Acting as engineering teams, students take measurements and make calculations to determine the specific strength of various alloys and then report their data to the rest of the class. Using this class data, students write data-based recommendations to NASA regarding the best alloy to use in the construction of the engine and engine turbines for the Space Launch System that will eventually be used to transport astronauts to Mars.

Middle School Students love these two things together--squeezing things that are squishy, and eating candy!This is a lab using Playdough and Tootsie Rolls, in which students will measure the volume, mass, and the density of both substances.  Students should gain a deeper meaning of what the physical property of density is after completing this lab.  They should be able to explain WHY one substance is more dense or less dense than another.

This activity/experiment asks kids to dissolve M&Ms in different liquids: water, oil, and rubbing alcohol. In each liquid, the coating of the M&Ms will dissolve at different rates.

Students explore materials engineering by modifying the material properties of water. Specifically, they use salt to lower the freezing point of water and test it by making ice cream. Using either a simple thermometer or a mechatronic temperature sensor, students learn about the lower temperature limit at which liquid water can exist such that even if placed in contact with a material much colder than 0 degrees Celsius, liquid water does not get colder than 0 °C. This provides students with an example of how materials can be modified (engineered) to change their equilibrium properties. They observe that when mixed with salt, liquid water's lower temperature limit can be dropped. Using salt-ice mixtures to cool the ice cream mixes to temperatures lower than 0 °C works better than ice alone.

This blended lesson plan guides students as they discover how to compare and contrast the physical and chemical properties of matter.  The lesson includes a podcast with study guide and vocabulary sheets to be used as a flipped lesson.  It also includes an interactive "thinglink", as well as an interactive "Wizer Sheet".  There is also a hands on lab.  A Google Form assessment is also included.

This is an interactive presentation from the American Chemical Society about braces. The presentation gives a history of braces, and how metal is heated to make thin wires. The presentation includes some explanations about how heated atoms move, and how braces nowadays use nitinol. The interactive also includes short explanations about each concept discussed. Other resources are included on the page related to teeth: flouride, blue lights, teeth strength.

An inquiry activity for students to test physical properties of several compounds to analyze data and determine if the compound is ionic or covalent. This is ideal for an introduction to ionic and molecular compound nomenclature.