Virginia Department of Education
Metals, Nonmetals, and Metalloids
How can one easily classify metals, nonmetals, and metalloids? Pupils answer this question as they experiment with unknown substances and perform tests on conductivity, brittleness, and malleability to determine...
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Exploring Weather Conditions Through Painting
Your advanced class will paint a picture of a particular weather condition. In this painting lesson young scholars describe elements of art in pieces of artwork. They analyze the weather and seasons in the artwork. The students use...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Population Dynamics
Will human population growth always be exponential, or will we find a limiting factor we can't avoid? Young scientists learn about both exponential and logistic growth models in various animal populations. They use case studies to...
National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
Nuclear Popcorn
Make your lesson 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 decayed atoms. As the...
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Creation of An Educational Toy, Game, or Story
Seventh graders create a toy, game or story suitable for a young child. They research magazines, catalogs, and child development texts for ideas. Students consider the age and development of the child.
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Coulomb's Law
Students solve problems involving electric charges and force. For this physics lesson, student solve word problems using addition and subtraction of vectors. They identify the direction represented by a vector as it relates to an...
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Balance of Nature Pyramid
Students study the concept of food chains and create a physical forest food chain pyramid. In this balance of nature pyramid lesson, students identify the ingredients needed on each level of the pyramid then make connections...
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Picket Fence Free Fall
Students measure acceleration using a Picket Fence and a Photogate. In this physics lesson, students drop an object and measure the acceleration of the object free falling. They log their data using the TI.
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Physical Science: Solar Energy
Young scholars review and discuss how Solar energy and electricity produce light and heat. They create a photo/picture journal and include pictures taken during solar energy activities to a PowerPoint slide presentation.
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Activity Three -- Rutherford's Discovery (Student Page ) A Lab Experiment in Physics
This discovery student page offers students an opportunity to work as a team to discover the shape of an object they cannot see. It is an experiment which parallels particle physicists dilemma in not being able to see very small...
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Physics Rewind
Eighth graders differentiate speed and velocity. In this physics lesson, 8th graders explain Newton's laws of motion. They calculate speed using a mathematical formula.
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Skateboard Science
Pupils investigate how skaters can turn in midair. In this physics lesson, students relate Newton's Laws to skateboarding. They carry out the maneuver with the help of their classmate.
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Physical Pendulum Lab
Students calculate the moment of inertia of a disc. In this physics activity, students differentiate the two methods used in finding the inertia. They construct their own pendulum for the lab.
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Science: All About Fish
Fifth graders describe the physical and behavioral characteristics of fish. In small groups, they complete fish fact sheets by filling in the missing key words. They play a "What Am I?" game by giving clues about various fish for...
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Physical Characteristics of the Troposphere
Students examine troposphere graphs and mcompare their hypotheses with data collected by weather balloons launched from the NOAA ship, Ronald H. Brown. they write summaries about the physical properties of the troposphere.
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Merging Art and Science?
Students approach science through artwork. In this art and science lesson students work together to develop theories and gather data.
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Networking the Internet: A Dynamic Research Tool
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the research of finding information to help them develop new science projects. They conduct research using a variety of resources that includes e-mail and discussion groups.
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Habitat is Home
Students complete a picture to show things found in their homes. For this habitat lesson, students discuss and make a class picture of an animal habitat and its four basic needs. Students sing a song. Students create their...
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The Web of Life
Students demonstrate the interrelationships of animals and plants. In this ecology lesson, students discuss the things plants and animals need for survival and study the glacier food chain. Students simulate the web of life by using a...
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Fit for Our Future
Students understand the importance of physical fitness as part of a healthy lifestyle. In this health lesson students create a display and presentation about what they learned.
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The Case of Similar Substances
Middle schoolers perform tests in the lab to identify an unknown substance. In this physical science lesson plan, students observe the physical and chemical properties of substances. They formulate a conclusion based on experimental...
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Floating and Falling Flows
Students discover fluid dynamics related to buoyancy through experimentation and optional photography. Using one set of fluids, they make light fluids rise through denser fluids. Using another set, they make dense fluids sink through a...
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The Tell-Tale Plume
High schoolers examine hydrothermal vents. In this ocean lesson, students identify changes in physical and chemical properties of sea water caused by hydrothermal vents.
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Race the Track! Super Slope (Lesson One)
Fifth graders utilize basic physics concepts to calculate speed of an object set in motion from various heights. In this basic physics lesson, 5th graders make observations, calculations, record data, and conclusions throughout experiment.