Curated OER
Oil Spill
Students use one of four absorbent products to separate as much of the oil and water mixture they are able to do. The purpose of this task is for students to collect and analyze data for the purpose of determining which absorbent is...
Curated OER
Brain Brands
Students explore the advent of neuromarketing as a means to assess the effects of certain brands on the brain activity of prospective buyers. They design their own experiments that test the power of certain brands on a sample population.
Curated OER
Polluting the Environment
Fourth graders construct mini-ecosystem, pollute the ecosystem, observe, collect, and record data on the effects of these pollutants on their ecosystem, organize data on spreadsheets, create graphs, and design presentations to share with...
Curated OER
Protecting the Environment
Middle schoolers explain what biodegradable materials are and list examples of them. They design, with online partners' feedback and input, a product made of biodegradable materials and develop a marketing campaign to best sell their...
Curated OER
School Yard Waste
Fourth graders examine the types of garbage that they collect on the playground. They collect the information in a spreadsheet and create a graph that displays the number of types of trash found. They design and monitor a playground...
Curated OER
Stressed and Strained
Young scholars explore stress and strength in engineering design. In this engineering instructional activity, students become familiar with terminology associated with stress and strain on building material. They will have a class...
Curated OER
Recycling Survey
How many people really recycle recyclables and how do they feel about it? High schoolers create a survey to find out. Once they agree on what questions to include, they each interview four people outside of the classroom. They combine...
Curated OER
Series or Parallel?
Physics classes that are studying electricity connect photovoltaic cells into both series and parallel circuits. Inquiry and critical thinking come into play as learners try to determine which circuit is more productive. They associate...
Curated OER
Graphs and Spreadsheets
Students collect data and present it in a graph and/or a spreadsheet, depending on their previous understanding of technology.
Curated OER
The Miracle Fish: Learning to Design an Experiment
Learners develop procedures to explore the behavior of fish. For this scientific experiment lesson students from a hypothesis, write a question, identify different variables and controls in their experiment.
Curated OER
The Design Process
Students work together to construct a foundation of nine 3" x 5" index cards to support their 9" textbook off their desk. They summarize the steps used to solve the problem and discuss and compare their solutions. They then complete the...
Curated OER
A Pre-Treatment Model for Ethanol Production Using a Colorimetric Analysis of Starch Solutions
Pupils recognize the benefits of ethanol and study photosynthesis. In this ethanol instructional activity students complete an experiment that shows the procedure that starch can be hydrolyzed by salivary amylase.
Virginia Department of Education
Equilibrium and Le Chatelier’s Principle
The best part of learning about equilibrium is that nothing changes. Young chemists observe four demonstrations during this instructional activity: equilibrium in a saturated solution, equilibrium with an acid-base indicator, equilibrium...
Rochester Institute of Technology
Biomechanical Hand
In 1993, five biomedical engineers in Edinburgh, Scotland, created the first functional bionic arm. In the activity, learners explore the world of bioengineering through discussion and hands-on exploration. In groups, participants...
Serendip
Using Models to Understand Cellular Respiration
Energize biologists with colorful images in an activity that captivates the imagination while demystifying the subject of cellular respiration. Participants build comprehension skills and access core content knowledge by analyzing text...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Survival of the Fittest - Variations in the Clam Species Clamys sweetus
It's not often that you come across a clever laboratory activity that is both imaginative and comprehensive! Using M&M's and Reese's peanut butter candies to represent two different clam species, young biologists test for "relative...
Curated OER
Sports Helmets and Impact Testing of Polymers
Students examine the importance of good quality safety gear. In this investigative instructional activity, students will tests various polymers, collect data, and analyze the data to determine which polymer is best for safety helmets....
Curated OER
Killer Wrapper
Students examine the importance of food safety and the impact it has on their lives. In this health lesson students complete an oral report on food poisoning and design a low cost "safe" packing material for bread.
Curated OER
Farming in Space
Students research, design, and run plant growth experiments online. They explore websites, design an experiment using an animation-based building block program, construct a soda bottle hydroponic production unit and a cardboard plant...
Curated OER
How Much Sugar is in Bubble Gum?
Students conduct an experiment to determine the percentage of sugar in various types of gum. They weigh the gum after chewing it to determine the amount of mass lost from each piece of gum, analyze the data, and create a graph of the...
Curated OER
Proportionality: Modeling the Future
Students explore and examine how patterns, measurement, ratios and proportions are utilized in the research development and production of airplanes. They meet a pilot from the Federal Aviation Association who describes the growth of air...
Curated OER
Science: Let's Have a Cool Lunch
First graders develop problem-solving skills by designing methods for keeping lunch boxes cool. Once they determine the amount of sunlight and heat generated in shaded and unshaded areas, they explore ways to provide shade. Finally, 1st...
Curated OER
Investigating Factors That Affect Rate of Enzyme Action
Students explore the properties of enzymes. In this chemical reaction lesson, students explore enzymes through a Web-quest and investigative study. Students will collect and summarize data and create a class presentation. This lesson is...
Curated OER
New Creations from Six Simple Machines
Middle schoolers explore different types of simple machines and research the concepts of force, effort, and work. They conduct Internet research and complete a worksheet about examples of simple machines used in everyday life. Students...