¡Aprende sobre las propiedades del sólido, líquido y gas bailando junta al famoso grupo de música Los Hermanos Gregory!

Para ayudar a entender cómo el agua cambia los estados de la materia, el científico Sam trae al grupo musical Los Hermanos Gregory para ayudar a enseñar sobre los estados de la materia a través de una danza interactiva. El espectador baila como un sólido, líquido y gas y aprende que el agua puede cambiar los estados de la materia cuando las temperaturas son inferiores a 0 grados centígrados o superiores a 100 grados centígrados.

Objetivo de Aprendizaje:
Clasificar la materia por sus propiedades físicas, incluida la forma, la masa relativa, la temperatura relativa, la textura, la flexibilidad y si el material es sólido o líquido.

This activity is an inquiry lesson where students investigate solids, liquids, and gases through a variety of hands on experiments tied into writing and illustration of observable results.

Student groups are challenged to program robots with light sensors to follow a black line. Learning both the logic and skills behind programming robots for this challenge helps students improve their understanding of how robots "think" and widens their appreciation for the complexity involved in programming LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT robots to do what appears to be a simple task. They test their ideas for approaches to solve the problem and ultimately learn a (provided) working programming solution. They think of real-world applications for line-follower robots that use sensor input. A PowerPoint® presentation and pre/post quizzes are provided.

Students use next-generation air quality monitors to measure gas-phase pollutants in the classroom. They apply the knowledge they gained during the associated lesson—an understanding of the connection between air pollutants and their possible sources. Student teams choose three potential pollutant sources and predict how the monitor’s sensors will respond. Then they evaluate whether or not their predictions were correct, and provide possible explanations for any inaccuracies. This activity serves as a simple introduction to the low-cost air quality monitoring technology that students use throughout the associated activities that follow. Three student handouts are provided.

This STEM activity will give students a chance to explore the invisible and strong attractive force called magnetism and work with magnets like some researchers at INL.

Follow along with this narrated video to design an experiment to discover which items are magnetic.

Students measure the relative intensity of a magnetic field as a function of distance. They place a permanent magnet selected distances from a compass, measure the deflection, and use the gathered data to compute the relative magnetic field strength. Based on their findings, students create mathematical models and use the models to calculate the field strength at the edge of the magnet. They use the periodic table to predict magnetism. Finally, students create posters to communicate the details their findings. This activity guides students to think more deeply about magnetism and the modeling of fields while practicing data collection and analysis. An equations handout and two grading rubrics are provided.

Students control small electric motors with Arduino microcontrollers to make simple sticky-note spinning fans and then explore other variations of basic motor systems. Through this exercise, students create circuits that include transistors acting as switches. They alter and experiment with given basic motor code, learning about the Arduino analogWrite command and pulse width modulation (PWM). Students learn the motor system nuances that enable them to create their own motor-controlled projects. They are challenged to make their motor systems respond to temperature or light, to control speed with knob or soft potentiometers, and/or make their motors go in reverse (using a motor driver shield or an H-bridge). Electric motors are used extensively in industrial and consumer products and the fundamental principles that students learn can be applied to motors of all shapes and sizes.

Students design and build alarm systems to protect something of theirs when they are not around.

Computer-controlled servos enable industrial robots to manufacture everything from vehicles to smartphones. For this maker challenge, students control a simple servo arm by sending commands with their computers to Arduinos using the serial communication protocol. This exercise walks students through the (sometimes) unintuitive nuances of this protocol, so by the end they can directly control the servo position with the computer. Once students master the serial protocol, they are ready to build some suggested interactive projects using the computer or “cut the cord” and get started with wireless Bluetooth or XBee communication.

Students learn the physical properties of sound, how it travels and how noise impacts human health—including the quality of student learning. They learn different techniques that engineers use in industry to monitor noise level exposure and then put their knowledge to work by using a smart phone noise meter app to measure the noise level at an area of interest, such as busy roadways near the school. They devise an experimental procedure to measure sound levels in their classroom, at the source of loud noise (such as a busy road or construction site), and in between. Teams collect data using smart phones/tablets, microphones and noise apps. They calculate wave properties, including frequency, wavelength and amplitude. A PowerPoint® presentation, three worksheets and a quiz are provided.

Can you identify three mystery materials by taking a few simple measurements? An activity sheet is available to help you!

Student teams learn how water filtration systems that use nanoparticles and nanotechnology can remove organic compounds from water. First they learn about the role nanoparticles play in water filtration. Then they are introduced to the basics of nanoparticles and nanotechnology, focusing on the impacts and benefits this innovative technology has on our daily lives. Using methylene blue and methyl orange solutions, students test for the efficiency of photocatalytic nanoparticles to sanitize water. They expose a solution sample of water and methyl orange (the microbe indicator) with their newly-made water sanitation filters under UV light (sunlight) to activate the photocatalytic properties of three specific nanoparticles. They visually compare them with control samples to determine the best photocatalytic nanoparticle to sanitize water.

NSLS-II is a synchrotron light source helping researchers explore solutions to the grand energy challenges faced by the nation, and open up new regimes of scientific discovery that will pave the way to discoveries in physics, chemistry, and biology — advances that will ultimately enhance national security and help drive the development of abundant, safe, and clean energy technologies.

This is a three part lesson looking at snowflakes. Students will study an early scientist who discovered that all snowflakes are different. Students will also research basic characteristics of snowflakes. And finally, they will draw a snowflake of their own trying to incorporate what we learned, and write about what we did and the steps we took to learn about snowflakes.

Students learn about nuclear energy generation through a nuclear power plant virtual field trip that includes visiting four websites and watching a short video taken inside a nuclear power plant. They are guided by a handout that provides the URLs and questions to answer from their readings. They conclude with a class discussion to share their findings and reflections. It is recommended that students complete the associated activity, Chernobyl Empathy, before conducting this lesson; doing this assists students in gaining an understanding of how devastating nuclear meltdowns can be, which underscores the importance of careful engineering.