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Photovoltaics and Solar Energy
Students experiment with photovoltaic cells and determine the energy use of their appliances. For this renewable energy lesson, students calculate the energy emitted by a photovoltaic cell through an inquiry-based lab. They keep track of...
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You've Got to Be Cool to Make Igneous Rocks
Learners describe how igneous rocks are formed, design a classification system to group igneous rocks and develop a controlled experiment to prove that the rate of cooling affects the size of the crystals.
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Aerodynamics And Me
Seventh graders design, construct, refine, and test cars that they build on the computer screen. They find the density of several objects using the techniques used to find volume. They measure various common objects to become more...
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Hovercraft Racers!
Students gain first-hand experience on how friction affects motion. They build a hovercraft using air from a balloon to levitate a craft made from a compact disk (CD), learning that a bed of air under an object significantly reduces the...
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Beautiful Butterfly Tiles
Third graders create a butterfly drawing that includes the elements of art and principles of design. They create artwork that can be made into ceramic tiles to be installed around the classroom doorways in our new addition.
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Sports Helmets and Impact Testing of Polymers
Students examine the importance of good quality safety gear. In this investigative lesson, students will tests various polymers, collect data, and analyze the data to determine which polymer is best for safety helmets. They will design a...
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Understanding Kidney Disease
Learners experiment to determine information about kidney function. In this kidney function lesson, students use the scientific method to experiment with eggs, water, salt, sugar, and vegetable oil to simulate kidney function. They...
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Frozen, Canned or Fresh?
Students compare spinach. In this Science lesson, students construct an experiment to test fresh, frozen, and canned spinach taste and texture. Students record their findings in charts and graphs.
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Galvanometers
Students construct their own galvanometer. In this physics lesson, students explain how it is used to detect electric current. They conduct an experiment to measure how much electricity flows through the circuit.
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Tornado!
Learners examine the characteristics and types of tornadoes. They discuss how they are formed, conduct an experiment with two liter bottles, analyze data and determine mean and median, and design a house to withstand tornado-force winds
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Squiggly, Wiggly Worms
Students, who are in early elementary grades, pair with fifth grade students to study worms. They observe worms in experiments, create research questions, and complete the research using Internet sites. They participate in a "Worm...
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Falling Water
Students drop water from different heights to demonstrate the conversion of water's potential energy to kinetic energy. They see how varying the height from which water is dropped affects the splash size. In seeing how falling water can...
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soil, Water, and Plants
Students examine the relationship between water retention and plant growth by conducting two experiments. They first compare the water retention qualities of clay, sand and loam soil types. Then they use the data from the first...
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Name That Taste
Students analyze taste buds. In this taste lesson, students complete an experiment in groups of four people. Students have four cups with a different substance in each cup. One student dips a Q-tip into each cup and tests on another...
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Rechargeable Batteries
High schoolers explore how rechargeable batteries work by conducting a series of experiments. In this physics lesson, students discuss the benefits of using rechargeable batteries over disposable ones. They build their own battery...
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The Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF)
Students design an experiment for NASA's STEREO/IMPACT mission to measure the interplanetary magnetic field. This lesson includes 3 excellent hands-on and critical thinking activities in which students explore magnetism in the solar wind.
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Bombs Away!
Students design and build a device to protect and accurately deliver a dropped egg. They review and study a number of vocabulary words that are associated with this lesson. They work in a small group in order to develop a successful...
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Rocket Car
Young scholars construct a balloon-powered rocket car from a Styrofoam tray, pins, tape, and a flexible straw, and test it along a measured track on the floor. They experiment with ways of increasing the distance the rocket car travels.
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What is That White Stuff?
Fifth graders identify, through experimentation, what properties of substance are, determine what variables tested will be, identify constants and variables of experiment, conduct experiment to conclusion with measurable, recorded...
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What Turns Seeds On?
High schoolers design, implement, and report a scientific research project using the scientific method. They explain the experiment and its findings through poster, essay , or other presentation method.
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Fractals, An Inquiry: Day 4
Students put their growing understanding of the scientific inquiry process to work. They use paint to implement their plans to experiment with how changing one aspect of the fractal making process influences their appearance.
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Natural Disasters: An Adventure in Non-Fiction
Young scholars study different natural disasters. In this natural disaster lesson students read a nonfiction book followed by a discussion, an experiment, then collect illustrations from their experience.
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Energy and Work: Transformation Through Engines
Students conduct a webquest on an energy source they chose. In this physics lesson, students design an experiment to determine the factors affecting potential and kinetic energy. They calculate speed and create distance vs. time graphs.
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Skateboard Disaster
Students conduct a hands-on experiment with collisions between two skateboards of different masses. They are introduced to the concept of conservation of momentum in collisions and consider how their observations might help engineers...