Students experiment with a new material—aerogel. Aerogel is a synthetic (human-made) porous ultra-light (low-density) material, in which the liquid component of a gel is replaced with a gas. In this activity, student pairs use aerogel to simulate the environmental engineering application of cleaning up oil spills. In a simple and fun way, this activity incorporates density calculations, the material effects of surface area, and hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties.

This activity will introduce pH testing of cleaning products, citrus fruits, and then analyzes a mystery Green product. Students will compare and contrast findings to discover an earth friendly product.

Both of these lessons are classroom activities that require students to build models that display understanding of atoms and molecules. One lesson is structured while the other is guided.

Students are introduced to the concept of engineering biological organisms and studying their growth to be able to identify periods of fast and slow growth. They learn that bacteria are found everywhere, including on the surfaces of our hands. Student groups study three different conditions under which bacteria are found and compare the growth of the individual bacteria from each source. In addition to monitoring the quantity of bacteria from differ conditions, they record the growth of bacteria over time, which is an excellent tool to study binary fission and the reproduction of unicellular organisms.

Students hypothesize whether vinegar and ammonia-based glass cleaner are acids or bases. They create designs on index cards using these substances as invisible inks. After the index cards have dried, they apply red cabbage juice as an indicator to reveal the designs.

Students learn the basics of acid/base chemistry in a fun, interactive way by studying instances of acid/base chemistry found in popular films such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and National Treasure. Students learn what acids, bases and indicators are and how they can be used, including invisible ink. They also learn how engineers use acids and bases every day to better our quality of life. Students' interest is piqued by the use of popular culture in the classroom.

Students learn about various crystals, such as kidney stones, within the human body. They also learn about how crystals grow and ways to inhibit their growth. They also learn how researchers such as chemical engineers design drugs with the intent to inhibit crystal growth for medical treatment purposes and the factors they face when attempting to implement their designs. A day before presenting this lesson to students, conduct the associated activity, Rock Candy Your Body.

Students use a simple pH indicator to measure how much CO2 is produced during respiration, at rest and after exercising. They begin by comparing some common household solutions in order to determine the color change of the indicator. They review the concepts of pH and respiration and extend their knowledge to measuring the effectiveness of bioremediation in the environment.

Students learn about atoms and their structure (protons, electrons, neutrons) — the building blocks of matter. They see how scientific discoveries about atoms and molecules influence new technologies developed by engineers.

This activity is a lab where students make qualitative and quantitative observation on a chemical change. They will see that gases have mass in accordance with the conservation of matter.

This activity is an inquiry-based investigation where students discover the indicators of chemical reactions (endothermic and exothermic) by collecting data and using that data to develop a testable question for further experimentation.

This activity provides students with the opportunity to gather data from a controlled experiment setting, interpret their findings and use the data to draw conclusions to solve a mystery.

This activity is a classroom lab where students observe and classify chemical and physical changes using the five characteristics of a chemical change, interpret their findings, and use evidence to support their findings.

Matching game, including matching common ionic charges and ions and the compounds they form and naming of greek prefixes for covalent molecules.

This activity provides a demonstration and lab exploration of one of the main "building blocks" of the periodic table of elements: chlorine. During the lab, students compare physical and chemical properties of chlorine compounds.

This activity is a lab designed for students to combust magnesium and use results to explain oxidation/reduction reactions.

Students investigate the property dependence between concentrations and boiling point. In section 1, students first investigate the boiling point of various liquid solutions. In section 2, they analyze data collected by the entire class to generate two boiling point curves, one for salt solutions and one for sugar solutions. Finally, in section 3, students use the data they have analyzed to determine how to create a solution that has a particular boiling point and is a cost-effective design.

It this exercise the students will discover that pure water does not conduct electricity and that dissolving different substances in water may or may not cause it to conduct electricity.

Students develop and conduct an experiment using the law of conservation of mass to determine whether or not gum should be considered food. Students will compare the mass swallowed for sugar and sugar-free gum. This could be used to discuss solubility.