Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 178)

Magnetic Fluids

Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th

In this fun, engaging activity, students are introduced to a unique type of fluid "ferrofluids" whose shape can be influenced by magnetic fields! Students act as materials engineers and create their own ferrofluids. They are challenged to make magnetic ink out of ferrofluids and test their creations to see if they work. Concurrently, they learn more about magnetism, surfactants and nanotechnology. As they observe fluid properties as a standalone-fluid and under an imposed… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

HS-PS2-6.. Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials.

Make a Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell

Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th

How does a solar cell work? In this green chemistry lesson plan, students will build and test their own dye-sensitized solar cells using dye from blackberries. Along the way, they will learn about the principles of green chemistry and evaluate how solar cell manufacturing can go green. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

HS-ESS3-2. Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
HS-ESS3-4. Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces the impact of human activities on natural systems.

Make a Hygrometer to Measure Humidity

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd

What do a crazy hair day, a wooden door stuck in its frame, and the weather have in common? Humidity! In this fun hands-on weather lesson students explore surprising information about human hair, the air around them, and the weather by building a hygrometer from a strand of hair, a straw, a wooden panel, and two nails. A great way to make humidity visible! Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-ESS2-1. Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.
3-ESS2-2. Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world.

Make Boba for Bubble Tea

STEM Activity

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Ever wondered how the boba in bubble tea are made? Bubble tea or boba tea is a sweetened drink made of flavored tea, milk and bubbles. The translucent, squishy bubbles called boba are remarkably easy to make. You only need three ingredients: tapioca flour, water, and brown sugar. The skill lays in one little detail: the temperature of the water used. Curious? Try it out and make bubble tea from scratch! Read more

'Make Mine Medium-Rare': Heat Conduction in Steak

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How do you like your steak? The internal temperatures for beefsteaks at various levels of "doneness" are as follows: medium-rare, 145°F; medium, 155°F; medium-well, 165°F; and well-done, 170°F. What factors determine how long you have to cook a steak to reach the desired temperature? The temperature of the steak before you start to cook it will clearly be important. The temperature the steak is cooked at will also be a factor. And of course, the thickness of the steak will… Read more

Make Mushroom Packaging to Explore Long-Term Ecological Impact

Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th

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Are your students passionate about the environment? Do they like to explore new ideas for more eco-friendly products? This lesson will give your students a chance to grow a product out of mycelium composite, a material that recently gained traction as an eco-friendly alternative for many plastics and foams. Students will analyze the impact of this product on the environment at every step of its life cycle, from raw material to the end of its life, and compare it to a plastic or cardboard… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

HS-ESS3-4. Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.

Make Your Own Fizzy Lemonade

STEM Activity

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Did you know that the soda company Coca-Cola makes over 3,500 different types of soda to distribute around the world? If you tried a different one every day, it would take you over 9 years to try them all! Do you think you would like octopus-flavored soda? What about cheese-flavored soda? If you travel far enough around the world, you’ll find those and many other flavors that may seem exotic in the U.S. Although the flavors might differ, one thing that all sodas have in common is the… Read more

Manipulating Sound Files

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Learn how to edit sound files so that you can manipulate the recorded sound mathematically. You can either find specialized audio editing software or do background research to teach yourself about sound file structure so that you can write your own simple program to manipulate sound files. Try arithmetic operations on the sound values (e.g., adding or subtracting a constant, multiplying or dividing by a constant). How do these operations alter the sound? Try other mathematical operations:… Read more

Maple Syrup Candy

STEM Activity

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Have you ever cooked up homemade candy, maybe from chocolate or table sugar? Maple syrup is not only deliciously gooey and great on breakfast foods like pancakes and waffles—you can also turn it into maple candies with an amazing range of textures! It can be made into sticky maple taffy, or hard, molded maple sugar candy. In this science activity, you will investigate how the temperature of heated maple syrup affects what types of candies can be made from it. Read more

Mapping Landforms

Lesson Plan Grade: 2nd

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In this lesson, students will build three-dimensional play dough models from pictures that show various landforms and bodies of water. As they analyze and compare their different models, students will realize that there are many different types of landforms and bodies of water on Earth. Based on their play dough models, students will discuss how various landforms and bodies of water can be represented on a map. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

2-ESS2-2. Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.

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