In this dynamic data science activity, students use data to build binary trees for decision-making and prediction. Prediction trees are the first steps towards linear regression, which plays an important role in machine learning for future data scientists. Students begin by manually putting “training data” through an algorithm. They can then automate the process to test their ability to predict which alien creatures are sick and which are healthy. Students can “level up” to try more difficult scenarios.

Explore how the charging and discharging of a Van de Graaff generator occurs and changes in potential energy.

Explore how natural convection might look in a whole house, with or without a ceiling. Consider the following questions based on your experience of rooms you have been in. Does a low ceiling make a room feel warmer in a poorly insulated house? Would it be hard to heat the area we use (such as sofa height) of a living room with a high "cathedral" ceiling?

Model how electric fields change due to the number and placement of charged objects.

Investigate the relationship between the volume of a gas and the pressure it exerts on its container. This relationship is commonly known as Boyle's Law. The pressure of a gas tends to decrease as the volume of the gas increases.

Investigate the effect of gravity on objects of various mass during free fall. Predict what the position-time and velocity-time graphs will look like. Compare graphs for light and heavy objects.

How does water move through Earth's layers? Use the model templates to explore the differing permeabilities of different sediment types, drill wells into model landscapes, explore the difference between confined and unconfined aquifers, discover how water moves around gaining and losing streams, and explore the difference between rural and urban area aquifers. Create your own landscapes to test ideas about water movement and sustainability of wells. Use the graphs to measure the amount of water from each well and monitor the level of water in streams.

Watershed Awareness using Technology and Environmental Research for Sustainability (WATERS)

The WATERS project is developing and researching a student-centered, place-based, and accessible curriculum for teaching watershed concepts and water career awareness for students in the middle grades. This 10-lesson unit includes online, classroom, and field activities. Students use a professional-grade online GIS modeling resource, simulations, sensors, and other interactive resources to collect environmental data and analyze their local watershed issues. The WATERS project is paving a path to increased access to research-based, open access curricula that hold the potential to significantly increase awareness of and engagement with watershed concepts and career pathways in learners nationwide.

This material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. The software is licensed under Simplified BSD, MIT or Apache 2.0 licenses. Please provide attribution to the Concord Consortium and the URL https://concord.org.

If the walls of two houses have different insulation values, you would expect the same heater to have a different effect. Suppose you placed thermometers near the wall of each house, one on the inside and one on the outside. What would you expect the thermometers to show as you heated the houses? Run this model and see if it matches your prediction.

In this Investigation, students will start by analyzing observations of matter in order to evaluate continuous and particle models of matter. Students will then use evidence from mixing water and ethanol to evaluate those models. Finally, students will apply their model to explain observations of gases. This Investigation builds toward NGSS PE HS-PS1-3.

In this investigation, students develop a model of electric fields to explain how charged objects interact. Students analyze how the charge on objects and the distance between them affects the strength of the interactions between those objects. This investigation builds toward NGSS PEs: HS-PS2-4 and HS-PS3-5.

This investigation follows the historical development of models of atomic structure and provides students with the opportunity to explore simulations of some of the experiments that led to these models. In addition, through hands-on activities involving representative objects, this investigation helps students gain insight into the size of atoms as compared with other small objects. This investigation helps build toward NGSS PEs: HS-PS1-1 and HS-PS1-3.

Explore the advantages and disadvantages of different energy sources for generating electricity. A particular focus is given to natural gas extracted from shale formations through the hydraulic fracturing process. At the end of the module, you will be able to compare the relative costs and benefits (abundance, ecological impacts, etc.) of different sources used for generating electricity.

In this investigation, students will explore phase changes of water and develop a model that explains how intramolecular and intermolecular interactions result in arrangements that lower potential energy. This investigation builds towards NGSS PEs HS-PS1-3 and HS-PS3-2.

Enter the virtual world of Geniverse where students explore heredity and genetics by breeding and studying virtual dragons. In this activity, control the process of meiosis and fertilization in dragons. Win challenges by examining the genes on dragon chromosomes, recombining alleles and selecting the right gametes.

Explore pressure at the atomic level. All matter is made up of atoms, which make up molecules. These atoms and molecules are always in motion. When atoms and molecules are contained, we can measure the amount of pressure they exert on the container. This applies to all sorts of pressure: air pressure, blood pressure and tire pressure.

In this investigation, students begin talking about the idea of energy. Students start by defining energy and investigating differences between potential and kinetic energy. They then explore energy transfer and energy conservation. Finally, they connect energy to charges and atomic structure of matter. This investigation builds toward NGSS PEs: MS-PS3-5, MS-PS1-4, and HS-PS3-2.

This is a series of 5 guided-inquiry activities that examine data and models that climate scientists use to attempt to answer the question of Earth's future climate.

Earth's temperature has increased over the past 120 years. Explore the interactions between factors that affect Earth's climate. Explore temperature data from ice cores, sediments, and satellites and greenhouse gas data from atmospheric measurements. Run experiments with computer-based models to discern the interactions between Earth's atmosphere, surface, and ocean. You will not be able to answer the module's framing question at the end of the module, but you will be able to explain how scientists can be certain that Earth is warming while not being entirely certain about how much Earth will warm.