Curated OER
Density of a Sinker
Eighth graders determine the density of a sinker by first finding the mass and then the volume using a graduated cylinder. Students must write the procedure they use to find the volume of the sinker then apply their data to follow-up...
Curated OER
Density of Minerals
Learners determine the mass, volume, and density of two different mineral samples. Students show data and calculations as well as answer questions about the mineral identities.
Curated OER
Sand in Bottles
Eighth graders calculate the speed of bottles as they roll down a ramp with varying amounts of sand inside. Using their data, 8th graders estimate speed of three labeled bottles with different amounts of sand and compare those results...
Curated OER
Velocity
Learners determine the average speed of a toy car as it travels six different distances set up by Students. Three trials are done for each distance. The only requirements is that the longest distance must be at least three times longer...
Curated OER
Seed Growth
Students develop an independent procedure to investigate the germination of two types of seeds. Students must construct data tables or charts to record observations and results, graph the data, and analyze the data.
Curated OER
Stimulus/Response in Invertebrates
Students design and conduct and experiment to determine how invertebrates react to an outside stimulus such as light and other stimuli. Student must develop a clear plan of action, collect data in an organized manner and analyze their...
Curated OER
Erosion
Learners design and conduct an open-ended investigation using a variety of earth materials to answer a questions posed by the teacher: How does the erosion of sand compare with the erosion of gravel? After producing evidence that...
Curated OER
Water-holding Capacity of Earth Materials
Students design and conduct an experiment to test their ideas about how to speed up or slow down the rate of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. They have access to an array of physical and chemical factors that might influence enzyme...
Curated OER
Coffee Cooling
Students explore the factors that affect how long coffee stays hot. They develop a question and a testable hypothesis for one factor such as initial temperature or size of opening of the container. Then they design and conduct an...
Curated OER
How Effective is Perspiration at Cooling?
Students collect data on the cooling of water in two different test tubes, one that is wrapped in wet newspaper and one in dry newspaper. They then relate this cooling effect to the body's perspiration.
Curated OER
A Cut Above the Rest Administration Procedures
Students analyze how the Law of Conservation of Energy applies to the design and use of scissors. Working in groups, they determine the output work for a standard pair of scissors.
Curated OER
Are Enzymes Specific for Their Substrates?
Young scholars discover enzyme to substrate specificity. The experiment uses samples of glucose and lactose in combination with the enzyme lactase. Students observe the reaction between the lactose and the lactase; the lack of a...
Curated OER
Ice Cream Chemical and Physical Changes
Fourth graders identify characteristics of a simple physical and chemical change. They describe objects by the properties of the materials from which they are made and that these properties can be used separate. Students describe the...
Curated OER
Famous Rock Groups
Students define igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary, and use rock identification books to identify igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Students then discuss which rocks early man would have found useful for tool creation.
Curated OER
Magnifiers
Students describe how several different objects magnify a provided sentence and decide if they are good magnifiers or not. They then write a sentence describing two properties an object must have in order to be a good magnifier.
Curated OER
Packing Materials
Learners observe the effects of water on four different packing materials to determine which ones are more soluble. They then decide which material would be a good packing material to use for the environment and which may be a bad...
Curated OER
Some of Its Parts
Learners study a can opener to find the important parts that make it possible to take the lid off a can of food. They then use this information to decide what new or different subsystems could be added to make it better and explain how...
Curated OER
Survival
Students determine the best material from which to make a jacket to keep the body warm in a cold, dry, windy climate. This task assesses the student's ability to perform an entire investigation. In this question the independent...
Curated OER
Unknown Liquids
Learners must design and conduct an experiment to determine which unknown liquid has a greater density based on basic information about the liquids and containers. Students are given specific materials to work with.
Curated OER
Friction of a Block Weight
Fifth graders hypothesize and design an experiment to study the relationship between a block weight and the number of washers it takes to pull a block across various surfaces. Students graph results and apply their findings to a...
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Circular Motion
Students investigate circular motion in two different activities. In the first, students observe the path of a rolling marble on a paper plate. In the second, students play a game of catch using a tennis ball inside a plastic bag. ...
Curated OER
Height of Bounce
Eighth graders determine the relationship between the height of bounce of a ping-pong ball and the height from which it was dropped. They are assessed on the ability to record and interpret data, graph data, make predictions, and make...
Curated OER
Hlf-Ball
Young scholars investigate Newton's Laws of Motion and the Law of Conservation of Energy. They examine how a ball and half-ball behave and relate these laws to what happens to the ball. Students produce a graph of the data collected...
Curated OER
Starch and Sugar Testing 2
Students design and conduct an experiment to determine which of three solutions contain starch or sugar. This task assess students' ability to make simple observations, design simple experiments, utilize indicators, and make generalized...