Curated OER
Rocket Angles
Eighth graders create rockets that be launched at varying angles to determine which angle is best to launch at for the longest distance.
Curated OER
Magnetism
Students examine the concept of magnetism by doing several activities using magnets and compasses. They explore poles and polar repulsion and attraction.
Curated OER
How Do You Make A Tornado?
Students create a tornado in a bottle. In this climate and weather lesson plan, students review basic information about tornadoes and thunderstorms. Students make a tornado in a bottle and write about what they learned from the project....
Curated OER
The Phenomenon of Sound: Waves
Students explore sound waves. In this sound waves lesson, students brainstorm different sounds and how sounds move or travel. Students then create a KWL chart and work through six different lab activities to examine how sound waves...
Curated OER
Mystery Minerals
Students minerals and how they form. They investigate the classification of minerals according to physical properties. Students watch a video about mineral characteristics. In groups, students participate in hands-on activities and...
Curated OER
Magnets
Students explore how the earth is a magnet and that magnets have two "poles". In this magnetic instructional activity students complete an activity by designing their own compass.
Curated OER
Catapults!
Students work together to discover the relationship between the angle of catapults and the flight of different objects. They discover the heavier the object the more force is needed. They examine how engineers use this information to...
Curated OER
Newton II; Slow Down
Young scholars, in hands-on activities, explore how a dump truck might be made to negatively accelerate or slow down. They participate in activities using friction force to modify the truck-and-ramp system. Student groups test ideas for...
Curated OER
Looking For Newton
The lesson has sufficient background information for the teacher to implement the lesson. Students are asked to summarize the three laws of motion. They also conduct classroom activities to role play the Laws of Newton.
Curated OER
Pendulum Motion Experiments
Students experiment with simple pendulums to determine the validity of an equation for all angles. Students discover the usefulnes and limitations of approximations in science. Using spreadhseets and a java applet, students observe the...
American Chemical Society
Does Temperature Affect Dissolving?
When making sweet tea, why do people dissolve the sugar in hot tea instead of cold tea? The class discusses the previous lab and builds upon it. Working in groups, they design an experiment to determine how temperature affects the...
University of California
Marble Rollercoasters
Don't let your classes coast through school! Engage them in their learning as they build their own roller coasters to study potential and kinetic energy. Young scholars complete several challenges that require them to consider the...
PHET
Learning about Space Weather
Is the sun the only celestial body with magnetic fields? A guided discussion on the weather in space is designed with a mix of questions, discussions, explanations, and applications. Additionally, the resouce includes an...
NASA
Foam Rocket
When going for distance, does it make a difference at what angle you launch the rocket? Teams of three launch foam rockets, varying the launch angle and determining how far they flew. After conducting the series of flights three times,...
PHET
Iron Filings and Magnetic Field Lines
How do magnetic fields differ? Allow scholars to see the difference between 2-D and 3-D magnetic fields. They construct models of both and observe how they are similar and different. It is the fifth installment of an 18-part unit.
DiscoverE
An Egg-Citing Ride
Wheeeee! Young thrill seekers build a bungee jump—not for themselves, though, but for an egg. The egg must fall from a height of five feet and rebound within two inches of the ground or floor.
DiscoverE
Kicking Machine
Don't kick the resource to the curb; you'll definitely regret it. Future engineers devise a kicking machine that launches a ping-pong ball toward a target. They can use a pendulum, a rubber band, or both, depending on whether they want...
Curated OER
Temperature and Pressure on Airplane Surfaces
Students use the Internet to delve into the relationship between fores and motion on a sizable object. They predict where they think the temperature and pressure be the greatest, and where the pressure be the lowest.
Curated OER
Chemical and Physical Changes
Eighth graders investigate different gas behaviors. In this chemistry lesson, 8th graders describe how changing volume and temperature affect gas particles motion. They collect data and make a generalization about these variables'...
Curated OER
I'm Falling For You!
Third graders are introduced to the concept of gravity by observing different objects being dropped from a high point. In groups, they complete the same activities Galileo did and record their observations. To end the lesson, they...
Curated OER
The Case of the Crooked Cartoon: Newton's Laws Set the Standard
Students have the opportunity to use higher-level thinking skills and to apply their talents to previously learned material. It provides an opportunity for visual, auditory, and tactile/kinetic learners to utilize their particular...
Curated OER
Marvelous Magnets
Students identify and classify magnetic and nonmagnetic materials and metals. After determining which materials and metals are magnetic, students create a data table and classify items by two different criteria. Students e-mail various...
Curated OER
Weight and Velocity
Students perform an experiment in order to determine how increasing weight affects the velocity of a truck and use the computer to compile their data.
Curated OER
Earth's Orbit Lesson
Tenth graders devise a computational model to explore how the orbit of the Earth might change if its velocity were different. Using accurately recorded data, 10th graders defend a scientific argument.