Students explore the science behind the energy of moving objects. For this activity students need to be able to understand that the further up a ramp a marble is released, the faster it will move.
Students explore non-contact forces through magnets and static electricity. Prior to this lesson, students should have a basic understanding of contact forces.
Students explore the transfer of energy from place to place and form to form. They observe examples of energy transfer between light, heat, electrical, motion, and sound. Students have the opportunity to apply their understanding of energy transfer by building a solar oven.
Students explore the science behind light and reflections. Then they investigate properties of light and its importance to human vision. They also use light and reflection to create a cool visual phenomenon.
Students understand what matter is, and what types of properties can be used to define different types of matter. They first explore properties of different types of matter through a hands-on investigation and then watch Dr. Jeff show off some exciting demonstrations of properties of matter.
Students will understand how energy travels through transverse and longitudinal waves.
Students identify and explain how strength and direction of forces can lead to motion.
Students see what happens when things change, seem to disappear, or seem to appear out of thin air.
Students observe and compare a variety of chemical and physical reactions to recognize the difference between chemical and physical changes.
Students model the structure of gases and other materials which are made up of particles too small to be seen, and use that model to explain properties of those materials. Students first physically model the particle nature of solid, liquid and gaseous phases of water, but move on to observations of phenomena can be explained through the particle model of matter.
Students explore the science behind how devices like cellphones, tablets and computers transfer text, images and sound. Students delve into the history of information transfer by learning about Morse code as another example of using patterns to transfer messages. Students participate in hands-on experiences using both Morse code and patterns of zeros and ones to transfer information.
Students think about motion that they have seen before, as well as observe and identify repeating patterns of motion. Students also recognize that the force of friction resisting an object’s motion can explain why that object slows or stops. They explore evidence for heat as a product of friction.
Students will discuss and analyze the types of fuel that are used to generate energy. In teams, students will design, build and present a renewable energy device. The class will list the pros and cons of non-renewable and renewable energy and discuss how and where renewable energy can be found and used in today’s society.
Students identify the different forms water takes in our world and explore how water changes from one form to another.
The purpose of this lesson is to get students thinking about the types of data and tools that are useful for providing information to make predictions about the weather. While the main focus is weather, at the end of the lesson, climate is discussed as a way to build off of the students’ initial investigation.
Students identify and explore extreme weather events most likely to occur in their area. Students explore cause and effect relationships between natural extreme events and the problems they can cause humans. They explore ways humans can reduce the impact of some natural hazards. Finally, students build a device that reduces the impact of extreme weather and then debate the merits of that solution.
Students explore how the senses and the brain work together to help us, and all animals, survive and thrive in their environments.
Students identify the major body systems, which include the circulatory, digestive, respiratory, muscular, and nervous system, and explore how each system is interconnected to help the body survive.
Students explore the science of natural disasters by learning how natural hazards impact organisms (including humans) and the environment. They also learn about the role of engineering design in protecting people from natural hazards.
Students will learn about how water is distributed throughout Earth and where it comes from. They will explore how the quality of water can affect the living things that depend on it and learn about the fate of water after human use.
Students will explore how their bodies use food as a source of energy, and discover that the energy stored in food comes from the sun. Prior to this lesson, students need to know that animals need food to grow and live.
Students will explore the science of weathering and erosion to understand how Earth’s surface changes. They will discover what happens during weathering, and the different ways this material is moved through erosion.
Learn characteristics of the moon such as relative size and surface features. Then demonstrate how the moon’s phases are a result of its orbit around the Earth.
Students will learn about the apparent motion of the Earth, sun, stars, and planets by studying observable patterns.
The focus of this lesson is on the appearance of stars based on their size and distance from Earth. Central to this concept is recognizing our sun is a star as well. Students begin to comprehend the vast scale of the universe by comparing the brightness and sizes of stars in the night sky to our sun.
The Earth is constantly changing. To better understand the processes that change it we can visualize Earth as four interacting systems—the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Humans are part of the biosphere, but have the ability to impact all of Earth’s spheres in both positive and negative ways.
Learn about the practices of science, what science is, different fields in science, and how to think like a scientist. Students will determine how they use science and engineering practices when they conduct a test of their team design in the Egg Drop Challenge. Prior to this, students should be able to ask questions of each other about what they read and observe, and the conclusions they draw from scientific investigations.
In this lesson students learn about what fossils are, how they form, and what we can learn from them. The also focus on what it means for a plant or animal to be extinct.
In this lesson students will explore their own landscape for evidence to determine whether it has changed or remained the same over time. Students observe a similar investigation in another location, and then use local resources to learn more about where they live.
In this activity students observe a variety of plant and animal structures, and explore how those structures help them survive. Students also learn how plant and animal structures with useful functions have inspired human engineering.
Students observe animals in person and through video to explore different types of group behavior and different animal group sizes. Students use observations as evidence to support scientific arguments about group behaviors.
Animals, including humans, have adaptations or characteristics that help them to obtain food, protect themselves, and reproduce to help them survive. Different animals have different types of adaptations that serve different purposes.
In this activity students recognize that offspring don’t all look alike, and variation can also be observed between offspring and their parents. They learn that traits are passed from parents to offspring and that offspring have different traits from each other. Also some traits are caused by the environment.
All plants and animals are born, grow, change, reproduce, and die over time. Together all these stages form a life cycle. In this lesson students study the life cycles of several different plants and animals.
In this video, students explore interactions between organisms and their environment. Specifically they study food chains and how those food chains connect to form webs. They explore the roles of different plants, animals, and other organisms in population control and recycling.
In this activity students learn that an organisms can only survive in an ecosystem where its needs are met. They explore a variety of different ecosystems and study the interaction between living things and non-living things, such as soil, water, and air. They also think about changes in ecosystems and the impacts they have on living things.
