Virginia Department of Education
The Ratio of Surface Area to Volume
Demonstrate the ratio of surface area to volume in your high school class by using phenolphthalein, gelatin, and an onion. Intrigue the class by leading a discussion on osmosis and diffusion, then making "scientific jello." Participants...
Digital Lesson
Cereal Box Surface Area
How much math can your learners pour out of a cereal box? Your middle schoolers will explore their favorite cereal and calculate the surface area, volume, and weight ratios and log this information on the provided worksheet. They get to...
Alabama Learning Exchange
How Big Can a Bee Be?
Mathematicians analyze the relationships between surface area and volume. They conduct Internet research, conduct various experiments, record the data in a spreadsheet, and graph the results and compare the rate of increase of surface...
Curated OER
Surface to Volume Ratios
Young scholars measure the rate of diffusion and to calculate the surface area to volume ratios of varying cell sizes. The lesson is very clearly organized with a useful student worksheet provided. They perform a lab experiment which is...
Nuffield Foundation
Effect of Size on Uptake by Diffusion
Cell size is limited by the surface area to volume ratio, but why is this true? Scholars measure the surface area and volume of cubes before placing them into liquid. After a set amount of time, they measure the uptake by diffusion for...
Purdue University
Plastic Water Bottle Design – What’s the Best Shape?
Join the fight to reduce plastic waste. A hands-on STEM activity first teaches scholars about the scourge of plastic waste. They then measure the dimensions of water bottles to calculate surface areas and volumes before using the surface...
Curated OER
Surface Area and Measuring
Tenth graders explore volume and surface area through percentages. In this geometry lesson, 10th graders analyze the surface area of two and three dimensional shapes, then use percents and ratio to compare the two.
Curated OER
Sizing Cells
Students examine how living cells reproduce to make new cells. In this cell reproduction lesson students complete a lab activity and answer questions.
Teach Engineering
Discovering Relationships Between Side Length and Area
Consider the relationship between side length and area as an input-output function. Scholars create input-output tables for the area of squares to determine an equation in the first installment of a three-part unit. Ditto for the area of...
Curated OER
SA/V Ratio and Rate of Diffusion
Students calculate the SA/V ratio and volume of phenophthalien agar that are cut into different shapes. They then let ammonia diffuse into the various pieces of agar and determine the effect that SA/V had on the rate of diffusion.
University of Nottingham
Drawing to Scale: A Garden
See how design and geometry go hand in hand. The activity asks learners to use geometry to design a backyard garden given dimensions of each feature. Scholars work with ratios and scale to develop an accurate scale drawing that includes...
Curated OER
Cell Replication
Students use Internet activities and videos to understand the types of cells, their membranes, and the way that they reproduce. In this cellular biology activity, students use the Internet to view videos and complete activities. They...
Willow Tree
Measurement
Build a basic understanding of units of measure and create a great foundation for your learners. The instructional activity gives a complete overview of everything measurement, from types of measurement to rounding to conversions — it...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Optimizing Coverage: Security Cameras
Are you being watched? Class members determine where to place security cameras protecting a shop. They then evaluate their own and several provided solutions.
Curated OER
Who Wants to Carry a Million?
Students, in groups, determine the volume of a box large enough to hold a million dollars. They calculate the dimensions of a bill and the volume of the money.
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
The Pinch Test
Test your pupils' understanding of the scale from macro to atomic. While displaying images of different materials, learners identify what they would need to make that material visible. Their choices range from the human eye to an...
Curated OER
Ratios of Similar Figures
Students identify the ratios of different triangles. In this geometry lesson, students identify the similarity and differences of triangles. They use the navigator to move the sides of the triangle around.
Virginia Department of Education
Going the Distance
Estimate the value of one of the most famous irrational numbers. The hands-on lesson instructs classmates to measure the circumference and diameters of circles using yarn. The ratio of these quantities defines pi.
Bowland
AstroZoo
Rescue animals in the zoo by applying math concepts. Groups of learners solve three missions involving oxygen, food, and climate control. Each group selects an animal from one of four bio-domes.
Curated OER
Cylinder: Student Worksheet
In this cylinder worksheet, students compare three different cylinders to experiment which one has the greatest volume. Students interact with rectangles as they experiment with the cylinders.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Sampling and Estimating: Counting Trees
Your task today: count all the trees on a tree farm. To complete the assignment, learners first estimate the number of trees on a tree farm using random sampling. To improve their own response they then evaluate provided responses to the...
Curated OER
Traditional American Indian Lodges
Young scholars explore the mathematical properties of traditional American Indian lodges. They examine the effect of increasing sides of a polygon, calculate the surface area of prisms and cylinders, and construct a classroom size...
Curated OER
Cell Size and Division or How Big Would You Want To Be if You Were a Cell?
Students investigate why cells divide. For this cell size lesson plan, students observe how far a solution travels into 3 different size model cells of agar. They answer questions about the most effect movement of "nutrients" into the...
Curated OER
Animal Skin
Young scholars investigate the skin surface to body area ratios for different animals. In this seventh/eighth grade mathematics/science lesson plan, students explore heat transfer between an animal’s body and the environment. Using...