Students investigate whether a bowling ball will float or sink in an aquarium of water after measuring the ball and determining the density. This is meant to be an investigative inquiry of the concepts of density and significant figures.

The purpose of this game is to help students think flexibly about numbers and operations and to record multiple operations using proper notation.

This Flash tool allows students to make a box plot of their data, using up to four categories of their own choosing, or using one of the data sets provided. The tool will plot all the data together, or break it out by category. Students can set a multiple of the Interquartile Range to be the Extreme Range, and exclude that data from the graph if they wish. Associated lessons (free) and a Mathematics Assessment Sampler (for purchase) are linked at the right side of the page.

To display the results from the previous activity, each student designs and constructs a mobile that contains a duplicate of his or her original box, the new cube-shaped box of the same volume, the scraps that are left over from the original box, and pertinent calculations of the volumes and surface areas involved. They problem solve and apply their understanding of see-saws and lever systems to create balanced mobiles.

This instructional task requires students to figure out word problems that require thinking in base 10.

This task provides an exploration of a quadratic equation by descriptive, numerical, graphical, and algebraic techniques. Based on its real-world applicability, teachers could use the task as a way to introduce and motivate algebraic techniques like completing the square, en route to a derivation of the quadratic formula.

PDF containing seed stock profile information for and illustration of the F1 and F2 Non-Purple Stem, Yellow-Green Leaf variety of Brassica rapa (Fast Plants). This also includes some brief suggestions for their use as a model organism in teaching Mendelian genetics with a monohybrid cross using Wisconsin Fast Plants.

PDF containing seed stock profile information for and illustration of the Rosette-Dwarf variety of Brassica rapa (Fast Plants). This also includes some brief suggestions for their use as a model organism in teaching.

The purpose of this task is to assess a student's ability to explain the meaning of independence in a simple context.

Students learn about stress and strain by designing and building beams using polymer clay. They compete to find the best beam strength to beam weight ratio, and learn about the trade-offs engineers make when designing a structure.

Students learn about and experiment with the concept of surface tension. How can a paper clip "float" on top of water? How can a paper boat be powered by soap in water? How do water striders "walk" on top of water? Why do engineers care about surface tension? Students answer these questions as they investigate surface tension and surfactants.

Students use a simple pH indicator to measure how much CO2 is produced during respiration, at rest and after exercising. They begin by comparing some common household solutions in order to determine the color change of the indicator. They review the concepts of pH and respiration and extend their knowledge to measuring the effectiveness of bioremediation in the environment.

Students explore how tension and compression forces act on three different bridge types. Using sponges, cardboard and string, they create models of beam, arch and suspension bridges and apply forces to understand how they disperse or transfer these loads.

Through a five-lesson series that includes numerous hands-on activities, students are introduced to the importance and pervasiveness of bridges for connecting people to resources, places and other people, with references to many historical and current-day examples. In learning about bridge types arch, beam, truss and suspension students explore the effect of tensile and compressive forces. Students investigate the calculations that go into designing bridges; they learn about loads and cross-sectional areas by designing and testing the strength of model piers. Geology and soils are explored as they discover the importance of foundations, bearing pressure and settlement considerations in the creation of dependable bridges and structures. Students learn about brittle and ductile material properties. Students also learn about the many cost factors that comprise the economic considerations of bridge building. Bridges are unique challenges that take advantage of the creative nature of engineering.

This classroom lab is a guided practice for inquiry using brine shrimp as the subject to be investigated.

SSAC Physical Volcanology module. Students build a spreadsheet and apply the ideal gas law to model the velocity of a bubble rising in a viscous magma.

In this Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module, students build spreadsheets and draw graphs to explore a chemical buffer's ability to resist pH change, i.e., the buffer capacity. Quantification of buffer capacity is conceptually straightforward but involves multiple repetitive calculations. The key relationship is the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation: , which follows from the Law of Mass Action and The spreadsheets automate many of the calculations, thereby simplifying the process. Instead of focusing on the calculations, students can see what buffer capacity means and focus on the a deeper understanding of its implications. After reviewing several buffer calculations, the stduents use the spreadsheet to investigate buffer capacity graphically and characterize blood's physiological buffer system. While solving the question of how many breaths one can take before alkalosis sets in, the students manipulate a logarithmic equation, do "what if" modeling, and analyze rates of change from plots of their cacluated results.

This activity is a biology lab investigation where students create habitats to observe decomposers in a controlled setting.