This video segment adapted from NOVA explains the origin of the elements and how scientists use unique element profiles to identify supernova types.

In this activity, students organize a set of fossils chronologically and learn to correlate, based on fossil evidence, the stratigraphy of one location with that of an adjacent location. Earth Science Reference Tables are used to identify the epoch of occurrence and the age of each of the fossil specimens. Students will become familiar with the concept of index fossils and understand what makes a good index fossil.

This video is the second lesson in the How Cold Is Cold? BLOSSOMS series and examines the properties of materials under low temperature conditions. The video consists of a series of fascinating demonstrations with liquid nitrogen, which boils at 77K (-196 C -321 F). These demonstrations include the following: What goes up, may not come down; Is that supposed to be cold? - thermal insulation; Some properties of liquid nitrogen; Making ice cream - the slow way and the fast way; Try not to explode: expansion of liquid nitrogen and the ideal gas law; Making the air cold: phase changes and the affect on volume; No frozen fingers: the changes in mechanical properties; Resistivity at 77K; The magic magnet: the Meissner Effect; Cautions in using liquid nitrogen

This activity is a guided inquiry of how molecules move in liquid. Students develop questions, use their observation skills to describe what they saw, record and analyze their findings, and use their data to begin to hypothesize what is happening in the investigation.

This video is one of a series from the Switch Energy project. It presents pros and cons of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. In this video, new fracking technologies are presented as more economical and environmentally safe.

The lab starts with a short lecture on the scientific method, after which students observe the results of a flume run that includes skeletal clasts. They form hypotheses about how bone clasts (or any clast for that matter) move and are deposited by a flow, then the students test their hypotheses by running a flume trial. The hypothesis tests take place in small groups (3-5 students), and the lab ends with homework where students use the information they learned from their hypothesis tests to interpret a fossil assemblage. As such, this is a wonderful activity for introductory geology classes, could be used effectively with minor adjustments for advanced paleontology, taphonomy, and forensic physical anthropology classes.

Short Description:
A comprehensive survey of American Environmental History

Long Description:
For too long the environment has been considered little more than a neutral background to history. This text surveys findings of the new field of Environmental History about how the environment of the Americas influenced the actions of people here and how people affected their environments, from prehistory to the present.

Word Count: 80438

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

In this lesson students use the co-created process grid and their journal to create a collage using visuals and words from magazines to illustrate and celebrate all aspects of their identities, with the invitation to include gender expression and gender. 

Over the course of five sessions the teacher reads five books aloud from the list of recommended texts found in the Educator's Materials section. The teacher asks a series of discussion questions and records the answers on a process grid/anchor chart.

In this high school physical sciences unit, students investigate why some substances absorb heat when they react, while others release it. Students first solve the mystery of where the energy goes in endothermic reactions by examining salt dissolution and using magnets as models for bonds. They then expand their investigations to look into where the energy comes from in exothermic reactions. The model they continue to develop using magnets, helps them account for why breaking bonds absorbs energy from the surroundings and forming bonds releases energy back into the surroundings. The end of the unit naturally motivates a new question to pursue in future units, “Why are some types of particles more attracted to one another than others?"

nextgenerationstoryline.org

The Patterns High School Science Sequence is a three year course pathway and curriculum aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The sequence consists of freshman physics, sophomore chemistry, and junior biology courses. Each course utilizes common instructional strategies and real world phenomena and design challenges that engage students and support their learning.  The curriculum is a combination of teacher-generated and curated open-content materials.  The Teacher generated materials are shared freely under a Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike Creative Commons License. Teacher workshops for each course are offered each summer in the Portland-Metro area. For more information, see our Professional Development page.

This subject is designed to inform students on the analytical foundations of inviscid subsonic aerodynamics. A primary goal of this subject is to equip students with the scientific rigor, applied mathematical complexity, and physical understanding that form the foundation of classical subsonic aerodynamics. Perturbation methods that both simplify mathematical complexity and expand physical understanding of critical phenomenon in fluid flow provides a framework for the subject. The subject offers lectures in classical subsonic aerodynamics at the graduate level on inviscid, subsonic, steady flow over slender aerodynamic bodies. Topics will be selected from: fundamentals of fluid mechanics [review]; singular-perturbation methods [introduction, JIT]; similitude; subsonic flows with axial symmetry; linearized subsonic flow; slender body theory; similarity rules for subsonic flows; two-dimensional flow past a wave-shaped wall; thin wing theory; Kaplan’s higher approximations.

This activity is a series of game-like lessons that assist the student in developing the logic skills needed to read mass spectrometer output and formulate the identity of an unknown molecule. As students endeavor to identify the unknown they must apply fundamental chemistry knowledge including formula mass, isotopes, periodic table, relative abundance, interpreting graphs, organic chemistry, ionization, bonding rules, and structural formulas. Based on an activity presented by Olaf Runquist, Professor, Hamline University.

Students simulate operating an iron mine, from choosing property to writing an environmental impact statement to setting up the mining operation. Chocolate chip cookies (with the chocolate chips representing iron ore) are used for this experiment. Students are challenged to operate the most profitable and environmentally sound mine they can.

Unit composed of 3 exercises designed to expose students to the physical processes that lead to landslides and how scientists model these processes.

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This is an assessment activity for the The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) educational kit. Learners will make a poster that explains possible origins of cosmic rays, how they affect people, and what protects us here on Earth. Alternately, they will make a poster describing CRaTER’s goal and how it works.

Watch warm water float on top of cold water in this video segment adapted from ZOOM.

Students analyze video clips of kids rolling down a hill on skates, scooters, and bikes to determine whether mechanical energy is conserved.

Students explore the physical science behind the causes of quicksand and become familiar with relationship between concepts such as total stress, pore pressure, and effective stress. Students also relate these concepts to soil liquefaction—a major concern during earthquakes. Students begin the activity by designing a simple device to test the effects of quicksand on materials of different densities and weights. They prototype a support structure that works to prevent a heavy object from sinking into quicksand. At the end of the activity, students reflect on the engineering design process and consider the steps civil engineers take in designing sturdy buildings and other structures.