Alabama Learning Exchange
How Big Can a Bee Be?
Mathematicians analyze the relationships between surface area and volume. They conduct Internet research, conduct various experiments, record the data in a spreadsheet, and graph the results and compare the rate of increase of surface...
Discovery Education
Weathering Cubes
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...
Nuffield Foundation
Effect of Size on Uptake by Diffusion
Cell size is limited by the surface area to volume ratio, but why is this true? Scholars measure the surface area and volume of cubes before placing them into liquid. After a set amount of time, they measure the uptake by diffusion for...
Curated OER
Surface Area to Volume Ratio
Students examine the surface area to volume ratio and how they relate. In this surface area lesson students complete several activities.
Curated OER
Finding Volume
In this volume worksheet, students are given the equations for finding the volume of a cube and the volume of a prism. They solve two multi-part problems finding the volumes of different solids.
Curated OER
Chemistry Midterm Practice Exam
A comprehensive practice exam, this resource covers many areas of chemistry. The test includes 71 multiple choice questions on topics such as problem solving, chemical equations, chemical formulas, thermodynamics, acids and bases, and...
Curated OER
Cell Reproduction
In this cell reproduction worksheet, students will discover that when a cube doubles in size, the surface area grows by four times and the volume grows by eight times. Students will use this information to understand the limits to cell...
Curated OER
Sizing Cells
Students examine how living cells reproduce to make new cells. For this cell reproduction lesson students complete a lab activity and answer questions.
Cornell University
Scaling Down: Effects of Size on Behavior
Two activities explore the concept of size, especially small sizes down to the nano. Scholars practice determining volume, mass, and density and calculate exponential increases and decreases. They then predict and test the effect of size...
NASA
Packing for a L-o-o-o-ng Trip to Mars
Pack just enough to fit. Crews determine what personal items to take with them on a trip to Mars. Each team must decide what to take with them on a two-and-a-half year trip to Mars and whether their items will fit within the allotted...
Curated OER
Collecting the Rays
Students investigate the affect shape has on the ability of a solar panel to collect sunlight. In this collecting sunlight using a solar panel lesson, students determine which solar panel shape collects the most sunlight. ...
Serendip
Diffusion and Cell Size and Shape
Is your class ready to size up the topic of diffusion? Help them get cell shape savvy with a well-written handout. The resource covers how substances such as oxygen passively move through the cell membrane and how cell size and shape...
Curated OER
Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures
In this elements, compounds, and mixtures instructional activity, students answer questions about the properties of elements, mixtures, and compounds. Students identify the physical changes that is made to a substance to determine if it...
Illinois Valley Community College
STEM Activities for Middle School Students
Use STEM activities within the class to provide connections to concepts. The resource includes activities that range from working with buoyancy to building rockets and launching them. Other activities involve the engineering design...
Curated OER
Why Are Cells So Small?
Young scholars examine the relationship between cell surface area and the ability of materials to diffuse through a cell. They participate in an experiment in which they determine which materials diffuse easier than others. They...
Curated OER
New Boxes from Old
Ninth graders take a rectangular box (e.g., a cereal box) and cut it up to make a new, cubical box with the same volume as the original. In so doing, they will discover that because the cubical box has less surface area than the...
Curated OER
Float My Boat
Fourth graders, in groups, experiment with density and the displacement of water by creating and designing their own boats and seeing which boat holds the most centimeter cubes without sinking..
Curated OER
Cell Size and Division or How Big Would You Want To Be if You Were a Cell?
Students investigate why cells divide. In this cell size lesson plan, students observe how far a solution travels into 3 different size model cells of agar. They answer questions about the most effect movement of "nutrients" into the...
Curated OER
Heat Transfer & Phase Changes
For this heat transfer and phase change worksheet, students experiment with ice, salt, and milk to show the relationship between the temperature of a solution and its phase. Students turn milk from a liquid to a solid and graph the...
Curated OER
Chemistry Crossword
In this chemical reactions learning exercise, students complete a crossword puzzle by figuring out the vocabulary words associated with 34 clues.
Curated OER
Thermal Expansion
Students examine how thermal expansion of water can affect sea level. They conduct an experiment that demonstrates what happens to water levels when exposed to heat, record the results on a data sheet, and discuss the results.
Curated OER
Change It
Fourth graders expand their knowledge about how the physical properties of a substances can be changed. They are given multiple opportunities, using first-hand experiences and familiar objects in different contexts, to identify...
Curated OER
Forces in Fluids
In this forces in fluids worksheet, students answer questions as they relate to forces in fluids. Students complete a chart about atmospheric pressure.
Curated OER
Sea Ice
Students observe the freezing times and temperatures of water with varying levels of salinity. They determine how icebergs form, how they act, and what they may be made of. They discover that salinity level affects the time it takes...