Students act as engineers to learn about the strengths of various epoxy-amine mixtures and observe the unique characteristics of different mixtures of epoxies and hardeners. Student groups make and optimize thermosets by combining two chemicals in exacting ratios to fabricate the strongest and/or most flexible thermoset possible.

Student groups construct simple conductivity probes and then integrate them into two different circuits to test the probe behavior in solutions of varying conductivity (salt water, sugar water, distilled water, tap water). The activity culminates with student-designed experiments that utilize the constructed probes. The focus is to introduce students to the fabrication of the probe and expose them to two different ways to integrate the probe to obtain qualitative and quantitative measurements, while considering the application and utility of a conductivity probe within an engineering context. A provided handout guides teams through the process: background reading and questions; probe fabrication including soldering; probe testing and data gathering (including circuit creation on breadboard); probe connection to Arduino (including circuit creation and code entry) and a second round of testing and data gathering; design and conduct their own lab experiments that use the probes; online electrolyte/nonelectrolyte reading, short video, comprehension check and analysis questions.

Students are presented with a short lesson on the difference between cohesive forces (the forces that hold water molecules together and create surface tension) and adhesive forces (the forces that causes water to "stick" to solid surfaces. The interaction between cohesive forces and adhesive forces causes the well-known capillary action. Students are also introduced to examples of capillary action found in nature and in our day-to-day lives.

Polymers are a vital part of our everyday lives and nearly all consumer products have a plastic component of some variation. Students explore the basic characteristics of polymers through the introduction of two polymer categories: thermoplastics and thermosets. During teacher demos, students observe the unique behaviors of thermoplastics. The fundamentals of thermoset polymers are discussed, preparing them to conduct the associated activity in which they create their own thermoset materials and mechanically test them. At the conclusion of this lesson-activity pair, students understand the basics of thermoplastics and thermosets, which may entice their interest in polymer engineering.

This activity engages students with the concept of Direct Air Capture. Students watch an engaging film, participate in a reading and writing activity, and then model carbon dioxide adsorption/desorption in an exciting lab.

Students observe multiple examples of capillary action. First they observe the shape of a glass-water meniscus and explain its shape in terms of the adhesive attraction of the water to the glass. Then they study capillary tubes and observe water climbing due to capillary action in the glass tubes. Finally, students experience a real-world application of capillary action by designing and using "capillary siphons" to filter water.

Students observe how water acts differently when placed on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. They determine which coatings are best to cause surfaces to shed water quickly or reduce the "fogging" caused by condensation.

Have you ever passed a pond or swamp and seen bugs walking on the water? Find out how they do it in this Smithsonian Lightning Lesson.

Students observe capillary action in glass tubes of varying sizes. Then they use the capillary action to calculate the surface tension in each tube. They find the average surface tensions and calculate the statistical errors.

The Integrated Conceptual Science Program Course 1 Integrated Physics and Chemistry is a three dimensional course based on the Conceptual Progression Model of the Next Generation Science Standards. It is designed to be used as part of a three course program that addresses all high school science performance expectations. Course 1 is designed for ninth grade students.
This resource includes the teacher materials, supporting documents, and short videos to support teachers in using the materials.
The Courses were designed using the Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) framework. It is strongly encouraged that before using these materials that you be familiar with AST. We suggest that you watch the AST Overview short video found here: https://datapuzzles.org/ambitious-science-teaching and explore this Google Slide deck that contains many resources designed to further your understanding of AST: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WOUVmlm636_7i2l0GYa9JkX1TCK3NMdySfpxKN7IM7A/edit?usp=sharing

Patterns Chemistry is an instructional resource for a year-long high school introductory chemistry course. It meets many of the physical science standards from the Next Generation Science Standards, as well as some earth science standards.

The Patterns High School Science Sequence (https://hsscience4all.org/) is a three year course pathway and curriculum aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Each course utilizes:
- Common instructional strategies
- Real world phenomena
- Design challenges to engage students and support their learning.

For more information, contact us at info@pdxstem.org.

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.

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.

Explore the physics and material science of making stone tools. Educator Nate Salzman walks us through the surprisingly complex science of flintknapping, or the process of turning stone into blades, arrowheads, spear points, axes, jewelry and more. Making tools from stone may be thousands of years old, but required people to think about the properties of the material they were using and the physics of striking the stone to shape it just right.

Consider using this resource to support classroom learning about the relationship between microscopic and macroscopic properties and how forces are transmitted. Animations derived from this video have been published separately as "Animations - The Science of Knapping."

This resource is part of Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum’s open educational resources project to provide history, ecology, archaeology, and conservation resources related to our 560 acre public park. More of our content can be found on YouTube and SketchFab. JPPM is a part of the Maryland Historical Trust under the Maryland Department of Planning.

Students perform one of the first steps that environmental engineers do to determine water quality sampling and analysis. Student teams measure the electrical conductivity of four water samples (deionized water, purified water, school tap water and a salt-water solution) using teacher-made LED-conductivity testers and commercially available electrical conductivity meters. They use multimeters to also measure the resistance of the samples. They graph their collected data to see the relationship between the conductivity and resistance. Then, all students measure the conductivity of tap water samples brought to school from their homes; they organize and average their data by sub areas within their local school district to see if house location has any relationship to the water conductivity in their community.

Student teams make polymers using ordinary household supplies (glue, borax, water). They experiment with the semi-solid material when warm and cold to see and feel its elastic and viscous properties. Students will begin to understand how the electrical forces between particles change as temperature or the force applied to the substance changes. Is it a solid, a liquid, or something in between? How might it be used?

What do bubbles have to do with water on the International Space Station? Find out from NASA Astronaut Ricky Arnold.

In the electrical engineering, solid-state materials and the properties play an essential role. A thorough understanding of the physics of metals, insulators and semiconductor materials is essential for designing new electronic devices and circuits. After short introduction of the IC fabrication process, the course starts with the crystallography. This will be followed by the basic principle of the quantum mechanics, the sold-state physics, band-structure and the relation with electrical properties of the solid-state materials. When the material physics has been throughly understood, the physics of the semiconductor device follows quite naturally and can be understood quickly and efficiently. Study Goals: The student can 1) determine the crystal structure, the density of atoms and the Miller indices of a crystal, 2) apply Schrodinger's wave equation to various potential functions and derive a probability of finding electrons, 3) discuss the concept of energy band formation and difference of material properties in terms of the band, 4) derive the concentrations of electron and holes with a given temperature in terms of Fermi energy, and 5) can discuss drift, diffusion and scattering of carriers in a semiconductor under various temperature and impurity concentrations.

Surface tension accounts for many of the interesting properties we associate with water. By learning about surface tension and adhesive forces, students learn why liquid jets of water break into droplets rather than staying in a continuous stream. Through hands-on activities, students learn how the combination of adhesive forces and cohesive forces cause capillary motion. They study different effects of capillary motion and use capillary motion to measure surface tension. Students explore the phenomena of wetting and hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces and see how water's behavior changes when a surface is treated with different coatings. A lotus leaf is a natural example of a superhydrophobic surface, with its water-repellent, self-cleaning characteristics. Students examine the lotus effect on natural leaves and human-made superhydrophobic surfaces, and explore how the lotus leaf repels dewy water through vibration. See the Unit Overview section for details on each lesson in this unit.