CK-12 Foundation
Modeling: Mathematical, Physical and Conceptual
Scientific models help explain ideas and concepts to non-experts. The online activity covers conceptual, mathematical, and physical models. Through four multiple-choice questions and three discussion questions, scholars gain a deeper...
University of California
Weathering and Erosion
Just how powerful is erosion? Interested scientists learn how to identify the results of erosion with a series of lab activities. They move through stations to experiment with different types of erosion and then design and complete their...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
How does climate change affect you? First in a three-part series, the activity focuses on how individuals living around the world are affected by climate change. Individuals take on the role of a given character and share their...
Curated OER
Activity #1 Reactions: Chemical or Physical?
Students distinguish between physical changes and chemical changes. They comprehend that chemical reactions produce new substances with compositions and properites which are different than those of the starting materials. Pupils also...
University of Texas
Free-Body Diagram
Preparing for an AP test is about more than bubble sheets and memorization. The two activities in this resource require a direct application of skills learned throughout an AP Physics course.
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
How is Flowing Water an Energy Source? Activity B
Explore the world's water without leaving the classroom! In this second of three uncomplicated but wonderful activities, physical science learners feel the pressure of water. They discover that the deeper the water, the stronger the...
Curated OER
Dry Ice Activities Mini Lesson
Get your middle schoolers experimenting with dry ice. In the first activity, they place a piece in water and then use phenol red to identify its pH. In the second, they place a piece in a limewater solution and watch as the combination...
Baylor College
Body Strength
Your young learners will discover how muscular strength and endurance can increase with this truly hands-on activity! Beginning by writing an acrostic for the word strength, class members then engage in tracking their ability to squeeze...
Henry Ford Museum
Physics, Technology and Engineering in Automobile Racing
Start your engines! This five-lesson unit introduces physics and Newton's laws through automobile racing. Each lesson includes background information, a student worksheet, and an answer key. There are also culminating project...
Arizona State University
Physics of Boats
Let's go sailing! An instructive unit includes six lessons with multiple activities to teach scholars about density, center of gravity, buoyancy, and the Archimedes Principle. They can complete the final project of building a boat on a...
Curated OER
Physical Changes and States of Matter - Two
Here's a wonderful lesson on how substances change states. Groups of learners are given trays with a chocolate bar, a piece of paper, an ice cube, and a balloon. During the activity, the groups closely observe the changes that each...
PBS
Super Sleuths
There's no such thing as the perfect crime! Your class of sleuths are ready to investigate the trace evidence at a crime scene and compare it to a list of suspects. They use their investigative skills to record physical properties of the...
Teach Engineering
Preconditioning Balloons: Viscoelastic Biomedical Experiments
What does stretching a balloon have to do with equilibrium? Groups explore preconditioning by stretching a balloon to a point of equilibrium. They then measure the amount of force required to stretch the balloon to the same point several...
Curated OER
TE Activity: Broken Bones
Students examine the discipline of biomedical engineering or bioengineering. They complete worksheets by participating in reading background information and completing a hands on activity. They design a prototype of a cast to set a...
Curated OER
Activity: Leaning Tower of Pasta
A well-laid-out lesson plan, this can be used in an engineering, STEM, or physical science course. Laboratory groups design a structure using pasta and marshmallows, measure its height and weight, and then discover the load that it can...
Curated OER
Activity: Slinkies and Magnetic Fields
Your advanced physics class will appreciate this lesson in which they use magnetic field sensors to determine the relationship between the number of turns per meter of a solenoid and the magnetic field produced. The materials for this...
Curated OER
Physics of Roller Coasters
Young scholars design a roller coaster and demonstrate their knowledge of Potential and Kinetic Energy. They determine the average velocity a given marble travels on their roller coaster and apply their knowledge of various measurement...
Curated OER
Particle Physics- Activity Five
In this particle physics worksheet, students use graphs and tables to predict the particles formed during a specific observation event. They complete 5 multi-part fill in the blank questions.
Curated OER
A Snapshot of Science
Sixth graders explore physical and chemical changes. For this physical science lesson, 6th graders study vocabulary, discuss the changes they see in the world and look up information on chemical and physical changes. Students create...
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics Day 4 Earth's Interior Structure and Convection Currents
Students introduced to the interior structure of the Earth. They explore how the Earth's interior is broken down according to both it's physical properties and it's chemical composition. Students explore how convection currents within...
Curated OER
What Do Koalas Need to Survive?
First graders take a field trip and examine the Koala and his habitat. In this Koala lesson, 1st graders read Possum Magic and discuss the foods of Australia. Students view the habitat of a Koala and record what it eats, its physical...
California Department of Education
Slap Tubes, Flutes, and Xylophones: The Physics of Pipe-Based Instruments
It's the encore to a wave unit. Individuals build either a slap tube, flute, or xylophone as a culminating activity for a physics unit on waves. Scholars calculate the lengths of pipes needed to produce the specific notes for their...
Teach Engineering
Where Are the Plastics Near Me? (Mapping the Data)
The last activity in a nine-part series has teams create a Google Earth map using the data they collected during a field trip. Using the map, groups analyze the results and make adjustments to the map to reflect their analysis. A short...
National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
Nuclear Popcorn
Make your instructional activity on radioactive decay pop with this lab exercise. Using popcorn kernels spread over a tabletop, participants pick up all of those that point toward the back of the room, that is, those that represent...