Sum of the Parts

Host a design challenge of Olympic proportion! Junior engineers build their own bobsleds using simple materials. The activity focuses on kinetic and potential energy and how the center of mass affects motion on a downhill track....

Upper graders find missing numbers, determine the best unit to weight certain items, compare and solve two test prep questions. Houghton Mifflin text is referenced.

Here are 22 problems on 4 pages intended to provide practice in calculating mass. Learners determine the differences in weight, fractional equivalents of given quantities, and determine which item is heaviest or lightest. The problems...

Here is a Who Wants to be a Millionaire-type presentation which deals with choosing the correct metric weight for a variety of objects. Things like an apple, a paper clip, and a plastic ruler are some of the things learners consider. An...

Too much material will weigh you down. The sixth segment in a series of 22 highlights how weight affects a plane. Pupils learn that engineers take the properties of materials, including weight, when designing something. 

Bend it, but don't break it. Groups investigate the strength of different materials. Using a procedure in the seventh segment of a 22-part series on aviation, pupils determine how far a rod will bend. They determine the strength-to-mass...

Elementary schoolers predict the mass for different objects. Then, using objects of 1kg mass, they make a more precise prediction. Afterwards, they discuss the need for having and using standard measures of mass. 

On this interactive site students learn to use various units of mass to solve problems and put objects in order by their mass.

Students explore mass, volume, and weight. In this science and measurement instructional activity, students compare volume, mass, and weight after listening to the teacher's description of each. Students explore different scales and...

Students measure the weight of a container of leaves daily to discover how quickly it grows lighter as the foliage dries.