Get some laparoscopic training without the pain with an activity that challenges class members to find out what it is like to perform laparoscopic surgery. Teams perform three different tasks and quantify their performance. The...

Why is star gazing easy on some nights and difficult on others? Pupils aim to quantify the answer in an enlightening astronomy lesson. After collecting images from an online robotic telescope, they measure the brightness of images using...

Leaf toughness can add to its herbivore appeal. Learns design an experiment to quantify leaf toughness and then perform their procedures. They follow the experiment with a set of questions that ask them to think about how leaf toughness...

A video and popcorn, just like being at the movies! Given the dimensions of two different cylinders, scholars decide which will hold the most popcorn. They find out if their calculations are correct with the provided solution video.

Weathering is not necessarily a result of the weather. Scholars conduct an experiment to explore the effect of surface area and volume on the weathering process. They create their own sugar cube rocks using the same number of cubes—but...

The force will be with you during an inquiry-based lesson focused on friction. Young scientists explore the effect of different surfaces on friction. They use rubber bands to measure the amount of force needed to move an object on the...

Here's a sweet activity! As part of a study of psychological research methods and statistic gathering, individuals develop a hypothesis about the number of each color of M&Ms in a fun-size package. They then count the number of each...

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...

Who's your Daddy ... and Mommy for that matter? Given a first-generation group of gummy bear offspring, young scientists must determine which bears are their parents. An activity worksheet covers the differences in genotypes and...

Class members use an air quality monitor to measure the amount of gas-phase pollutants emitted by different sources. Groups choose three different sources and make predictions about what the monitors will detect. Teams then expose...

Explore Snell's Law using thin films. In the fifth installment of a seven-part series, pupils solve a set of problems relating to Snell's Law and use this skill during an experiment requiring the collection of reflective measurements...

How many humans does it take to power a light bulb? The 10th part of a 25-lesson Energy Systems and Solutions unit has learners conduct an experiment to calculate power. They then use the results to determine how many classmates they...

Analyze data on a graph to answer three questions after a robot race. Learners practice comparing ratios and reading points on a graph. Answers may vary on the last question based on accuracy of graphing. Use the lesson along with...

The resource investigates predicate calculus. The tutorial examines propositional calculus, universal quantifiers, mathematical statements, and divisibility. Students learn about the logic concepts through notes and examples. Practice...

Light is an example of an electromagnetic wave. Electromagnetic waves can travel through the vacuum of interstellar space. They do not depend on an external medium-unlike a mechanical wave such as a sound wave which must travel through...

Students teams use a laparoscopic surgical trainer to perform simple laparoscopic surgery tasks (dissections, sutures) using laparoscopic tools. Just like in the operating room, where the purpose is to perform surgery carefully and...

Students quantify the percent of light reflected from solutions containing varying concentrations of red dye using LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT bricks and light sensors. They begin by analyzing a set of standard solutions with known...

Students study the physical properties of different fluids and investigate the relationship between the viscosities of liquid and how fast they flow through a confined area. Student groups conduct a brief experiment in which they...

Students are introduced to measuring and identifying sources of air pollution, as well as how environmental engineers try to control and limit the amount of air pollution. In Part 1, students are introduced to nitrogen dioxide as an air...

Students learn to impose a grid on a line to quantify the steepness of a line. They learn that slope is the ratio of vertical change divided by the horizontal change. They also learn that lines can have slope that are positive, zero,...

Based off of the hit television show NUMB3RS, this lesson introduced students to simple coding techniques (namely, the shift cipher). Students learn to translate codes from nonsense to English by quantifying each letter, and then...

In this activity, students will capture and examine the particles to gain an appreciation of how much dust, pollen and other particulate matter is present in the air around them. Students will place "pollution detectors" at various...

Students set up a simple way to indirectly observe and quantify the amount of respiration occurring in yeast-molasses cultures. Each student adds a small amount of baking yeast to a test tube filled with diluted molasses. A second,...

Students learn a simple technique for quantifying the amount of photosynthesis that occurs in a given period of time, using a common water plant (Elodea). They can use this technique to compare the amounts of photosynthesis that occur...