A micro-unit on the phase changes of water includes three laboratory activities. Junior scientists compare the densities of ice and water, and then they do the same for cold and warm water. They examine freezing and boiling temperatures....

Energize your phase change lesson plans! Add a short but focused interactive into the mix and watch as pupils experience how states of matter react to changes in kinetic energy. The resource tracks the kinetic energy of a cold solid...

From gas to liquid condensation to solid frost, water undergoes phase changes before students' eyes! Using ice, salt, water, and a metal can, they set up an investigation that can be used in a physical science setting, or as part of a...

This is one in several lessons that explore the relationship between temperature and phase changes of water. After some discussion, elementary physical scientists place wet paper toweling on a hot and a room-temperature water bag...

Young scholars explore the water cycle and associated phase changes. They predict what happens to the mass of an ice cube in a Ziploc bag, discuss and act out phase changes and diagram the water cycle.

Whoa! What just happened? That's right, change is everywhere. But what exactly is changing? Middle school science sleuths get to the bottom of the changes matter can experience. Through simple demonstrations, engaging videos, and an...

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Even high schoolers enjoy making ice cream. This laboratory exercise has them record the temperature changes throughout the process of liquid becoming solid, graph the results, and...

What does it take to be considered a smart material? Learners investigate the properties of Nitinol, a smart material, through a hands-on lab activity. They examine the crystal lattice structure and the conditions required for Nitinol to...

What happens inside a melting solid? Prospective physical chemists observe a solid-to-liquid phase change at the molecular level using an inspired interactive. Pupils add heat to a close system, then monitor changes in kinetic and...

If the area you live in is arid, or the preceding experiment in this unit didn't yield obvious results, use this one in place of it to help reveal where condensation comes from. The mini unit that this is part of a comprehensive...

As a stand-alone or as part of the intended unit, this is a valid investigation of what causes condensation to occur.  By limiting the amount of air around a cold cup of water and comparing it to one out in the open, they find that...

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...

Explore the phases of water as temperature rises. Pupils consider the idea that temperature remains constant during each phase change. An interactive exercise allows your young scientists to observe the temperature and molecular...

Is there more to evaporation than just less liquid? Show young scientists the energy transformation that occurs during a phase change through a series of simple experiments. Lab partners place drops of water, ethanol, and ethoxyethane on...

Middle school chemists visit interactive websites in order to discover what happens to molecular motion when heat is added to matter. They conduct an experiment that demonstrates the expansion of matter with the addition of heat. A lab...

It's time to break the ice! If you are doing all of the lessons in the unit, children have already seen that increasing heat increases the rate of evaporation, but is the opposite true? Does decreasing temperature cause more condensation...

Characteristics of each state of matter are listed, the formulas for heating water are detailed, and values for boiling and heat of vaporization are presented. This simple slide show provides direct instruction as well as practice...

There's more to melting than meets the eye! Junior physical chemists investigate the differences between specific and latent heats as a substance undergoes a phase change. Users remove heat from the system and observe changes in kinetic...

Plasma is the most common phase of matter in our universe. Scholars explore the change of energy as molecules change phases of matter. They rotate through stations, graphing the changes in energy level.

Junior chemists manufacture biodiesel in the lab. In 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...

When life hands you lemons ... experiment on them! Green chemistry gurus compare extraction methods for essential oils through a lab activity. Lab groups use traditional distillation and liquid carbon dioxide extraction...

Need a solid resource for teaching about states of matter? Science scholars go with the flow in a simple interactive that shows how intermolecular attractions determine a substance's phase. Pupils take control of the level of attraction...

Consider our energy sources: wood, coal, oil, uranium. Learners compare the pollution to energy produced for each. They practice fractional distillation of an alcohol/water mixture to simulate the process of refining crude oil....

Do all liquids evaporate at the same rate? Young scientists observe the evaporation rate of three different liquids. They measure the time, the temperature, and the change in energy. After comparing the chemical formulas, scholars...