Teach Engineering
Exploring Variables While Testing and Improving Mint-Mobiles (for Middle School)
There are more ways to use mint candies than to just eat them. In groups, learners design and build race cars using mint candies, drinking straws, Popsicle sticks, index cards, and other materials. They decide on an independent variable...
Cornell University
Polymers: Instant Snow
Is it easy to make snow? Scholars use critical thinking skills as they investigate the concept of polymers by making snow. The class tests several different variables and takes measurements over the course of several days. They then...
Teach Engineering
Exploring Variables While Testing and Improving Mint-Mobiles (for High School)
Mint candies are good for more than just one's breath. Using basic materials such as mint candies, straws, index cards, and Popsicle sticks, scholars create race cars that meet a given budget as well as design constraints. They perform...
Illustrative Mathematics
Chocolate Bar Sales
In this real-world example, algebra learners start to get a sense of how to represent the relationship between two variables in different ways. They start by looking at a partial table of values that define a linear relationship. They...
US Department of Energy
Electromagnet Experiment Stand: A Variable Power Electromagnet
Electromagnets come in both large and small scales—from big machinery in scrap yards to hard disk drives. Here's a resource that provides directions for building a variable electromagnet on a stand. Scholars then experiment with the...
Shodor Education Foundation
Incline
Study velocity while examining graphical representations. As scholars work with the animation, they discover the effect the height of an incline has on the velocity of the biker. They make conclusions about the slope of the...
Khan Academy
Challenge: Bucktooth Bunny
Practice creating and using variables by creating variables for the bunny's eyes and teeth in this JavaScript task. Use the slider above the number to see the power of using variables in your code.
Khan Academy
Challenge: Funky Frog
You haven't seen any large-mouth frogs around have you? Hopefully, there will be lots of them as your young JavaScript coders complete this task to create a frog with a wide mouth and use variables in a way that connect the frog face...
Cornell University
Catapults
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome.
Edgemont Elementary School
Scientific Method Unit
Four out of five teenagers experiment with science by accident. This unit teaches the five parts of the scientific method through examples, guided practice, independent practice, and then through a hands-on experiment. Each step is...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Human Impacts on Biodiversity
Have you always wanted to take your science class on an amazing field trip they will never forget? Now you can! Observe the wildlife in an African savanna through trail cameras with a five-part data analysis activity. Learners analyze...
Khan Academy
Challenge: Mickey Mouse Ears
My, what big ears you have! Novice JavaScript programmers adjust Mickey's ears to be proportional with his face and any changes to it. The key is to use variable expressions so that the values used are dependent upon the variable that...
Khan Academy
Project: Design an Animal
Combine creativity and coding in an activity where you are free to create your own animal. Try for something recognizable or not, the design is up to your unique students. The challenge is to use variables and variable expressions so...
Khan Academy
Project: Crazy Painter
An activity titled Crazy Painter might not be high on your list of new things to try with your class; however, you will be happy to know this task has your young coders writing a mess-free painter application in JavaScript. The...
Kenan Fellows
Terrarium in a Bottle: Modeling the Atmosphere, Greenhouse Effect, and Water Cycle
You've heard of farm to table ... but what about farm in classroom? Junior agriculturalists embark upon a two-week journey into the science of growing things. Based upon the classic terrarium in a two-liter experiment, the lesson goes...
Kenan Fellows
Saving Those Who Save Us: Exploring the Use of Sensors with Data Visualization
Sensor technology is amazingly accurate and useful. Combining the sensor technology and mathematical knowledge, scholars design experiments to answer a question they have developed. Questions may focus on light sensing, temperature...
Radford University
Projectile Motion and Quadratic Functions
Model the flight of a ball. Small groups collect time data for how long it takes to toss a ball between two people. The teacher leads a discussion about projectile motion to get the class thinking about how to calculate the equation of...
National Research Center for Career and Technical Education
Break-Even Point
How do companies determine the prices of their products? Marketing maestros discover the concepts of cost and break-even point through discussion, independent practice, and a collaborative assessment. The career and technology-oriented...
Visa
Living On Your Own
Learners gain a realistic understanding of what is required for independent living. They begin by setting up a budget based on needs and lifestyle, and then use worksheets and a presentation to practice such skills as reading a...
Virginia Department of Education
Functions 2
Demonstrate linear and quadratic functions through contextual modeling. Young mathematicians explore both types of functions by analyzing their key features. They then relate these key features to the contextual relationship the function...
Teach Engineering
Combustion and Air Quality: Emissions Monitoring
Help your class determine the types of pollutants coming from vehicle exhaust. Groups use an air quality monitor to determine the emissions from different vehicles, to gain knowledge about combustion energy, and to predict how the...
Virginia Department of Education
Quadratic Curve of Best Fit
Class members create a table of the number of chords that can be drawn given the number of points on a circle. Pupils analyze the data created, find a function to fit to it, and use the function to make further predictions.
Virginia Department of Education
Functions 1
Scholars learn what it means for a relation to be a function and see various representations of functions. After learning the definition, they participate in a card sorting activity classifying relations as functions or not.
Cornell University
Alka-Seltzer Rockets
Blast off! An engaging hands-on activity has pupils create rockets powered by Alka-Seltzer. They learn about the physics behind these rockets throughout the process.