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How's the Air Up There?
Students experiment with soda cans and water to discover why air pressure is greater closer to Earth's surface.
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Float My Boat
Fourth graders, in groups, experiment with density and the displacement of water by creating and designing their own boats and seeing which boat holds the most centimeter cubes without sinking..
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Boy, Is That Buoyant!
Fourth graders see that salt increases the density of water and creates a condition wherein objects are more buoyant than would be expected under normal conditions. They describe the relationship between heat energy, evaporation and...
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Bell Live! The Great Lakes: A Superior Adventure
Students participate in a virtual field trip to Lake Superior. In groups, they perform experiments in which test the level of toxins and bacteria in the water. They also watch video segments life in the lake and discuss their observations.
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What Floats Your Boat?
Students discover the Archimedes principle through a buoyancy experiment. They measure the water displacement of a lump a clay which is denser than water then reshape the clay into a bowl which floats but displaces more water.
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Emulsion_ Compulsion
Middle schoolers experiment with common household products to determine the properties of emulsions and how they fit into the classifications of matter through this series of lessons.
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Chesapeake Bay Population Studies
Students determine how to use a quarter meter quadrant to find population density, relative density, frequency and how to calculate a diversity index while participating in a virtual field trip. They study how to establish a Correlation...
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Herb is the Word
Young scholars conduct an experiment to determine how different soils affect plant growth over a six-week period. After determining the physical properties of different types of soil, students plant various types of seeds into the soil...
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Population Dynamics of Growth of Drosophila
Young scholars experiment with Drosophila to determine if density of female flies, food sources, temperature and light affect the population dynamics of growth. Students graph their data and compare their results to the number of human...
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What's the Matter with My Jell-o?
Students work in teams of four as they conduct four controlled Jell-O experiments over a two-day period. The Family Page extends this learning to the community by providing families with challenges to explore at home.
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pH and Red Cabbage Juice
Students review properties of materials and define what pH tells them about matter. In this pH levels lesson, students determine whether materials are acids or bases using indicator substances.
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Project Geode
Young geologists attempt to predict the appearnace of a geode's internal structure based on how it looks from the outside, its mass, and its physical characteristics. In this geologly lesson, learners use scientific equipment to collect...
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Phytoplankton in the Gulf of Maine
Students use satellite data to see the correlation between sea temperature and sunlight in the Gulf of Maine. In this phytoplankton instructional activity students use Excel to analyze data.
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Dry Ice: Simply Sublime
A fascinating instructional activity on states of matter is here for your young scientists. Dry ice is used to challenge learners preconceived notions about how solids work. They discover all sorts of interesting facts about states of...
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Lesson tow
Students study the ocean and its characteristics. In this oceans instructional activity students complete a lab activity and are able to predict temperature of certain depths.
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Red, Green, and Blue Mystery Liquids! Hypothesis or Inference?
Eighth graders are actively involved in the scientific method and inquiry as they form quick hypotheses based upon a teacher set of mystery liquids. They determine the need to make additional observations of the liquids.
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Poetry in Motion
Sixth graders answer questions about "From a Railway Carriage." They discuss different poetical forms. They work together to write a poem about travel.
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Chinese Landscapes
Students explain some of the topographical features of China's landscape. They view a Chinese landscape and discuss their view of the harmony between man and nature, then create their own karst mountain scene.
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The Influence of Carbon Dioxide on the Chemistry of Soda
Students investigate the carbon dioxide content of different sodas. For this chemistry lesson, students explain why PET containers are preferable than HDPE for soda bottles. They collect data and graph them.
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Emulsions
Students identify the characteristics and composition of emulsions. In this chemistry lesson, students classify household products according to emulsion type. They explain how to make the best emulsion.
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Deep Thoughts
Students examine what lies within the Earth. They research and create scale models illustrating the layers of the Earth and write skits advocating a travel plan to send a probe into the Earth's mantle.
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I've Got That Sinking Feeling
Young scholars design a simple boat and predict how much weight it can carry. They should also discover why objects float or sink and how this can be determined experimentally. A great lesson on buoyancy!
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Hitler's Lost Sub
Students watch a video clip about German submarines lost during World War II. They work together to create their own submarine out of a plastic bottle. They test the buoyancy of the submarine in different activities.
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Does Soap Float?
Students form hypotheses and carry out an investigation in order to answer a central question: Does soap float? The focus of this lesson is on scientific inquiry, but it incorporates scientific topics such as sinking and floating.