Develop an online newspaper covering the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The class publishes their newspaper on the school's Web site and analyze both primary and secondary sources.

Experiment with multimedia storytelling. After watching a segment of American Family, first, middle and high schoolers tell a story about their families, clarifying the setting, characters, and script. They work on setting...

The Holocaust is unbelievable! Examine this piece of history with your class. Using the Internet, research groups determine the relevance of information presented, compare how different sites present the same information, synthesize...

Students in this inquiry-based experiment, put in the role of a method development chemist. The scenario they are given is that a train wreck has occurred resulting in a chemical spill. Students are told that the spill mixture consists...

Students investigate the spectroscopic colors unique to elements, and to use this information to create a specific color. They follow a detailed schematic to produce a spectroscpoe to be used in the testing.

Advanced chemistry scholars read about gas chromatography as a means of separating mixtures into their components. Then they try the technique on fingernail polish remover. Detailed instructions are provided via a lab sheet for your...

Chemistry classes pretend to be consultants to a grocery story trying to decide what polymer to use for therir new non-paper bags. They prepare tensile bars and use them to test plastic film samples for strength and stretchability. Both...

Young scholars conduct qualitative and quantitative investigations based on the interaction between water and various polymers. They determine the percent moisture contained in various plastics along with a qualitative procedure to...

Students explore the strength of intermolecular attractions. They make slime and compare the difference in the physical properties of sheet and powdered polyvinyl alcohol with polyvinyl acetate.

A kaleidoscope is constructed using polarizing polymer paper and then low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, and polypropylene are all melted onto individual glass slides and examined through a microscope. The intent is to...

Students investigate the linear dimension change of heated plastic film and relate the results to processing and service use of the materials. They calculate percent change in dimension as related to anisotropy and molecular reorientation.

This organic chemistry lab activity is appropriate for teaching polymerization, percent yield, melting point, or the types and uses of polymer materials. Chemistry pupils imagine that they are working for a company to develop a special...

Students examine elastomeric polymers in a lab activity in which they design a bungee cord. Students must determine the tensile strength, percent elongation, and plot stress versus strain graphs for their experiments on rubber bands...

Students isolate and determine the amount of plasticizer in polyvinyl chloride. They use Infrared Spectroscopy (IR) or Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and gravimetric techniques in this experiment.

Advanced chemistry classes compare the polymerization of styrene using two different initators: benzoyl peroxide and aluminum chloride. Once they synthesize polystyrene, they compare the two producet for melting point and density. There...

Students recognize epoxy glue formation as two part polymerization (usually the curing agents act as co-monomers). They monitor the reaction by the changes in viscosity of the reacting mass, the temperature rise and fall, and the...

Students are introduced to how the differences in solubility of materials are used in the manufacture of fibers and films. They are also introduced to the various processes used to make films and fibers. Pupils prepare fibers using wet...

Learners participate in an investigation in which they compare a polyethylene bag designed for recycling or disposal with a polyethylene food storage bag. Students use hexane to determine the differences between the low density...

Students participate in lab activities in which they examine immersion, stain resistance, and stress cracking of synthetic polymers. Students use their collected data to discuss service applications and possible performance of materials.

Students participate in a lab activity in which they synthesize nylon 6/6, calculate the percent yield by mass, identify the polymer as thermoplastic or thermoset, and determine the melting point, density and end-product use of the polymer.

Students are challenged to investigate the physical and chemical properties of plastics and use them to design a system that could be used to separate them. 1st year chemistry students use density for separation, students gathered...

Learners receive bloodstain pattern evidence from a crime scene. They answer a series of questions through inquiry, observation, measurement, and analysis. Pupils complete this challenge, by reconstructing the evidence through four...

Students calculate the volume of a specific mass of water placed in selected pieces of common laboratory glassware, using the density formula. They then determine the accuracy of the volumetric measurement for selected pieces of...

Students experience a "hands-on" activity to get visual evidence of the physical nature of DNA and the process of DNA purification. They explore one method of chromosomal DNA isolation and DNA extraction.