In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members discover that metal is a good conductor of electricity as they play the steadiness tester game.
How can an understanding of pH—a logarithmic scale used to identify the acidity or basicity of a water-based solution—be used to design and create a color-changing paint? This activity provides students the opportunity to extract dyes from natural products and test dyes for acids or bases as teams develop a prototype “paint” that is eventually applied to help with a wall redesign at a local children’s hospital. Students learn about how dyes are extracted from organic material and use the engineering design process to test dyes using a variety of indicators to achieve the right color for their prototype. Students iterate on their dyes and use ratios and proportions to calculate the amount of dye needed to successfully complete their painting project.
In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members make a bridge from a single piece of paper. Will it be strong enough to hold a hundred pennies?
In this video from NOVA scienceNOW, learn how scientists detect potential signs of life on distant planets.
This activity is an inquiry lab where students observe the effects of temperature change on nitrogen dioxide gas, a common component of polluted air, to determine its color.
In this field lab activity, students will determine the density, pH and water content of prairie soil, transition soil, woods soil, and riverbed soil and compare their findings.
An expert describes the carbon composition of diamonds, as well as the conditions necessary for diamond formation in this video segment from Nature.
This Nature video offers an introduction to the socio-economic value of diamonds.
Movement of ions in and out of cells is crucial to maintaining homeostasis within the body and ensuring that biological functions run properly. The natural movement of molecules due to collisions is called diffusion. Several factors affect diffusion rate: concentration, surface area, and molecular pumps. This activity demonstrates diffusion, osmosis, and active transport through 12 interactive models.
In this activity, students investigate different methods (aeration and filtering) for removing pollutants from water. They will design and build their own water filters.
This activity is a field investigation where students will observe three areas with high sensitivity to pollution, and test water quality in two of the locations.
Students demonstrate the erythrocyte sedimentation rate test (ESR test) using a blood model composed of tomato juice, petroleum jelly and olive oil. They simulate different disease conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, anemia, leukocytosis and sickle-cell anemia, by making appropriate variations in the particle as well as in the fluid matrix. Students measure the ESR for each sample blood model, correlate the ESR values with disease conditions and confirm that diseases alter blood composition and properties. During the activity, students learn that when non-coagulated blood is let to stand in a tube, the red blood cells separate and fall to the bottom of the tube, resulting in a sediment and a clear liquid called serum. The height in millimeters of the clear liquid on top of the sediment in a time period of one hour is taken as the sedimentation rate. If a disease is present, this ESR value deviates from the normal, disease-free value. Different diseases cause different ESR values because blood composition and properties, such as density and viscosity, are altered differently by different diseases. Thus, the ESR test serves as a real-world diagnostic screening test to identify indications of the presence of any diseases in people.
This lab activity shows students the Law of Conservation of Matter and intermolecular forces by having them dissolve packing peanuts in acetone.
This activity is a guided inquiry where students will investigate if water molecules have any space between them.
This lab introduces basic chemistry concepts in molecular interactions, measurements, prediction, and critical thinking.
In this interactive activity from the Building Big Web site, think like an engineer and use your knowledge of dome design to match the right type of dome to the right location in a fictitious city.
Drawing two dimensional images of an atom.
Students experiment with various ways to naturally dye materials using sources found in nature—roots, leaves, seeds, spices, etc.—as well as the method of extracting dyes. Then they analyze various materials using statistical methods and tackle an engineering design challenge—to find dyes that best suit the needs of a startup sustainable clothing company.
This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center discusses how a drought can have negative effects locally, for example by increasing the number of forest fires, and also globally, for example by impacting air quality thousands of miles away.
This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center describes El NiŰ__óío, how it forms, and the chain reaction of consequences it triggers around the globe.