Spreadsheets Across Curriculum module/Introductory chemistry course. Students build spreadsheets to examine unit …
Spreadsheets Across Curriculum module/Introductory chemistry course. Students build spreadsheets to examine unit conversions between the metric and English systems. Spreadsheet level: Beginner.
In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, follow scientists in their …
In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, follow scientists in their quest to understand how stable elements are made and how to create the elusive element 114.
Students investigate potential energy held within springs (elastic potential energy) as part …
Students investigate potential energy held within springs (elastic potential energy) as part of the Research and Revise step. Class begins with a video of spring shoes or bungee jumping. Then students move on into notes and problems as a group. A few questions are given as homework. The Test Your Mettle section concludes. The lesson includes a dry lab that involves pogo sticks to solidify the concepts of spring potential energy, kinetic energy and gravitational energy, as well as conservation of energy.
This lesson introduces students to three of the six simple machines used …
This lesson introduces students to three of the six simple machines used by many engineers. These machines include the inclined plane, the wedge and the screw. In general, engineers use the inclined plane to lift heavy loads, the wedge to cut materials apart, and the screw to convert rotational motion into linear movement. Furthermore, the mechanical advantage describes how easily each machine can do work and is determined by its physical dimensions.
Student teams design insulated beverage bottles with the challenge to test them …
Student teams design insulated beverage bottles with the challenge to test them to determine which materials (and material thicknesses) work best at insulating hot water to keep it warm for as long as possible. Students test and compare their designs in still air and under a stream of moving air from a house fan.
Students learn how roadways are designed and constructed, and discuss the advantages …
Students learn how roadways are designed and constructed, and discuss the advantages and limitations of the current roadway construction process. They look at current practices of roadway monitoring, discuss the limitations, and consider ways to further road monitoring research. To conclude, student groups compete to design smooth, cost-efficient and sound model road bases using gravel, sand, water and rubber (representing asphalt). This lesson prepares students for the associated activity in which they act as civil engineers hired by USDOT to research through their own model experimentation how to best use piezoelectric materials to detect road damage by showing how piezoelectric transducers can indicate road damage.
This article features children's literature about heat, temperature, and adaptations and behaviors …
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 …
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 …
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". …
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 pathway provides resources for understanding motion in one dimension. The fundamentals …
This pathway provides resources for understanding motion in one dimension. The fundamentals of vector and scalars are covered, and the key concepts of position, displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration are explained. The pathway concludes with a series of questions to test understanding of the topic.
In Visceral Science, students will be able to make stars of their …
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!
In this lesson, students are introduced to both potential energy and kinetic …
In this lesson, students are introduced to both potential energy and kinetic energy as forms of mechanical energy. A hands-on activity demonstrates how potential energy can change into kinetic energy by swinging a pendulum, illustrating the concept of conservation of energy. Students calculate the potential energy of the pendulum and predict how fast it will travel knowing that the potential energy will convert into kinetic energy. They verify their predictions by measuring the speed of the pendulum.
Students use a LEGO® ball shooter to demonstrate and analyze the motion …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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.
Through two classroom demos, students are introduced to the basic properties of …
Through two classroom demos, students are introduced to the basic properties of lasers through various mediums. In the Making an Electric Pickle demonstration, students see how cellular tissue is able to conduct electricity, and how this is related to various soaking solutions. In the Red/Green Lasers through Different Mediums demonstration, students see the properties of lasers, especially diffraction, in various mediums. Follow-up lecture material introduces students to the mechanisms by which lasers function and relates these functions to the properties of light. In the associated activity, student teams research specific laser types and present their findings to the class.
In this video from the Encyclopedia of Physics Demonstrations, observe how a …
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.
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