This unit uses the slinky seismometer as a means of studying physics concepts such as waves, sound and the speed of sound vs speed of light, resonance, electricity and magnetism, Lenz Law and magnetic dampening (backwards engineering). Students experiment with the basic parts of the seismometer and either build or connect the seismometer to the internet to take and upload data.

This activity demonstrates how to import data from the Internet and make EXCEL graphs. The instructions included were provided by a classroom teacher who used these instructions with high school students.

Thinking about the coefficients of static and kinetic friction. Created by Sal Khan.

In this lesson, students learn about the physical properties of the Moon. They compare these to the properties of the Earth to determine how life would be different for astronauts living on the Moon. Using their understanding of these differences, they are asked to think about what types of products engineers would need to design for us to live comfortably on the Moon.

This course covers differential, integral and vector calculus for functions of more than one variable. These mathematical tools and methods are used extensively in the physical sciences, engineering, economics and computer graphics.

This unit will include an overview of the three main greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide). The unit will be a mix of organic and inorganic chemistry and will describe the physical and chemical properties of the three main gases and the most important chemical reactions that move the greenhouse gases into and out of the atmosphere. The unit will include a chapter of chemical reactivity, how these gases work (by atmospheric absorption and scattering of electromagnetic waves at different wavelengths), their residence time in the atmosphere and analyze the mitigation (what humans can do to reduce or limit the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere).

One section of the unit will discuss the “global warming potential” (what makes a stronger or a weaker greenhouse gas) and the relationship between physical properties of greenhouse gases and their lifetime (how long they remain in the atmosphere).

Students will design, build and test a hot air balloon of their choosing. Students will construct and test components in order find three component optimum design features for final assembly.

We use the inside of a pencil (graphite) to apply different "lengths of pencil" to the circuit. What relationship do you observe between length of graphite and deflection angle? Created by Brit Cruise.

By pulsing the connection to the battery we can cause a compass to spin. How is this working? Created by Brit Cruise.

The Hot Balloon game lets you control the altitude of the balloon through heating the balloon or releasing air from the air flaps. Hot air rises the balloon through a force called buoyancy. The difference between the outside and the inside air determines the amount of buoyancy. Using weight difference, wind speeds and limited fuel the balloon can go on the farthest rides.

In this hands-on OLogy activity, kids learn about matter by building their own models of carbon out of pipe cleaners, wire, and clay. The activity begins with a kid-friendly introduction to matter, elements, and atoms. The illustrated, step-by-step directions show how to use the information about carbon on the Periodic Table to create a mobile that shows the element's basic structure. A PDF version of the Periodic Table, along with a kid-friendly overview of how to read it, is also included.

 Description: Don’t be fooled by food messaging is a media literacy embedded health unit that takes the health goals of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and adds some critical thinking skills and communication skills. In food marketing young people are surrounded by persuasive claims meant to influence and manipulate their eating behavior. Students will explore some of the techniques and strategies food marketers use to influence their eating behavior to better understand how it impacts their own food choices. Within the PE program students will discuss how food choices, levels of consumption and physical activity levels influence health and wellness. Body image/healthy weight will be incorporated into this content. The culminating projects require students to work collaboratively to synthesize their new learning while using a variety of strategies to create their own healthy choices messaging production projects.

Students are introduced to the physical concept of the colors of rainbows as light energy in the form of waves with distinct wavelengths, but in a different manner than traditional kaleidoscopes. Looking at different quantum dot solutions, they make observations and measurements, and graph their data. They come to understand how nanoparticles interact with absorbing photons to produce colors. They learn the dependence of particle size and color wavelength and learn about real-world applications for using these colorful liquids.

This exercise was designed to address student misconceptions about why the Moon exhibits phases. Using a sketchbook, digital camera, or flex cam, a student sits at the center of a darkened room illuminated by a single light source in a stationary position. Stools are set up surrounding the student in the center and other students take those positions, always keeping their faces toward the center. The center student sketches or take pictures of the faces at each of the positions. Substituting a sphere (such as a ball) for the students' faces provides an even more vivid illustration of the shadowing of the sphere and connects directly to the rationale for lunar phases.

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 activity is an experiment on how sound is energy and travels in waves. Students will investigate sound using different objects in the room.

Students will determine a testable question and create an experiment related to flight of paper airplanes. They will gather and record data and present their findings to classmates.

These two activities are just a small part of overall fun students will have in discovering the wonders of magnets and how they apply to us every day.