Liquid Density Column – STEM Activity
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STEM Activity
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Did you know that not only can solid objects sink or float, but liquids can, too? It is actually possible to stack different liquids on top of each other in layers. The key is that all the different layers must have different densities. You can stack them by either picking several liquids with a range of densities, or by varying the density of one liquid by adding chemicals like sugar or salt to it. If you choose colored liquids, or add food coloring to each layer, you can even create a whole…
Lesson Plan
Grade: 2nd
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When discussing material properties, most of us usually think of solid materials and material properties such as hardness, flexibility, or strength. However, liquids are characterized by distinct properties, too. Some of these properties overlap with those of solids, like density or transparency, but others are more specific to liquids. Viscosity—the resistance of a fluid to flow—and surface tension, are two examples of properties that are specifically used to characterize liquids.…
NGSS Performance Expectations:
- 2-PS1-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.
Have you ever wondered why some liquids mix together easily, like when you mix different juices to make a fruit punch, while others do not mix at all, like oil and water? What happens to liquids when they are mixed depends on their mixing behavior. Some liquids blend, whereas others form separate layers. If you do it right, you can even stack liquids on top of each other just like solid objects! Want to see for yourself? In this science project, you will investigate the mixing behavior of…
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Pair changing leaves and temperatures, apple season, pumpkins, Thanksgiving, and fall festivities with these free lessons and activities for enriching hands-on STEM.
STEM Activities to Bring Autumn Themes to Science Class
1. Invisible Ink with Turmeric
The same turmeric you might have out for Autumn cooking or as a seasoning at Thanksgiving, can be used as a revealing agent in the Secret Messages With Invisible Ink! chemistry activity. Write…
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Check in each week at Science Buddies this summer for our Awesome Summer Science Experiments series! Each week, we'll highlight a few activities for awesome science and engineering kids can do at home. We've got a whole summer of fun STEM themes lined up for kids of all ages — for free. This week: awesome summer science experiments with colorful rainbow flair.
Awesome Radiant Rainbow Science
The activities in Week 7 of our Awesome Summer…
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Use these free STEM lessons and activities to help students get hands-on experimenting with the science and chemistry of mixtures and solutions.
Most students have a basic concept of "mixtures." They have combined ingredients in the kitchen. They know that beverages, paints, and glues are mixtures. They may realize that blood is a mixture, as is the air we breathe. They know that some things "mix" well and others don't and that some mixtures are…
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Kick off the new school year with one of these STEM activities! Easy to plan, low-cost, and accessible to all grade levels, these creative science and engineering icebreakers help set the stage for a great school year. Students will get to know one another, maybe remember your name, and leave knowing that science class is going to be awesome!
It's back-to-school time! This means a brand new year, maybe a brand new group of students, or even a new grade…
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Making learning fun is sometimes half the battle! With the right activities, educators can ensure learning about science and engineering involves hands-on fun for students of all ages. Build in some colorful science exploration with STEM experiments on a rainbow theme!
Rainbow STEM!
The science of visible light and the physics involved in what we see as a rainbow can lead to exciting hands-on science investigations and experiments. The "cool factor" of…
Blog Post
Use these free science lessons, experiments, and activities to teach K-12 students about density.
Sometimes students wrongly think that an object's density is the same as its weight or its mass. Instead, density refers to an object's mass in a given volume. Two objects that have the same shape and size (volume) but have a different mass (like two same-sized balls with different weights) have different densities.
As a physical property of…
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