Curated OER
Field Trip to test Water Quality
Students examine water quality indicators,test water quality and record their results. In this water quality lesson students complete a water testing lab and complete a lab report.
Curated OER
Ice Cream Blizzards
Fourth graders explore whether the making of homemade ice cream is a physical change or a chemical change in a lab experiment. Students identify states of matter, describe the physical properties of states, and collect temperature data...
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Heating the Atmosphere
Students construct a thermograph for maximum and minimum temperatures for the 2-week period. They illustrate how the earth's atmosphere is heated by convection and conduction currents and evaporation of water.
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Where's the Oxygen?
Young scholars study seawater and how temperature and salinity influence it. In this oxygen lesson students complete a lab activity on dissolved oxygen.
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Sensing the Invisible: The Herschel Experiment
Learners of light will construct a contraption in which light is passed through a prism and shone into a box. The temperatures at different points along the path and outside of the path of light. The intent is to imitate William...
Curated OER
USING YEAST AS AN ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT MEASUREMENT TOOL
Pupils realize the importance of organisms as standards of measurement and experimentation.The first lab is a simple survival curve that demonstrates the effects of UV light on cells. The second lab looks at repair mechanisms of the DNA...
Curated OER
Burning Snacks in Chem Lab
Students determine the energy content of various snack foods. They measure the temperature changes in various snack foods as the foods are burned in order to determine the foods' energy content. Students create graphs and data tables of...
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Measuring Thermal Energy Transfer
Students conduct an experiment to calculate and quantify heat transfer. They conduct the experiment, and complete a data and lab conclusion sheet.
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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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Measuring Snowfall
Students predict the amount of snowfall for the week and measure snowfall. In this measuring snowfall instructional activity, student use a precipitation gauge to measure the week's snowfall; and analyze the data to determine...
Curated OER
Density Lab Activities
Young scholars participate in several density lab activities in order to clarify the misconceptions that solids sink and liquids float. Students work with triple beam balances to find mass of objects to calculate density.
Curated OER
What's The Scoop?
Students explore the properties of matter. In this cross curriculum three states of matter science instructional activity, students listen to the poem "Eighteen Flavors" by Shel Silverstein, and predict what will happen if listed...
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Volume of Gas
Eighth graders investigate the effect of temperature on the volume of a gas in a closed container. They measure the height of the water in their beaker/container, conduct their experiment, and create a graph to illustrate their data.
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Mooring Mobiles Lab
Oceanography experts use candy to construct a model of a bio-physical mooring that would test a variety of factors. Each piece of equipment to be included on the mooring is described within the write-up. As pupils gather the candies for...
Curated OER
What Makes a Seed Breathe Faster?
Here's a five-star lesson plan in which inquisitors conduct sophisticated experimentation with cellular respiration in plant seeds. Placing seeds in a closed system they measure the amount carbon dioxide produced and relate it to...
Curated OER
Glass Transition in a Rubber Ball
Students illustrate the changes in the properties of a material at its glass transition point. They gather data which they use to construct graphs regarding elastic modules versus absorption modulus, tangent delta, and the effect of...
Curated OER
A New Phase In Town
Middle schoolers explore heat energy and how it is used to change the phase of matter, and discover that temperature does not increase or decrease until the phase change is complete. This extremely well-written plan is packed with great...
Chymist
Energy of a Peanut
Are you nuts? An engaging experiment burns nuts to find their kilocalories. Young chemists analyze at least two different types of nuts with their experimental results versus what is on the package. The resource offers a great lab...
California Academy of Science
Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
Ice is nice, and its condition on the planet has a significant effect. Junior geoscientists experiment with ice melting in both water and on land to discover how each affect the rising sea level. This detailed lesson plan outline even...
Curated OER
Handboiler Lab
Students participate in a handboiler experiment, using a sealed glass vial filled with alcohol. They record the data and do averages and see if there is a difference between a boiler and a non-boiler.
LABScI
Freezing Point Depression: Why Don’t Oceans Freeze?
Can you go ice fishing in the ocean? Learners examine the freezing point of different saltwater solutions. Each solution has a different concentration of salt. By comparing the freezing points graphically, they make conclusions...
Curated OER
Wet-Dry Bulb Hygrometers: Measuring Relative Humidity and Apparent Temperature
Pupils work in groups of 4 for the activity/activity part of this exercise. They know that clouds are formed by the condensation of water vapor, affect weather and climate. Also that global patterns of atmospheric movement influence...
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Demonstration of Ideal Gas Law
You know that liquid nitrogen turns into a gas at room temperature. Place some in a two-liter bottle for a physics demonstration of the ideal gas law. Beware, however; this is a dangerous demonstration! Not to mention that you may not...
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Weather Variables Lab
Students examine what happens when air temperature drops and gets closer to the dewpoint. They perform a lab activity which illustrates the effects on humidity, precipitation and barometric air pressure.