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Physics Tug of War
Learners set up books with rubber bands stretched between the books. When two identical books are stretched apart and released, they move back toward each other an equal distance.
Watch It Fly
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Learners observe projectile motion by launching wooden balls off of a table top. They set up a rubber-band launcher so that each ball experiences a consistent amount of force.
Changing the Density of a Liquid: Adding Salt
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Learners see that a carrot slice sinks in fresh water and floats in saltwater.
Comparing the Density of an Object to the Density of Water
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Learners compare the weight of equal volumes of wax, water, and clay. Learners discover that since the wax weighs less than an equal volume of water, it is less dense than water and will float.
Changing the Density of an Object: Changing Shape
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Learners will see that changing the shape of an object, like a clay ball, that is more dense than water, can affect whether the object will sink or float.
Landing the Rover
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In this team design challenge (page 19-24 of PDF), learners "land" a model Lunar Rover in a model Landing Pod (both previously built in activities #3 and #4 in PDF).
Comparing the Density of Different Liquids
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Learners carefully pour vegetable oil, water, and corn syrup in any order into a cup and discover that regardless of the order they are poured, the liquids arrange themselves in layers the same way.
Newton's 2nd Law: Inquiry Approach
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In this lab activity, learners act as fellow scientists and colleagues of Isaac Newton. He has asked them to independently test his ideas on the nature of motion, in particular his 2nd Law.
Design a Lunar Rover!
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In this team design challenge (page 2-10 of PDF), learners design and build a model of a Lunar Transport Rover that will carry equipment and people on the surface of the Moon.
Wrap It Up!
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In this Energy and Environment activity (page 9 of the PDF), learners calculate the mass of a piece of gum, compare it to the mass of the gum's packaging, and then create a bar graph of the results.
Design a Landing Pod!
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In this team design challenge (page 11-18 of PDF), learners design and build a Landing Pod for a model Lunar Rover (previously built in activity on page 1-10 of PDF).
Jar Races
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In this physics activity, learners will gain a better understanding of how friction, inertia, and mass affect objects.
That's the Way the Ball Bounces: Level 1
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In this activity, learners prepare four polymer elastomers and then compare their physical properties, such as texture, color, size, and bounce height.
Sink It
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Learners classify a variety of objects by their characteristics. They then design an experiment to determine which objects float or sink in water and add this characteristic to their classification.
What Do You Know About Microbes?
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This is a series of quick activities/demos and pre-assessment tools that evaluate learners' current understanding of microbes and introduce them to basic information about microbes.
Float Your Boat
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In this physics activity, learners will explore buoyancy.
Volcanic Material Catapult Investigation
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This activity (located on page 3 of the PDF under GPS: Lava Flow Activity) is a full inquiry investigation into the relationship between an object’s mass and the distance it is thrown by a catapult.
How Do Things Fall?
Learners engage in close observation of falling objects. They determine it is the amount of air resistance, not the weight of an object, which determines how quickly an object falls.
Buoyancy Bulls-Eye
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In this hands-on activity, learners will construct a scuba diver that can float in order to explore how sea creatures stay neutrally buoyant in the ocean and to see what kinds of forces might be influ
Balloon Rockets
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This is an activity about rockets. Learners will explore how rockets leave Earth's orbit and what it takes to make a launch successful.