...
Curated OER
Friction of a Block Weight
Fifth graders hypothesize and design an experiment to study the relationship between a block weight and the number of washers it takes to pull a block across various surfaces. Students graph results and apply their findings to a...
Curated OER
Day Two: Generating New Questions
Students investigate buoyancy by participating in a lab experiment. In this density lesson, students utilize vinegar and alcohol in beakers and attempt to float different items in them. Students analyze which items float and do not while...
Curated OER
Generate a Calibration Curve for Chlorophyll a
Students measure and graph the absorbance of light by chlorophyll at a specific wavelength versus chlorophyll concentration. They are given an unknown and determine its concentration from their calibration curve. Students become familiar...
Energy for Keeps
Renewable Energy Action Project: What's in Your Energy Portfolio?
Uncover the renewable energy potential in your region. The activity outlines an approach to research current practices and trends. Learners conduct surveys to assess the attitudes of the local population and prepare a paper summarizing...
Curated OER
Sensational Science Fair Presentation
Students identify everyday mysteries for scientific investigation. They design and lead research into self-generated qeustions, form hypotheses, experiment and gather data, and process results. They then create visual displays of their...
Field Museum
The Case of Darwin's Finches
One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...
NASA
Soda Straw Rockets
Three, two, one, blast off to a better understanding of force and motion with this exciting science lesson! Beginning with a discussion about rockets and gravity, young scientists go on to complete a series of worksheets about net forces...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Gorongosa: Making Observations Activity
Do you have young scientists wanting to make new discoveries rather than just completing the same experiments? Young scientists use their observational skills to identify animals and patterns in animal behavior. Through tracking...
Stanford University
Spanish-American War
Learners discuss why the United States invaded Cuba. In this Spanish American War instructional activity, students watch a movie about the U.S. invasion of Cuba and hypothesize their reasons for doing so. Learners complete a Spanish...