All resources in Virtual Virginia

Mix It Up

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This lesson plan introduces the properties of mixtures and solutions. A class demonstration gives the students the opportunity to compare and contrast the physical characteristics of a few simple mixtures and solutions. Students discuss the separation of mixtures and solutions back into their original components as well as different engineering applications of mixtures and solutions.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Authors: Brian Kay, Daria Kotys-Schwartz, Janet Yowell, Malinda Schaefer Zarske

Salts & Solubility (AR)

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Add different salts to water, then watch them dissolve and achieve a dynamic equilibrium with solid precipitate. Compare the number of ions in solution for highly soluble NaCl to other slightly soluble salts. Relate the charges on ions to the number of ions in the formula of a salt. Calculate Ksp values. Arabic Language.

Material Type: Simulation

Authors: Danielle Harlow, Kathy Perkins, Linda Koch, Patricia Loblein, Ron LeMaster, Wendy Adams

pH Scale

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Test the pH of things like coffee, spit, and soap to determine whether each is acidic, basic, or neutral. Visualize the relative number of hydroxide ions and hydronium ions in solution. Switch between logarithmic and linear scales. Investigate whether changing the volume or diluting with water affects the pH. Or you can design your own liquid!

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive, Simulation

Authors: Archie Paulson, Chris Malley, Jack Barbera, Kathy Perkins, Laurie Langdon, Patricia Loeblein, Wendy Adams

Gas Laws

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In this activity, students study gas laws at a molecular level. They vary the volume of a container at constant temperature to see how pressure changes (Boyle's Law), change the temperature of a container at constant pressure to see how the volume changes with temperature (Charles’s Law), and experiment with heating a gas in a closed container to discover how pressure changes with temperature (Gay Lussac's Law). They also discover the relationship between the number of gas molecules and gas volume (Avogadro's Law). Finally, students use their knowledge of gas laws to model a heated soda can collapsing as it is plunged into ice water.

Material Type: Data Set, Diagram/Illustration, Interactive, Lecture Notes

Author: The Concord Consortium

The Greenhouse Effect

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How do greenhouse gases affect the climate? Explore the atmosphere during the ice age and today. What happens when you add clouds? Change the greenhouse gas concentration and see how the temperature changes. Then compare to the effect of glass panes. Zoom in and see how light interacts with molecules. Do all atmospheric gases contribute to the greenhouse effect?

Material Type: Simulation

Authors: Carl Wieman, Danielle Harlow, John Blanco, Kathy Perkins, Kelly Lancaster, Robert Parson, Ron LeMaster, Trish Loeblein, Wendy Adams

Newton's Law of Cooling

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Students come to see the exponential trend demonstrated through the changing temperatures measured while heating and cooling a beaker of water. This task is accomplished by first appealing to students' real-life heating and cooling experiences, and by showing an example exponential curve. After reviewing the basic principles of heat transfer, students make predictions about the heating and cooling curves of a beaker of tepid water in different environments. During a simple teacher demonstration/experiment, students gather temperature data while a beaker of tepid water cools in an ice water bath, and while it heats up in a hot water bath. They plot the data to create heating and cooling curves, which are recognized as having exponential trends, verifying Newton's result that the change in a sample's temperature is proportional to the difference between the sample's temperature and the temperature of the environment around it. Students apply and explore how their new knowledge may be applied to real-world engineering applications.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Karl Abdelnour, Nicole Abaid, Robert Eckhardt

Using Heat from the Sun

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In this lesson, students will first discuss where energy comes from, including sources such as fossil fuels, nuclear, and such renewable technologies as solar. After this initial exploration, students will investigate the three main types of heat transfer: convection, conduction, and radiation. Students will learn how properties describe the ways different materials behave, for instance whether they are insulators or conductors. Students will complete a crossword puzzle to reinforce their vocabulary in this content area. The class will then focus on the acquisition and storage of energy through the design, construction, and testing of a fully functional solar oven.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Author: Lauren Powell

Chinese (Mandarin)

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Welcome to the Chinese wikibook, a free Chinese textbook on the Standard Mandarin dialect. This page links to lessons using simplified characters (used in mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia). There is also a Traditional Character Version available (used in Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong).

Material Type: Textbook

Gateway to Chinese

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This site offers a collection of free interactive language learning resources for beginning Mandarin Chinese. Students now have the option to practice pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, listening, and reading skills at their own convenience. Gateway to Chinese resources are designed to give students the valuable feedback they need to improve language skills in the critical early stages of learning. An extensive number of interactive exercises allow students to practice what they learn. With these tools, instructors can utilize valuable classroom time to do what they do best: teach!

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Lecture, Reading

Chinese Flashcards

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Practice vocabulary on the go! The original idea conceived by a fellow Chinese language student, this flashcard exercise is an engaging and effective way to review vocabulary terms from the convenience of your mobile device.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Wen-Hua Teng

Chinese Dialogues Podcast

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This podcast series consists of simple dialogue exchanges. The listening materials are suitable for beginners and help them take the first step toward becoming proficient listeners. The contents of these 72 dialogues are completely based on the beginning level Chinese curriculum; they are creative yet realistic scenarios on topics that listeners can relate to, such as the social, family and school aspects of one’s life. Full transcripts transcripts in both traditional and simplified characters as well as English translations are provided as downloadable PDF documents. The podcast format enables a generation of increasingly ‘mobile’ learners to study the material ‘on-the-go’.

Material Type: Lesson

Author: Wen-Hua Teng