Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome. 

Learn about polymers while playing with shrinky dinks. Young scholars create a shrinky dink design, bake it, and then record the area, volume, and thickness over time. They model the data using a graph and highlight the key features of...

What better way is there to introduce conservation of mass than a few simple experiments? Young chemists conduct two chemical reactions, take the masses of reactants and products, then compare their results to determine...

Humans eat around 93,205 miles of DNA in an average meal. Scholars learn how to extract DNA from a strawberry using a presentation. It walks through each step and explains why the process works. Comprehension questions encourage...

Patience is the name of the game. Using Plaster of Paris and chicken bones, learners simulate an archeological dig site. They excavate the chicken bones over a period of several days using tools and a large amount of patience.

Scholars complete the Reality Chech handout that identifies their potential salary given a specific profession. Pupils examine the lifestyle options and choose what they wish to have; however, each item costs money and, depending on how...

Students apply their comprehension of colligative properties to real-world situations. They review the concepts of physical and chemical changes. Students are reminded that science is used extensively in food-production. They are...

Young scholars review the Scientific Method with a hands-on activity. Working with a partner, they hypothesize the number of water drops that fit on the heads side of a penny. They collect data and share their results with the...

Students investigate the effects of acid rain. The lesson contains a lab background for the teacher to use before the implementation of the lesson. They conduct an experiment to collect data and then report the results of the observations.

Eighth graders conduct an experiment that analyzes the physical and chemical characteristics of various water samples. They discuss the procedures and safety concerns for the water test, and test their water samples to determine if they...

Students evaluate the relationship between biodegradable waste and dissolved oxygen in water.  In this biodegradable wastes lesson students complete a lab activity in groups then analyze their results.

Students after completing the Part II (of 2) scientific notation online lab exercises, manipulate and interpret large numbers expressed in the "mantissa and exponent" format of scientific notation.

Eighth graders demonstrate the use of instruments of measurement. As a class, they take notes and observe the proper procedure for using a graduated cylinder, a ruler, and a balance/triple beam balance. In groups, 8th graders visit...

Students evaluate the importance of hormones in living things. In this biology instructional activity, students experiment on carrots to differentiate how humans and plants reproduce. They collect data from experiment to answer analysis...

Students examine various techniques that can reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and use chemistry to simulate oceanic sequestration. They conduct an experiment involving the method of oceanic absorption for carbon sequestration,...

Students explore geologic sequestration as a technique used to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. They use chemistry to stimulate oil mining. Students conduct an experiment to learn about geo carbon sequestration.

Students develop a test tube model of an oil spill in order to experiment with conditions needed for bioremediation. They apply the principals of experimental design by analyzing a research article on the EXXON Valdez bioremediation...

Students discover proper microscope use. In this microscopy instructional activity, students create picture books that show the detail of organisms as seen with the human eye, through a hand lens, and at each power of the microscope.

Students discover advances in biomedical technology such as transdermal delivery and other non-invasive procedures. In lab activities, they examine how medication is given and how molecules travel, observe electrophoresis, and conduct...

Using cabbage juice as a pH indicator, future scientists explore the effect of increasing carbon dioxide on the pH of the ocean and relate it to the health of coral reefs. Ideal for an earth or environmental sciences course, this...

Crystals are more than meets the eye! Can learners tell them apart simply by observation? As they examine five samples with a magnifier, they find that appearance alone is not enough. This serves as an introduction to a mini unit on...

Second of six lessons in a unit on dissolving, this one focuses on how sugar behaves in different liquids. Learners stir it into water, alcohol, and oil and make observations. This lesson can stand alone, but is best used as part of the...

Physical science investigators mix sugar and food coloring into different cups of water and cooking oil to compare how the solid and liquid behave in each. As the introduction to this unit on dissolving, it is relevant.

Fourth in a set of several little lessons on density, this one compares the density of fresh and salt water. First by demonstration, and then by a hands-on activity, learners find that adding salt increases the density, as is evidenced...