Scholastic
Lesson Three: The Earth, Movement in Space
If you feel like you're standing still, you're wrong! The Earth is constantly rotating and orbiting under our feet. Demonstrate the Earth's movement within the solar system with a collaborative activity. With a candle or lamp in the...
PHET
Under Pressure
Do you work better under pressure? Pupils explore pressure when altering fluid density, gravity, container shape, and volume. Units can be converted to kPa, atm, and psi. To finish, scholars describe pressure as a function of depth,...
PHET
Pendulum Lab
How would a pendulum work on the moon or Jupiter? To answer that question scholars control up to two pendulums including their location, length, mass, and amplitude. Added controls include changing the friction and strength of gravity....
PHET
Friction
Friction leads to movement, heat, and melting on such a small scale most people don't notice. A short simulation permits scholars to observe the reaction between atoms as they move together. The simulation applies the concept of...
PHET
Generator
Michael Faraday was self-educated, earned an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford, invented the first Bunsen burner, discovered the laws of electrolysis, and proved that a changing magnetic field produces a current. In this...
National Park Service
Fitting In
Birds help other birds find food? Scholars are placed into one of five groups of different birds. Each group then "feeds" on letters of paper in a field and gather five pieces per person. As each group plays, more food is exposed,...
PHET
Double Wells and Covalent Bonds
Quantum tunneling plays an important role in nuclear fusion, the energy source of the sun. This simulation explores tunneling, double wells, and covalent bonds by allowing individuals to manipulate potential and total energy to learn...
PHET
Conductivity
Human bodies can conduct electricity—that doesn't sound like it would feel good! Learners explore conductivity through the use of this simulation. They see why metals conduct electricity and plastics don't and why some materials will...
PHET
Bending Light
Different colors of the spectrum travel at different speeds through media, causing them to refract at different angles—which allows humans to see their colors. Through a simulation, pupils see how air, water, and other media bend light....
PHET
Alpha Decay
There are different types of radioactive decay, and alpha decay is when there are too many protons in a nucleus. Here is a simulation that shows alpha particles being emitted from a polonium nucleus. Learners see how radioactive decay...
Code.org
Events Unplugged
Introduce event-driven programming. Young computer scientists learn the meaning of event-driven programming and how it is different from previous styles of programming. They play a card game to simulate the challenges that occur in this...
PHET
Color Vision
Humans can only see visible light, but some insects can see ultraviolet light. Through a simulation, pupils explore how we see colors using one bulb. It moves on to demonstrate how we see colors by mixing three different bulbs (red,...
PHET
Capacitor Lab
The first capacitor was a Leyden jar, invented in 1745. Physics scholars explore capacitors in an engaging simulation. They may view one or set up circuits which contain two to three either in series or parallel. Other views include...
PHET
Build an Atom
Scholars build specific elements by creating a model of its atomic structure. Objects they can include are protons, nuetrons, electrons, orbits, clouds, charge, and mass number. Simulation ends with questions to challenge individuals'...
PHET
Battery Voltage
Pupils explore modern batteries and how they work by viewing a simple simulation. It shows electrons moving around the insides and if the voltage is changed, little people move the particles from one end to the other — an entertaining...
PHET
Battery-Resistor Circuit
Don't be resistant to physics! A simulation shows classes how a resistor works. Change the battery voltage and resistance to show how this affects the flow of electrons. Temperature and amps measurements are shown for the system as...
PHET
Band Structure
Electricity travels at the speed of light, 186,000 miles per second. Through a simulation, classes see how the structure of energy bands in crystals of atoms determines how materials conduct electricity. Participants can change the...
PHET
Balancing Act
How can a teeter-totter balance when the two people are different sizes? Show classes how this works through a simulation. Scholars play with a teeter-totter to show how different masses and their placement affect balance. Once they have...
PHET
Atomic Interactions
Who knew atoms could be attracted to each other? A simulation allows learners to see how forces between atoms influence the attraction between them. Classes see the attractive and repulsive forces adjusting as distance between atoms...
University of Colorado
The Jovian System: A Scale Model
Jupiter has 67 moons! As the seventh in a series of 22, the exercise shows learners the size and scale of Jupiter and its Galilean moons through a model. They then arrange the model to show how probes orbited and gathered data.
University of Colorado
Great Red Spot Pinwheel
The great red spot on Jupiter is 12,400 miles long and 7,500 miles wide. In this sixth part of a 22-part series, individuals model the rotation of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. To round out the activity, they discuss their findings as a...
New South Wales Department of Education
The Mangroves
Mangroves are a nursery for a variety salt-water organisms. Learners explore the mangrove ecosystem through audio, video, and/or images, to see the organisms that live in this environment and make food chains pertaining to this...
EngageNY
Games of Chance and Expected Value 1
There's a strong chance that class members enjoy learning math through engaging games. Scholars analyze games of chance to determine long-term behavior. They learn to calculate expected value to help with this assessment.
EngageNY
Estimating Probability Distributions Empirically 2
Develop probability distributions from simulations. Young mathematicians use simulations to collect data. They use the data to draw graphs of probability distributions for the random variable in question.