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Floating on Salt Water
Mixing substances together causes their properties to change. This resource illustrates that concept for fifth graders by having them consider four questions that have to do with buoyancy and boiling point. Learners begin to understand...
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The Role of Density in Sinking or Floating: Relational Causality
Students watch the teacher do a demonstration of density with diet and regular soda. Note: try this first, as different types of artificial sweetener have different densities. Students discuss density and volume. They discuss "Relational...
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Barge Building: What Floats Your Boat?
Students construct aluminum foil boats that float while holding the greatest number of pennies. They investigate the concept of water displacement, record their results, and watch a Bill Nye video on buoyancy.
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Deep Ocean Currents
Students observe the interactions of different temperatures of water using colored ice and a thermometer and then compare the results with global ocean current solar heating. They identify where floating ice would be found in the ocean,...
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Floating Pencil
Students discover how salt water makes a pencil float better than freshwater by measuring and comparing the lengths of the portion of the pencil that floats above the water surface. They then determine if an unknown water sample is...
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Your Own Fresh Water Aquarium in the Classroom
Students explore aquariums. In this fish and ecosystems lessons, students establish a freshwater aquarium environment using materials provided. Students read about and care for the classroom fish.
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Seashore Explorers
There are three separate lessons within this resource that can be used together, or that can each stand alone. In the first, five simple activities allow junior scientists to examine the amazing properties of water. In the second, they...
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Stream Study
Students study the characteristics of a stream habitat. In this life science lesson, students use sieves, nets, and jars to collect aquatic organisms. Students also measure the temperature of the stream and calculate the speed of the...
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"Pennsylvania Watersheds, Many Ways to the Sea"
Students trace a molecule of water through the water cycle including each of its three loops. They describe why evapotranspiration demands the largest portion of total precipitation falling on a forested watershed.
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Water Ecology Lab
Students determine the characteristics of a stream ecosystem and its organisms. In this water ecology lesson students complete several labs that shows them presence of life, water appearance, and water flow.
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Making and Using a Hydrometer
Pupils build a hydrometer to measure the densities of fresh and salt water samples. They record the water temperature and density and use the temperature, density, and salinity conversion graph to locate the salinity. Finally, students...
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Water Quality Monitoring
Students comprehend the four parameters of water quality. They perform tests for salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH and clarity or turbidity. Students comprehend why scientists and environmental managers monitor water uality and aquatic...