This article features children's literature about heat, temperature, and adaptations and behaviors that allow animals and people to survive in the polar regions.

Follow along in this video segment from ZOOM as 13-year-old Nick explains how he came up with a design, tested materials, and constructed his own cardboard chair.

ZOOM guest Amy wants to be a meteorologist and volunteers at a weather observatory. In this adapted video segment, she shows us instruments used to predict the weather and describes how air pressure affects weather patterns.

Visit with Andres during fiesta time at Paracho Michoacan, Mexico's "guitar town". As Andres shows in this video segment from ZOOM, guitar music goes beyond simple sound vibrations.

This excellent high school physics tutorial from The Physics Classroom investigates motion formulas using several problem-solving strategies including diagrams, equations, and lists.

In Visceral Science, students will be able to make stars of their own, from their earliest stages as a cloud of gas to the ends of their lives. In this lesson, we prepare students by making a kinesthetic model of the life cycle of a star!

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: .

Students use a LEGO® ball shooter to demonstrate and analyze the motion of a projectile through use of a line graph. This activity involves using a method of data organization and trend observation with respect to dynamic experimentation with a complex machine. Also, the topic of line data graphing is covered. The main objective is to introduce students graphs in terms of observing and demonstrating their usefulness in scientific and engineering inquiries. During the activity, students point out trends in the data and the overall relationship that can be deduced from plotting data derived from test trials with the ball shooter.

This is a version of the time-tested lab where students roll a ball off a table top and use kinematics in two dimensions to try to predict where the ball will land. While many versions of this lab have been previously published, in this version students determine the uncertainty of all measurements and uncertainty of their prediction. The techniques and vocabulary are consistent with the Introduction to Measurement packet.

Students use a microphone and Vernier LabQuest to record the sound of a finger-snap echo in a 1-2 meter cardboard tube. Students measure the time for the echo to return to the microphone, and measure the length of the tube. Using their measurements, students determine the speed of sound. While other authors have produced similar labs, this version includes uncertainty analysis consistent with effective measurement technique as presented in the module Measurement and Uncertainty.

This lesson focuses on the importance of airplanes in today's society. Airplanes of all shapes and sizes are used for hundreds of different reasons, including recreation, commercial business, public transportation, and delivery of goods, among many others. From transporting people to crop-dusting, our society and our economy have come to depend on airplanes. Students will discuss their own experiences with airplanes and learn more about the role of airplanes in our world.

In this video from the Encyclopedia of Physics Demonstrations, observe how a laser beam is trapped in a water jet because the light reflects against the surface of the water.

Students research particular types of lasers and find examples of how they are used in technology today. Teams present their findings by means of PowerPoint presentations, videos or brochures. The class takes notes on the presentations using a provided handout. This activity prepares students for the "go public" phase of the legacy cycle in which they solve the grand challenge by designing and producing a laser-based security system.

The learning of linear functions is pervasive in most algebra classrooms. Linear functions are vital in laying the foundation for understanding the concept of modeling. This unit gives students the opportunity to make use of linear models in order to make predictions based on real-world data, and see how engineers address incredible and important design challenges through the use of linear modeling. Student groups act as engineering teams by conducting experiments to collect data and model the relationship between the wall thickness of the latex tubes and their corresponding strength under pressure (to the point of explosion). Students learn to graph variables with linear relationships and use collected data from their designed experiment to make important decisions regarding the feasibility of hydraulic systems in hybrid vehicles and the necessary tube size to make it viable.

This activity is a guided inquiry or demonstration where students investigate elastic potential energy and gravitational potential energy and interpret their findings as related to Newton's Laws of motion.

Isaac Newton's famous thought experiment about what would happen if you launched a cannon from a mountaintop at a high velocity comes to life with an interactive computer model. You are charged with the task of launching a satellite into space. Control the angle and speed at which the satellite is launched, and see the results to gain a basic understanding of escape velocity.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientist Mike Garcia draws lava samples at the foot of the active Kilauea volcano to see if it is related to its neighboring volcano, Mauna Loa.

This activity can be used to teach concepts how different densities of liquids can be layered and/or how the salinity of water affects the movement of ocean water.

This activity is a whole group guided inquiry activity/lecture where students will learn what dimensional analysis is, how to use dimensional analysis and learn more about why it is so important. It will provide the foundation for moving into stoichiometry.

This is an interactive powerpoint lecture on the science of electricity followed by a laboratory investigation where students dissect a disposable camera.