Weight A Minute

Enhance your states of matter lessons with a hands-on science investigation that compares six different balls' color, texture, size, weight, ability to bounce, and buoyancy. 

The density of the huge planet of Saturn is 0.7 g/cm3, which means it could float in water! In the second part of 22, science pupils explore the size and order of the planets. They then calculate weight and/or gravity and density of...

Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...

Students explore the process of decomposition. In this ecology and measurement lesson, students prepare a worm home to be used for vermicomposting. Students weigh a group of worms and the added food, recording this information on a data...

A fun and challenging activity for nearly any age group, partners must work together to build the tallest structure possible using paper clips, straws, and pipe cleaners. In addition to being tall, the structure must also be able to...

Whatever floats your boat—with some additional weight. The first activity in a five-part series challenges pupils to design a boat to hold pennies. Using the design process, learners design, build, and test their boats, making sure they...

Begin by exploring nonstandard units of measurement, and proceed through the use of metric units, focusing in on mass. Learners use three different types of scales for measuring mass: a triple beam balance, an equal arm balance, and 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. 

Students are taught that the metric system is a decimal system of weights and measures based on the meter for length, the kilogram for weight, and the liter for volume. They research how to convert from imperial units of measure to the...

Here is a six-minute video of a pair of electrical engineers that illustrate how to build a wind turbine. A list of materials is provided, along with general guidelines for your class. Use this to introduce turbine design to your...