Chemistry is the study of matter, and all matter is made up of atoms. We will learn about elements, atomic number and mass, isotopes, moles (chemistry moles, not the animal), and compounds.
In this lesson, the students will discover the relationship between an object's mass and the amount of space it takes up (its volume). The students will also learn about the concepts of displacement and density.
This is a photo essay linked to a New York Times story about climate-related stressors on forests -- including mountain pine beetles, forest fires, forest clearance, and ice storms -- and the importance of protecting forests as an important carbon sink.
This video shows where and how ice cores are extracted from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The cores are cut, packaged, flown to the ice core storage facility in Denver, further sliced into samples, and shipped to labs all over the world where scientists use them to study indicators of climate change from the past.
We use motion detectors and a bowling ball to find relationships velocity, mass, and energy.
This Freshman Advising Seminar surveys the many applications of magnets and magnetism. To the Chinese and Greeks of ancient times, the attractive and repulsive forces between magnets must have seemed magical indeed. Through the ages, miraculous curative powers have been attributed to magnets, and magnets have been used by illusionists to produce “magical” effects. Magnets guided ships in the Age of Exploration and generated the electrical industry in the 19th century. Today they store information and entertainment on disks and tapes, and produce sound in speakers, images on TV screens, rotation in motors, and levitation in high-speed trains. Students visit various MIT projects related to magnets (including superconducting electromagnets) and read about and discuss the history, legends, pseudoscience, science, and technology of types of magnets, including applications in medicine. Several short written reports and at least one oral presentation will be required of each participant.
Attractive forces between particles play a role in the properties of the three states of matter. The strength of the attractive force between particles is one factor that determines if a particular substance will be a solid, liquid, or gas. Vary the strength of the attractive force between particles in this model. Note that for a real substance, the strength does not vary, but this model shows how the strength of the attractive force determines the state of matter if the temperature is fixed.
The simulation illustrates an Atwood's machine, which is simply two blocks connected by a string passing over a pulley. In this version of the simulation, the mass of the pulley is negligible - that leads to the tension being the same everywhere in the string.
In this lesson, students are introduced to audio engineers. They discover in what type of an environment audio engineers work and exactly what they do on a day-to-day basis. Students come to realize that audio engineers help produce their favorite music and movies.
Oyster-Acidifying oceans dramatically stunt the growth of already threatened shellfish. This audio slideshow and video features scientists from Bodega Marine Lab and research on shellfish in Tomales Bay, CA.
The present invention relates generally to neutronic reactors and, more particularly, to novel articles of manufacture used in and in combination with such reactors, and to the combination of such novel articles of manufacture with neutronic reactors.
Kentucky reading teacher Ashley Judd uses augmented reality to get her students excited about learning. The PBS Digital Innovator says she has seen student engagement soar since she started using more technology in her classroom because students are already excited about using iPads and other devices. In this video, students use an augmented reality app to create an interactive memory book.
This is a lesson which gives students the opportunity to imagine they are scientists, provides them with a basic understanding of aurora and helps them to use creative methods in their observations. First, students will study the scientific aspect of the aurora. They will also look at images of the aurora (both pictures and illustrations) and describe what they think of when they see them. These descriptions can be stored in the student portfolios as they will be useful in future lessons. Includes teacher notes and instructions, student workshops and an online, animated story, and related teacher resources on aurora. This is lesson three of a collection of five activities that can be used individually or as a sequence; concludes with a KWL (Know/Want-to-know/Learned) assessment activity.
This article includes links to expository text for students in grades K-1, 2-3, and 4-5 about the aurora.
This informational text explains the colorful phenomenon known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) and the southern lights (aurora australis). Students explore the cause of the aurora. The text is written at a grade four through five reading level. This is a PDF containing the informational text and a glossary.
This article lists seven art techniques and four poetry types that can be used to depict and describe the aurora.
In this lesson, students will demonstrate their understanding of the aurora by writing their own poems. Teachers can decide which form(s) of poetry to use from their worksheets or allow students to create their own. Examples of styles include: Acrostic, List, Haiku, Like and As, and May and Could. To help students get inspired, the class will read a poem on the aurora, and they can also look through their portfolios to help form ideas. Includes teacher notes and instructions, student workshops and an online, animated story, and related teacher resources on aurora. This is lesson five of a collection of five activities that can be used individually or as a sequence; concludes with a KWL (Know/Want-to-know/Learned) assessment activity.
The Authenticity and Agency rubrics are based on elements from two frameworks: Student as Producer and Social Pedagogies. The rubrics were created for instructors and instructional designers to use as they develop authentic learning experiences in the course design process.
This module provides information on the content and writing style used in writing a Visionlearning teaching module.
This is a laboratory activity in which students will compare the amount of carbon dioxide in four different sources of gas and determine the carbon dioxide contribution from automobiles. They test ambient air, human exhalation, automobile exhaust, and nearly pure carbon dioxide from a vinegar/baking soda mixture.