In this activity, students examine how different balls react when colliding with different surfaces. Also, they will have plenty of opportunity to learn how to calculate momentum and understand the principle of conservation of momentum.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Students examine collisions between two skateboards with different masses to learn about conservation of momentum in collisions.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
In this hands-on activity rolling a ball down an incline and having it collide into a cup the concepts of mechanical energy, work and power, momentum, and friction are all demonstrated. During the activity, students take measurements and use equations that describe these energy of motion concepts to calculate unknown variables and review the relationships between these concepts.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Students are challenged to design a method for separating steel from aluminum based on magnetic properties as is frequently done in recycling operations. To complicate the challenge, the magnet used to separate the steel must be able to be switched off to allow for the recollection of the steel. Students must ultimately design, test, and present an effective electromagnet.
Material Type: Unit of Study
Students explore energy efficiency, focusing on renewable energy, by designing and building flat-plate solar water heaters. They apply their understanding of the three forms of heat transfer (conduction, convection and radiation), as well as how they relate to energy efficiency. They calculate the efficiency of the solar water heaters during initial and final tests and compare the efficiencies to those of models currently sold on the market (requiring some additional investigation by students). After comparing efficiencies, students explain how they would further improve their devices. Students learn about the trade-offs between efficiency and cost by calculating the total cost of their devices and evaluating cost per percent efficiency and per degree change of the water.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
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
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Case Study, Homework/Assignment, Lesson Plan, Module, Unit of Study
The activity describes Eratosthenes' experiments which determined that the Earth is spherical, rather than flat. Students reproduce Eratosthenes' methods using a slice of pizza to calculate the circumference of the entire pie.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive
The students will be exploring the concept of radioactive decay and half-life. They will be completing an activity, followed by discussion and and calculations. After discussion, the students will be completing a PHET simulation.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Use the Sound Grapher to create visualizations of sound and learn about the frequency, wavelength, amplitude and velocity of sound waves.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lecture Notes
Practical lab into the chemical reaction between calcium carbide and water and the resulting ignition of acetylene gas.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan
This activity is an indoor lab for use with Vernier gas pressure sensors that allows students to experimentally determine the molar volume of a gas and ideal gas constant.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan
This inquiry lab activity allows the students to explore limiting reagents with a simple acid and base reaction.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan
Through four lessons and four hands-on associated activities, this unit provides a way to teach the overarching concept of energy as it relates to both kinetic and potential energy. Within these topics, students are exposed to gravitational potential, spring potential, the Carnot engine, temperature scales and simple magnets. During the module, students apply these scientific concepts to solve the following engineering challenge: "The rising price of gasoline has many effects on the US economy and the environment. You have been contracted by an engineering firm to help design a physical energy storage system for a new hybrid vehicle for Nissan. How would you go about solving this problem? What information would you consider to be important to know? You will create a small prototype of your design idea and make a sales pitch to Nissan at the end of the unit." This module is built around the Legacy Cycle, a format that incorporates findings from educational research on how people best learn. This module is written for a first-year algebra-based physics class, though it could easily be modified for conceptual physics.
Material Type: Full Course, Unit of Study
Series of videos that can be used in a AP Biology Video Essentials class created by Paul Anderson- Bozeman Science
Material Type: Lecture
Students learn about the wonderful and fascinating country of China, and its environmental challenges that require engineering solutions, many in the form of increased energy efficiency, the incorporation of renewable energy, and new engineering developments for urban and rural areas. China is fast becoming an extremely influential factor in our world today, and will likely have a large role in shaping the decades ahead. China is the world's largest energy consumer and the largest producer of carbon dioxide emissions, leading engineers and scientists to be concerned about the role these emissions play in rural and urban public and environmental health, as well as in global climate change. Through exploring some sources of air pollution, appropriate housing for different climate zones, and the types of renewable energy, the lessons and activities of this unit present ways that engineers are helping people in China, using an approach to cleaner, smarter, healthier and more-efficient ways of living that apply to people wherever they live.
Material Type: Full Course, Unit of Study
An introduction to our solar system the planets, our Sun and Moon. To begin, students learn about the history and engineering of space travel. They make simple rockets to acquire a basic understanding Newton's third law of motion. They explore energy transfer concepts and use renewable solar energy for cooking. They see how engineers design tools, equipment and spacecraft to go where it is too far and too dangerous for humans. They explore the Earth's water cycle, and gravity as applied to orbiting bodies. They learn the steps of the design process as they create their own models of planetary rovers made of edible parts. Students conduct experiments to examine soil for signs of life, and explore orbit transfers. While studying about the International Space Station, they investigate the realities of living in space. Activities explore low gravity on human muscles, eating in microgravity, and satellite tracking. Finally, students learn about the context of our solar system the universe as they learn about the Hubble Space Telescope, celestial navigation and spectroscopy.
Material Type: Full Course, Unit of Study
In this activity, you will investigate and measure how sunlight is distributed on the earth’s surface in different seasons, illustrating that the seasonal temperature variation has nothing to do with the distance from the earth to the sun, and everything to do with how much direct sunlight a region gets. You will be able to observe how direct sun rays deliver considerably more energy to the earth’s surface than indirect rays.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This lesson will include the idea that the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells focusing the role of neurons and the cells of which they are composed. The structure of neurons will be the focus.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Lesson
Nebraska 7th Grade Science Standards Unwrapped - This document will provide Nebraska Science teachers links to the Unwrapping documentation for each of the Nebraska Science Standards by grade level.
Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy
For this unit plan, see the old unit calendar (link on left sidebar, click ALT5 tab at the bottom). Once we update this unit to the new Doc template, we will post it here. This is now unit 5, but it used to be unit 6 (we will update file and folder numbering as we continue to revise the units). Thanks for your patience as we work hard this year to update all of the materials to the new unit template and unit/standards arrangements.
Material Type: Unit of Study
