This lesson focuses on the observation of properties and the classification of objects to build ideas about variables. Learners compare buttons to identify similarities and differences. In addition, learners are introduced to Venn Diagrams by reading "The Elves and the Shoemaker" and sorting their shoes in a giant diagram.

Students define and classify alloys as mixtures, while comparing and contrasting the properties of alloys to those of pure substances. Students learn that engineers investigate the structures and properties of alloys for biomedical and transportation applications. Pre- and post-assessment handouts are provided.

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.

Students learn about material properties, and that engineers must consider many different materials properties when designing. This activity focuses on strength-to-weight ratios and how sometimes the strongest material is not always the best material.

Students are introduced to chemical engineering and learn about its many different applications. They are provided with a basic introduction to matter and its different properties and states. An associated hands-on activity gives students a chance to test their knowledge of the states of matter and how to make observations using their five senses: touch, smell, sound, sight and taste.

Students are challenged to design a method for separating steel from aluminum based on magnetic properties as is frequently done in recycling operations. To complicate the challenge, the magnet used to separate the steel must be able to be switched off to allow for the recollection of the steel. Students must ultimately design, test, and present an effective electromagnet.

Following the steps of the iterative engineering design process, student teams use what they learned in the previous lessons and activity in this unit to research and choose materials for their model heart valves and test those materials to compare their properties to known properties of real heart valve tissues. Once testing is complete, they choose final materials and design and construct prototype valve models, then test them and evaluate their data. Based on their evaluations, students consider how they might redesign their models for improvement and then change some aspect of their models and retest aiming to design optimal heart valve models as solutions to the unit's overarching design challenge. They conclude by presenting for client review, in both verbal and written portfolio/report formats, summaries and descriptions of their final products with supporting data.

Elementary Algebra is a work text that covers the traditional topics studied in a modern elementary algebra course. It is intended for students who (1) have no exposure to elementary algebra, (2) have previously had an unpleasant experience with elementary algebra, or (3) need to review algebraic concepts and techniques.

Inorganic chemistry is concerned with the properties and reactivity of all chemical elements. Advanced interests focus on understanding the role of metals in biology and the environment, the design and properties of materials for energy and information technology, fundamental studies on the reactivity of main group and transition elements, and nanotechnology. Synthetic efforts are directed at hydrogen storage materials and thermoelectrics, catalysts for solar hydrogen generation, fullerenes and metal porphyrins, metal clusters and compounds with element-element bonds, as well as nanowires and nanoparticles.

Students calculate the viscosity of various household fluids by measuring the amount of time it takes marble or steel balls to fall given distances through the liquids. They experience what viscosity means, and also practice using algebra and unit conversions.

After conducting the associated activity, students are introduced to the material behavior of elastic solids. Engineering stress and strain are defined and their importance in designing devices and systems is explained. How engineers measure, calculate and interpret properties of elastic materials is addressed. Students calculate stress, strain and modulus of elasticity, and learn about the typical engineering stress-strain diagram (graph) of an elastic material.

Student pairs experience the iterative engineering design process as they design, build, test and improve catching devices to prevent a "naked" egg from breaking when dropped from increasing heights. To support their design work, they learn about materials properties, energy types and conservation of energy. Acting as engineering teams, during the activity and competition they are responsible for design and construction planning within project constraints, including making engineering modifications for improvement. They carefully consider material choices to balance potentially competing requirements (such as impact-absorbing and low-cost) in the design of their prototypes. They also experience a real-world transfer of energy as the elevated egg's gravitational potential energy turns into kinetic energy as it falls and further dissipates into other forms upon impact. Pre- and post-activity assessments and a scoring rubric are provided. The activity scales up to district or regional egg drop competition scale. As an alternative to a ladder, detailed instructions are provided for creating a 10-foot-tall egg dropper rig.

After a brief history of plastics, students look more closely as some examples from the abundant types of plastics found in our day-to-day lives. They are introduced to the mechanical properties of plastics, including their stress-strain relationships, which determine their suitability for different industrial and product applications. These physical properties enable plastics to be fabricated into a wide range of products. Students learn about the different roles that plastics play in our lives, Young's modulus, and the effects that plastics have on our environment. Then students act as industrial engineers, conducting tests to compare different plastics and performing a cost-benefit analysis to determine which are the most cost-effective for a given application, based on their costs and measured physical properties.

I use this activity as an introduction to our quadrilaterals chapter.

In this activity, students will discover the properties of quadrilaterals by looking at that different shapes and marking which quadrilaterals have specific properties.

Students that are struggling with identifying the properties I give them the "Quadrilaterals Properties" handout printed in color since the properties each have a different color.

Students learn how to classify materials as mixtures, elements or compounds and identify the properties of each type. The concept of separation of mixtures is also introduced since nearly every element or compound is found naturally in an impure state such as a mixture of two or more substances, and it is common that chemical engineers use separation techniques to separate mixtures into their individual components. For example, the separation of crude oil into purified hydrocarbons such as natural gas, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and/or lubricants.

Students are given a variety of materials and asked to identify each material as a solid, liquid or gas. They use their five senses ‰ŰÓ sight, sound, smell, texture and taste ‰ŰÓ to identify the other characteristics of each item.

This course is an introduction to epistemology: the theory of knowledge. We will focus on skepticism—that is, the thesis that we know nothing at all—and we will survey a range of skeptical arguments and responses to skepticism.

Students are introduced to the similarities and differences in the behaviors of elastic solids and viscous fluids. Several types of fluid behaviors are described Bingham plastic, Newtonian, shear thinning and shear thickening along with their respective shear stress vs. rate of shearing strain diagrams. In addition, fluid material properties such as viscosity are introduced, along with the methods that engineers use to determine those physical properties.

This resource is a link to an interactive game-based formative assessment on writing expressions. Students are able to practice taking written expressions and turning them into algebraic expressions in a game-based fashion.