Students investigate motors and electromagnets as they construct their own simple electric motors using batteries, magnets, paper clips and wire.

Students are introduced to gear transmissions and gear ratios using LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots, gears and software. They discover how gears work and how they can be used to adjust a vehicle's power. Specifically, they learn how to build the transmission part of a vehicle by designing gear trains with different gear ratios. Students quickly recognize that some tasks require vehicle speed while others are more suited for vehicle power. They are introduced to torque, which is a twisting force, and to speed the two traits of all rotating engines, including mobile robots using gears, bicycles and automobiles. Once students learn the principles behind gear ratios, they are put to the test in two simple design activities that illustrate the mechanical advantages of gear ratios. The "robot race" is better suited for a quicker robot while the "robot push" calls for a more powerful robot. A worksheet and post-activity quiz verify that students understand the concepts, including the tradeoff between torque and speed.

In this Illumination activity, students act as reporters at the Super Bowl. Students study four pictures of things that they would typically find at a football game: players, a scoreboard, a crowd, and a concession stand. Students are asked to create problem situations that correspond to their interpretation of each of the pictures. The lesson includes a student worksheet and extension questions.

This interactive lesson encourages young students to solve problems by estimating angles and distances. They use an applet to give LOGO-like commands, e.g. forward (length), turn (right or left) to make a path that moves a turtle to a pond. Students can create a Path 1 and Path 2 and try to minimize the total path length. There is a newer applet (Turtle Pond, cataloged separately) that allows for adding or editing the commands and a choice of right angles only, or angles in multiples of 15 degrees. The lesson provides suggestions for implementation and discussion questions.

Students take part in a hypothetical scenario that challenges them to inform customers at a local restaurant of how their use and disposal of plastics relates/contributes to the Great Pacific garbage patch (GPGP). What students ultimately do is research information on the plastics pollution in the oceans and present that information as a short, eye-catching newsletter suitable to hand out to restaurant customers. This activity focuses on teaching students to conduct their own research on a science-technology related topic and present it in a compelling manner that includes citing source information without plagiarism. By doing this, students gain experience and skills with general online searching as well as word processing and written and visual communication.

Description: In this activity students become acquainted with the anatomy and biology of seeds. They will use lenses and scales and make drawings to scale. Students will measure and calculate magnifications and they will begin to understand relationships among these. They will organize and summarize their data and, as they do so, they will be developing the understanding and skills needed to undertake more detailed investigations on the biology and reproduction of Fast Plants.Learning ObjectivesThis activity is designed to strengthen students' observational and quantitative skills. In participating in this activity students will:- learn to use magnifying lenses, microscopes and dissecting tools for detailed observation; - measure scales with rulers; - draw to scale, with accuracy and precision to understand scale and magnification; - learn features of the external anatomy of seeds that are associated with certain features of the internal anatomy of seeds; and - estimate the amount of water required to be taken up by seeds in order to initiate germination.

This is an article explaining about variation in a population in general, using height as a specific example. The article is designed to help students and teachers think about the nature of various determinants underlying biological variation.Variation in height is easily observed and measured by learners, and quantifying height observations over time is a rich context for all ages to make key mathematics and science connections."Fast Plants, rapid cycling Brassica rapa are ideally suited for getting a handle on variation."

This article is designed to help students and teachers think about the nature of various determinants underlying biological variation. Teachers facilitating any selection investigation will find this background information helpful, including those planning for the AP Biology Lab 1 of Big Idea 1: Evolution, Artificial Selection. Learners at secondary or tertiary grade levels who are preparing to investigate variation or are working on interpreting variation data can also use this resource.

This activity is a lab where the students try to make a lightbulb light up using two wires, a battery and a lightbulb.

Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module/Geology of National Parks course. Students use foundational math to calculate such earthquake-related numbers as fault displacement rate and earthquake recurrence interval associated with the San Andreas Fault at Point Reyes National Seashore.

The first of these word problems is a multiplication problem involving equal-sized groups. The next two reflect the two related division problems, namely, "How many groups?" and "How many in each group?"

The purpose of this task is to show three problems that are set in the same kind of context, but the first is a straightforward multiplication problem while the other two are the corresponding "How many groups?" and "How many in each group?" division problems.

This hands-on activity explores five different forms of erosion (chemical, water, wind, glacier and temperature). Students rotate through stations and model each type of erosion on rocks, soils and minerals. The students record their observations and discuss the effects of erosion on the Earth's landscape. Students learn about how engineers are involved in the protection of landscapes and structures from erosion. Math problems are included to help students think about the effects of erosion in real-world scenarios.

This task gives students an opportunity to work with volumes of cylinders, spheres and cones. Notice that the insight required increases as you move across the three glasses, from a simple application of the formula for the volume of a cylinder, to a situation requiring decomposition of the volume into two pieces, to one where a height must be calculated using the Pythagorean theorem.

This activity is an interactive lecture, where students will learn that fresh water is a limited resource. They will also see that drinkable water is not distributed evenly over the earth.

Student teams learn about engineering design of green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) and their use in medical research, including stem cell research. They simulate the use of GFPs by adding fluorescent dye to water and letting a flower or plant to transport the dye throughout its structure. Students apply their knowledge of GFPs to engineering applications in the medical, environmental and space exploration fields. Due to the fluorescing nature of the dye, plant life of any color, light or dark, can be used unlike dyes that can only be seen in visible light.

This is a simple task addressing the distinction between correlation and causation. Students are given information indicating a correlation between two variables, and are asked to reason out whether or not a causation can be inferred. The task would be well-suited either as an introduction to this distinction, or as an assessment item.

Students explore the use of wind power in the design, construction and testing of "sail cars," which, in this case, are little wheeled carts with masts and sails that are powered by the moving air generated from a box fan. The scientific method is reviewed and reinforced with the use of controls and variables, and the engineering design process is explored. The focus of the activity is on renewable energy, as well as the design, testing and redesign of small cars made from household materials. The activity (and an extension worksheet) includes the use of kinematic equations using distance, time traveled and speed to enforce exponents and decimals.