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Changing Planet: The Warming of Our Large Lakes - Reasons for Concern
Another A+ lesson on the impact of climate change comes to you from the National Earth Science Teachers Association. In this installment, learners model the stratification of water in lakes due to temperature differences. The lab also...
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Liquid Rainbow
Young scholars develop their own techniques for drawing a small sample of solutions into a straw. They hypothesize ways to increase the density of water, and discuss how salt-free rainwater tends to float on top of salty seawater.
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Lake Strata and Internal Waves
Use the classic density demonstration of placing a cola, a clear soda, and a diet soda into a tank of water. Then let learners attempt to pour some of the soda into layers in a clear container. The procedure explains a thermocline, and...
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Why Do Some Things Float?
Students recognize that density determines whether objects sink or float. In this sink or float lesson, students experiment with plastic in three liquids. students drop their objects into the liquids and observe and record their results.
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BioFuels: The Chemistry and Economics of Alternative Fuels
Junior chemists manufacture biodiesel in the lab. For this exercise, they check the purity of the biodiesel using thin layer chromatography. They also calculate its density and heat of combustion. They are sure to rise to the challenge...
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The Role of Density in Sinking or Floating: Relational Causality
Pupils consider density and how it affects sinking and floating. Students make predictions, test liquids, and observe why some liquids sink and others float. They perform experiments to determine relational causality and how liquids...
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Density
Students explore the meaning of density. In this density lesson, students use interactive whiteboards to review definitions regarding density and compare the density of selected objects.
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Ocean Layers
Young scholars investigate how temperature and salinity causes ocean layering. In this ecology lesson, students observe and sketch their experimental result. They report their findings in class.
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Hot, Cold, Fresh and Salty
Students observe the effects of layering water and what is more or less saline than normal. For this geoscience lesson students create saline solutions, layer them and observe how the water becomes different temperatures in different...
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Finding the Deep Water Masses of the Atlantic Ocean
Students describe the role of density in driving deep ocean currents and the density layers of the ocean. They determine that the ocean is one continuous body of water with global currents that interact, with water surrounding all...
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How Big is a Molecule?
Students calculate the size of a molecule. For this molecules and their sizes lesson plan, students find the size of an oleic acid molecule by using a measured amount of drops of oleic acid to find the volume of the sample, the thickness...
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Modeling Estuaries
Students create a model estuary. In this modeling estuaries lesson, students identify characteristics and mix water of varying densities. Students form a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, and analyze the results.
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Liquids: Floating and Sinking
Third graders conduct an experiment. In this floating and sinking liquids lesson, 3rd graders discuss density and investigate it using syrup, vegetable oil and colored water. Students observe the results and complete a worksheet.
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Water Layering and Circulation
Young scholars examine relationships and interactions between different types of water. They experiment with colored water of different temperature and salinity and discuss how the results relate to real ocean currents.
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Layering of Water
Students examine what happens when different types of water meet. In groups, they participate in an activity in which they combine different percentages of salt, fresh and brackish water and record their observations. They let the...
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Density
Students work with a partner to record observations on various materials. Working together, they calculate the mass and volume of each material and then combine them and shake them for a period of time. In their journals, they record...
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Immiscible Liquids and Density
Students will make a lava lamp. In this density lesson, students will combine water and oil and make observations, then add salt to the oil and observe the oil sink, then float again when the salt dissolves in the water.
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Composition of Seawater
Students explore the concept of finding the composition of seawater. In this finding the composition of seawater instructional activity, students make a saturated salt water solution. Students discuss why there is variation in ocean...
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Color Splash
Students investigate density. In this density lesson plan, students conduct an experiment using food coloring. Students observe the differences in mixing food coloring in water and oil.
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New Jersey Estuaries
Students experiment to discover that salt water is denser than fresh water by creating color coded solutions. They examine how heavy rainstorms and high tides develop layers of different degrees of density.
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Understanding Groundwater & the Effects of Pollution
Students complete a unit on the effects of pollution on our water supply. They create a graph to examine the density of earth's land surface, round the population to the nearest hundred million place, participate in a...
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Making and Using a Hydrometer
Learners 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,...
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Earth Science: The Structure of the Earth
Learners identify and complete activities about the structure of the Earth. In this Earth structure lesson, students view a Powerpoint about the Earth's layers and complete a diagram. learners compare temperatures in the Earth's layers...
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Deep Thoughts
Students examine what lies within the Earth. They research and create scale models illustrating the layers of the Earth and write skits advocating a travel plan to send a probe into the Earth's mantle.