Students learn about STEM education through an engineering design challenge that focuses …
Students learn about STEM education through an engineering design challenge that focuses on improving building materials used in shantytowns. First, they consider the factors that lead to shantytown development. After researching the implications of living in shantytowns, students design, build and test cement-based concrete block composites made of discarded and/or recycled materials. The aim is to make a material that is resistant to degradation by chemicals or climate, can withstand natural disasters, and endure through human-made conditions (such as urban overcrowding or pollution). The composites must be made of materials that are inexpensive and readily available so that they are viable alternative in shantytown communities. Students assess the results both chemically and physically and then iterate their designs with the materials that proved to be strongest.
Students explore the basic physics behind walking, and the design and engineering …
Students explore the basic physics behind walking, and the design and engineering of shoes to accommodate different gaits. They are introduced to pressure, force and impulse as they relate to shoes, walking and running. Students learn about the mechanics of walking, shoe design and common gait misalignments that often lead to injury.
This activity is designed to enhance student comprehension of mineralogy and its …
This activity is designed to enhance student comprehension of mineralogy and its applications by having students read scientific articles from the journal American Mineralogist, answer questions, and discuss the article in class.
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Students use their understanding of projectile physics and fluid dynamics to find …
Students use their understanding of projectile physics and fluid dynamics to find the water pressure in water guns. By measuring the range of the water jets, they are able to calculate the theoretical pressure. Students create graphs to analyze how the predicted pressure relates to the number of times they pump the water gun before shooting.
This fact card discusses the shape of space and how light is …
This fact card discusses the shape of space and how light is affected by the amount of dark matter and energy in the universe. MAP's microwave detection gives us enormous insight into the creation of this matter and energy. Note: this resource was published prior to the mission name change from MAP to WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) to honor Dr. Wilkinson.
Seismograms of the 2004 M9.0 Sumatra earthquake, as recorded on station WANC …
Seismograms of the 2004 M9.0 Sumatra earthquake, as recorded on station WANC on Wrnagell volcano, Alaska. The red signal shows the raw data and the blue represented data that have been lowpass filtered. The red spikes near 2800 s are local microearthquakes triggered by the passing of the surface waves.
Provenance: Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, Western Washington University Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.
In this exercise, written for an undergraduate seismology class, students use MATLAB to analyze waveforms from the 2004 Sumatra M9.0 earthquake, as they were recorded on three seismic stations in Alaska. Two of the stations are broadbands and one is a short period station. Students use MATLAB scripts (provided) to plot and filter the time series data and to calculate power spectra at the different stations. They also see that surface waves from the Sumatra earthquake triggered microseismicity at Wrangell volcano as they passed through the hydrothermal system, an observation first made by West et al. (2005).
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Click to watch Jackie Caplan-Auerbach discuss her activity or watch the full webinar.
In doing this exercise students learn how the type of instrument and the instrument response affect the appearance of a seismogram. They identify body and surface waves in broadband seismograms. After examining the data on their own, students read a scientific paper that describes how microearthquakes were triggered by the passing surface waves. Not only does this provide them with experience reading and interpreting a scientific paper, but it shows them the types of observations made by the authors when they first analyzed the same data presented in this study.
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Student teams make polymers using ordinary household supplies (glue, borax, water). They …
Student teams make polymers using ordinary household supplies (glue, borax, water). They experiment with the semi-solid material when warm and cold to see and feel its elastic and viscous properties. Students will begin to understand how the electrical forces between particles change as temperature or the force applied to the substance changes. Is it a solid, a liquid, or something in between? How might it be used?
In this activity, students play the game Simon Says to make the …
In this activity, students play the game Simon Says to make the amplitudes and wavelengths defined by the teacher. First they play alone, and then they play with a partner using a piece of rope.
Students build and use a very basic Coulter electric sensing zone particle …
Students build and use a very basic Coulter electric sensing zone particle counter to count an unknown number of particles in a sample of "paint" to determine if enough particles per ml of "paint" exist to meet a quality standard. In a lab experiment, student teams each build an apparatus and circuit, set up data acquisition equipment, make a salt-soap solution, test liquid flow in the apparatus, take data, and make graphs to count particles.
In this activity, learners build a simple mechanism that regulates the "escape" …
In this activity, learners build a simple mechanism that regulates the "escape" of energy released by a falling weight by portioning it into discrete amounts. Escapements are found in mechanical clocks, such as those driven by a pendulum or a spring. Learners will build the wrapping form of escapement said to be used in a fifteenth-century German clock.
This is a short exercise that tests student's knowledge of interpreting eutectic …
This is a short exercise that tests student's knowledge of interpreting eutectic diagrams. The handout provides diagrams with questions to test students' comprehension of the diagrams.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
Through a five-lesson series with five activities, students are introduced to six …
Through a five-lesson series with five activities, students are introduced to six simple machines inclined plane, wedge, screw, lever, pulley, wheel-and-axle as well as compound machines, which are combinations of two or more simple machines. Once students understand about work (work = force x distance), they become familiar with the machines' mechanical advantages, and see how they make work easier. Through an introduction to compound machines, students begin to think critically about machine inventions and their pervasive roles in our lives. After learning about Rube Goldberg contraptions absurd inventions that complete simple tasks in complicated ways they evaluate the importance and usefulness of the many machines around them. Through the hands-on activities, students draw designs for contraptions that could move a circus elephant into a rail car, create a construction site ramp design by measuring different inclined planes and calculating the ideal vs. actual mechanical advantage of each, compare the theoretical and actual mechanical advantages of different pulley systems conceived to save a whale, build and test grape catapults made with popsicle sticks and rubber bands, and follow the steps of the engineering design process to design and build Rube Goldberg machines.
Make your own pulley simple machine and test it by lifting objects. …
Make your own pulley simple machine and test it by lifting objects. Colorado Americorp agents in Araphahoe, Denver, Garfield, Larimer, and Weld Counties. Work supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service under Americorps grant number 18AFHCO0010008. Opinions or points of view expressed in this lesson are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of or a position that is endorsed by the Corporation or the Americorps program. This resource is also available in Spanish in the linked file.
Students apply the mechanical advantages and problem-solving capabilities of six types of …
Students apply the mechanical advantages and problem-solving capabilities of six types of simple machines (wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, pulley) as they discuss modern structures in the spirit of the engineers and builders of the great pyramids. While learning the steps of the engineering design process, students practice teamwork, creativity and problem solving.
Students research simple machines and other mechanisms as they learn about and …
Students research simple machines and other mechanisms as they learn about and make Rube Goldberg machines. Working in teams, students design and build their own Rube Goldberg devices with 10 separate steps, including at least six simple machines. In addition to the use of readily available classroom craft supplies, 3D printers may be used (if available) to design and print one or more device mechanisms. Students love this open-ended, team-building project with great potential for creativity and humor.
This activity describes a simple clear demonstration of electric generators (Faraday's Law) …
This activity describes a simple clear demonstration of electric generators (Faraday's Law) and electric motors (Lorentz Force). This demonstration can be used as an interactive lecture demonstration.
This is a short exercise that tests student's knowledge of interpreting peritectic …
This is a short exercise that tests student's knowledge of interpreting peritectic diagrams. The handout provides a diagram with questions to test students' comprehension of the diagram.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
In this activity, students are challenged to design a contraption using simple …
In this activity, students are challenged to design a contraption using simple machines to move a circus elephant into a rail car. After students consider their audience and constraints, they work in groups to brainstorm ideas and select one concept to communicate to the class.
key words: energy conservation, law of atmospheres, satellite drag The goals of …
key words: energy conservation, law of atmospheres, satellite drag
The goals of this exercise are to put the laws of large-scale orbital dynamics into a space physics context while introducing numerical and semi-empirical modeling methods. The spreadsheet simulation consists of two linked spreadsheets and their associated plots. One spreadsheet contains density and temperature for the lower 1000 kilometers of the Earth's atmosphere, and the other contains the orbit simulation. A concept map guides students in developing formulations for describing satellite motion in an atmosphere whose density varies exponentially. At the conclusion of the laboratory students produce temporal profiles of altitude, velocity, energy, and drag force on a low-Earthorbiting satellite. A post-laboratory questionnaire focuses student thought on the physics and modeling process.
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