This video segment adapted from NOVA follows the clean-up effort after the …
This video segment adapted from NOVA follows the clean-up effort after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska. Also featured is a marsh where an oil spill occurred 20 years earlier; analysis suggests that environmental damage may last for decades.
This is a computer and outdoor lab based activity in which students …
This is a computer and outdoor lab based activity in which students design two bottle rockets that are designed to reach maximum height. Students will calculate maximum height and terminal velocity for each rocket launched.
This video segment adapted from NOVA follows the Apollo 15 astronauts as …
This video segment adapted from NOVA follows the Apollo 15 astronauts as they collect samples of ancient rock from the Moon's crust, whose discovery helps lead to a radical new theory about the Moon's origin.
This is a lab activity where the students are using the scientific …
This is a lab activity where the students are using the scientific method to observe the process of osmosis. The students will be writing a formal report with their results.
How can we design more reliable systems to meet our communities’ energy …
How can we design more reliable systems to meet our communities’ energy needs? How can we design more reliable systems to meet our communities’ energy needs? This unit is designed to introduce students to the concept of energy transfer in a relevant and grounded context: the Texas power crisis of February 2021. Students read articles and wonder about the complex social, environmental, and physical realities that led to such a crisis. They figure out how energy transfers between systems from a generator to our communities, and what makes an energy source reliable. This allows the class to model and explain what happened in Texas at multiple scales, from the electrons in the wires to the power companies making difficult decisions to maintain stability. Students consider engineering tradeoffs, criteria, and constraints inherent in making decisions about our energy systems, and apply them in a culminating task: design a reliable energy solution that meets our communities' needs, as articulated by interviews with friends and family members. The task is designed to give students the tools to speak up in their local and global community for a better energy future, one that aligns with their own values, and those of their families.
OpenSciEd content is highly rated in EdReports and is aligned to NGSS standards.
How do forces in Earth’s interior determine what will happen to the …
How do forces in Earth’s interior determine what will happen to the surface we see? How do forces in Earth’s interior determine what will happen to the surface we see? This unit is designed to help students build an intuitive understanding of the relationship between energy transfer and unbalanced forces as they explore science ideas related to plate tectonics, radioactivity, convection, and rock formation.
OpenSciEd content is highly rated in EdReports and is aligned to NGSS standards.
How do we use radiation in our lives, and is it safe …
How do we use radiation in our lives, and is it safe for humans? How do we use radiation in our lives, and is it safe for humans? This unit begins with a news article about the unconventional use of microwave ovens to store electronics. Students are motivated to test the behavior of a Bluetooth speaker playing music from a device inside the oven when it is not running. They also test what happens when it runs and heats up food. This phenomenon sets the stage for exploring wave behavior, the interactions of matter with electromagnetic radiation, and how we can use these interactions in different technologies to digitize, store and transfer information. Throughout the unit, students use simulations to model field interactions and energy transfer through electromagnetic radiation. They conduct investigations using the microwave oven to explore how different materials interact with microwave radiation, and how the structure of this device affects energy transfer. Students explain how the frequency and amplitude of electromagnetic radiation affects its interactions with matter and evaluate the wave and photon models of electromagnetic radiation. Students obtain and communicate information about the uses of electromagnetic radiation, its safety, and methods of protection. They apply these ideas in a culminating task to evaluate whether 5G technology is safe.
OpenSciEd content is highly rated in EdReports and is aligned to NGSS standards.
Light up your love with paper circuits this Valentine’s Day—no soldering required! …
Light up your love with paper circuits this Valentine’s Day—no soldering required! Create a sure-to-impress flashing birthday card or design a light-up Christmas card—all with paper circuits! In this activity, students are guided through the process to create simple paper circuitry using only copper tape, a coin cell battery, a light-emitting diode (LED) and small electronic components such as a LilyPad Button Board. Making light-up greeting cards with paper circuitry is great way to teach the basics of how circuits function while giving students an outlet to express their artistic creativity.
Using paper, paper clips and tape, student teams design flying/falling devices to …
Using paper, paper clips and tape, student teams design flying/falling devices to stay in the air as long as possible and land as close as possible to a given target. Student teams use the steps of the engineering design process to guide them through the initial conception, evaluation, testing and re-design stages. The activity culminates with a classroom competition and scoring to evaluate how each team's design performed.
Explore the science of aerodynamics by playing this unique take on paper …
Explore the science of aerodynamics by playing this unique take on paper football. Encourage children to learn about the geometry with many different shapes to see how far they can flick their custom-made "footballs".
This activity is an experimental investigation in which students use paper helicopters …
This activity is an experimental investigation in which students use paper helicopters to examine types of variables and how to manipulate variables in experimental design.
Grab your magnifying glass and your notepads! In this Nov. 20, 2020, …
Grab your magnifying glass and your notepads! In this Nov. 20, 2020, Live Science presentation, learn how Berkeley Lab physicists investigate the mysterious world of particle physics. They will share the patterns and clues they use to detect particles as well as the tools they use to find them!
Students are presented with a short lesson on the Coulter principle—an electronic …
Students are presented with a short lesson on the Coulter principle—an electronic method to detect microscopic particles and determine their concentration in fluid. Depending on the focus of study, students can investigate the industrial and medical applications of particle detection, the physics of fluid flow and electric current through the apparatus, or the chemistry of the electrolytes used in the apparatus.
In this interactive activity from ChemThink, examine the basic properties of matter …
In this interactive activity from ChemThink, examine the basic properties of matter at an atomic level and consider how various atoms affect the way a substance behaves.
Students investigate the property dependence between liquid and solid interfaces and determine …
Students investigate the property dependence between liquid and solid interfaces and determine observable differences in how liquids react to different solid surfaces. They compare copper pennies and plastic "coins" as the two test surfaces. Using an eye dropper to deliver various fluids onto the surfaces, students determine the volume and mass of a liquid that can sit on the surface. They use rulers, scales, equations of volume and area, and other methods of approximation and observation, to make their own graphical interpretations of trends. They apply what they learned to design two super-surfaces (from provided surface treatment materials) that arecapable of holding the most liquid by volume and by mass. Cost of materials is a parameter in their design decisions.
No restrictions on your remixing, redistributing, or making derivative works. Give credit to the author, as required.
Your remixing, redistributing, or making derivatives works comes with some restrictions, including how it is shared.
Your redistributing comes with some restrictions. Do not remix or make derivative works.
Most restrictive license type. Prohibits most uses, sharing, and any changes.
Copyrighted materials, available under Fair Use and the TEACH Act for US-based educators, or other custom arrangements. Go to the resource provider to see their individual restrictions.
