Meet a chemist who owns his own business that develops synthetic DNA molecules designed to reprogram cells and help cure diseases. Hear the importance of writing, communication skills and creativity to becoming a successful chemist.
Meet a guy who started as a curious kid, overcame his fear of chemistry class, discovered a cool career, and is now a food scientist who experiments with vegetables.
Meet three mechanical engineers who are designing the next generation of jet engines at a major US company. They explain how their curiosity about how things work led them to advanced engineering degrees and cool careers with aircraft engines.
There are two types of catalysis reactions: homogeneous and heterogeneous. In a homogeneous reaction, the catalyst is in the same phase as the reactants. In a heterogeneous reaction, the catalyst is in a different phase from the reactants. This activity addresses homogeneous catalysis.
In this interactive activity from NOVA, discover how centripetal force can affect you when riding in a car or flying at high speeds in a fighter jet.
This video segment explains centripetal force and illustrates how roller coasters rely on it to give you a thrilling ride.
In this activity, students explore reactions in which chemical bonds are formed and broken. Students experiment with changing the temperature and the concentration of the atoms in order to see how these affect reaction rates. They also learn how to communicate what happens during a chemical reaction by writing the ratios of reactants and products, known as stoichiometry.
This article continues an examination of each of the seven essential principles of climate literacy on which the online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle is structured. Principle 2 covers the complex interactions among the components of the Earth system. The author discusses the scientific concepts underlying the interactions and expands the discussion with diagrams, photos, and online resources.
This video from NASA describes the detailed computer modeling used to predict that colliding neutron stars can produce gamma-ray bursts similar to those associated with black holes.
This is a laboratory exercise designed to allow students to further investigate the light spectrum. This lab is used to have students view the light spectrum first hand as opposed to using lecture alone.
Watch the ZOOM cast find out how many balloons filled with air and then with water are required to support the weight of a cast member.
In this video segment, members of the ZOOM cast experiment by bending and folding sheets of paper into various shapes to see which shape will support the weight of a heavy book.
In this video segment from ZOOM, Hillary, from Randolph, MA, takes us on a tour of the columns in her neighborhood.
This lab activity is designed to allow students to experience what an increase in mechanical advantage means. Students determine the mechanical advantage of three pulley set-ups. Students also measure the work input and output, then calculate the efficiency. Finally, students determine the relationship between the mechanical advantage and the efficiency of the pulleys.
In this interactive activity, learners build computer models of atoms by adding or removing electrons, protons, and neutrons. It presents the orbital model of an atom: a nucleus consisting of protons and neutrons with electrons surrounding it in regions of high probability called orbitals. Guided tasks are provided, such as constructing a lithium atom and a carbon-12 atom in the fewest possible steps. The activity concludes with a model for building a charged hydrogen atom (an ion). Within each task, students take snapshots of their work product and answer probative questions. This item is part of the Concord Consortium, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to transforming education through technology.
Elementary grade students investigate heat transfer in this activity to design and build a solar oven, then test its effectiveness using a temperature sensor. It blends the hands-on activity with digital graphing tools that allow kids to easily plot and share their data. Included in the package are illustrated procedures and extension activities. Note Requirements: This lesson requires a "VernierGo" temperature sensing device, available for ~ $40. This item is part of the Concord Consortium, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to transforming education through technology. The Consortium develops digital learning innovations for science, mathematics, and engineering.
In this interactive activity, students view six models to investigate what a gas, liquid, and solid look like at the atomic level. Choose to view a gas or liquid made of atoms only, a gas made of diatomic molecules, a liquid made of triatomic molecules, or two types of solids. In each simulation, users may highlight an atom and view its trajectory to see how the motion differs in each of the three primary phases. Don't miss the extension activity: a side-by-side comparison of the atomic structure of a hot liquid and a cold liquid. If you click "Withdraw the Barrier", the two liquids mix. Which state of matter has stronger attractions between atoms? This item is part of the Concord Consortium, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to transforming education through technology.
Successful completion of this cooperative learning activity requires the active involvement of the individual, the small group and the entire classroom (collaboration). The goal is to make a simple task as complicated as possible by constructing a single complex machine.
In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, two solar cookers are tested against a control to see which can cook a "s'more" faster.
This video from NASA features the Cosmic Origin Spectrograph (COS), which allows scientists to use spectrographic analysis to assess the composition of intergalactic material.