This activity is a lab investigation where students gather data about the …
This activity is a lab investigation where students gather data about the masses of various solid objects found in a classroom. The students graph their data, compare their data, and draw conclusions about what kinds of materials contain more matter than others.
This activity is an inquiry lesson where students learn how to accurately …
This activity is an inquiry lesson where students learn how to accurately read a thermometer and then set up an investigation to compare the temperatures of different materials or locations.
This activity is an guided inquiry based lesson where students measure and …
This activity is an guided inquiry based lesson where students measure and graph data on a two-coordinate graph the growth of a toy animal submerged in water over a period of time.
Using the LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT kit, students construct experiments to measure the …
Using the LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT kit, students construct experiments to measure the time it takes a free falling body to travel a specified distance. Students use the touch sensor, rotational sensor, and the NXT brick to measure the time of flight for the falling object at different release heights. After the object is released from its holder and travels a specified distance, a touch sensor is triggered and time of object's descent from release to impact at touch sensor is recorded and displayed on the screen of the NXT. Students calculate the average velocity of the falling object from each point of release, and construct a graph of average velocity versus time. They also create a best fit line for the graph using spreadsheet software. Students use the slope of the best fit line to determine their experimental g value and compare this to the standard value of g.
The free-air effect tells us that as elevation above sea level increases, …
The free-air effect tells us that as elevation above sea level increases, gravitational acceleration g decreases at the rate of about 0.3086 mgal/meter. This effect is routinely corrected for when making gravity surveys. We will use the LaCoste & Romberg gravimeter to measure the free-air effect in a tall building on campus, and compare with the theoretical value.
keywords: gravity; vertical gradient; gravimeter
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After conducting the associated activity, students are introduced to the material behavior …
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.
Monitor the temperature of a melting ice cube and use temperature probes …
Monitor the temperature of a melting ice cube and use temperature probes to electronically plot the data on graphs. Investigate what temperature the ice is as it melts in addition to monitoring the temperature of liquid the ice is submerged in.
This exercise, based on a suite of rocks from the contact metamorphic …
This exercise, based on a suite of rocks from the contact metamorphic aureole of the Alta stock near Salt Lake City, Utah, is constructed for a mid to upper level undergraduate petrology course and does not require access to rocks and thin sections. It assumes students have already had a course in mineralogy and are familiar with photomicrographs, plotting mineral compositions on ternary diagrams, the phase rule, and Schreinemaker's rules. Some of these concepts (e.g., Schreinemaker's rules) could be introduced as part of this activity. Students who complete this exercise should be able to identify mineral assemblages common to metamorphosed siliceous dolostones, determine appropriate chemical systems to describe and plot minerals, infer metamorphic reactions from progressive changes in mineral assemblages, identify metamorphic reactions responsible for producing isograds mapped in the field, understand how rock and fluid compositions control mineral assemblages, and infer the temperature and fluid composition evolution of the Alta stock aureole based on T-X(CO2)diagrams.
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Dinosaur Journey is part of the Mueums of Western Colorado. Learn how …
Dinosaur Journey is part of the Mueums of Western Colorado. Learn how scientists used meteorites to age the solar system. Curator of Paleontology Dr. Julia McHugh shows you meteorites on display at Dinosaur Journey.
Students obtain a basic understanding of microfluidic devices, how they are developed …
Students obtain a basic understanding of microfluidic devices, how they are developed and their uses in the medical field. After conducting the associated activity, they watch a video clip and learn about flow rate and how this relates to the speed at which medicine takes effect in the body. What they learn contributes to their ongoing objective to answer the challenge question presented in lesson 1 of this unit. They conclude by solving flow rate problems provided on a worksheet.
How do microwaves heat up your coffee? Adjust the frequency and amplitude …
How do microwaves heat up your coffee? Adjust the frequency and amplitude of microwaves. Watch water molecules rotating and bouncing around. View the microwave field as a wave, a single line of vectors, or the entire field.
How do microwaves heat up your coffee? Adjust the frequency and amplitude …
How do microwaves heat up your coffee? Adjust the frequency and amplitude of microwaves. Watch water molecules rotating and bouncing around. View the microwave field as a wave, a single line of vectors, or the entire field.
This 28-minute film was created to explain how our current understanding of …
This 28-minute film was created to explain how our current understanding of the Milky Way was reached using many different wavelength of the electromagnetic spectrum. Please note, the link is to a direct download of the video; this is a large file - 336 MB.
In this geology activity, students investigate the physical property of mineral cleavage …
In this geology activity, students investigate the physical property of mineral cleavage by physically trying to break down a block of halite and describing the results. This lab addresses many misunderstandings non-majors have about the physical properties of minerals and includes a brief write up of their conclusions.
This activity is a mini-lab where students determine relationships between gas laws …
This activity is a mini-lab where students determine relationships between gas laws and temperature, pressure, and volume; particularly Charles and Boyle's Law. The concept of mini-labs originated from Dr. Dan Branan and Dr. Matt Morgan. See mini-labs.org for more details.
In this activity about light and reflection, learners discover that what you …
In this activity about light and reflection, learners discover that what you see is often affected by what you expect to see. Learners hold on to a device consisting of two mirrors glued back to back to each other with a dowel handle on either side. While looking at one side of the mirror, learners move one hand on the other side of the mirror. They will be surprised as their brain is fooled into thinking that the image it sees in the mirror is actually their other hand. Learners can participate in assembling the mirror device or use a pre-assembled one. This resource also includes a simpler version of this activity in the "etcetera" section at the bottom of the guide.
This lesson plan introduces the properties of mixtures and solutions. A class …
This lesson plan introduces the properties of mixtures and solutions. A class demonstration gives the students the opportunity to compare and contrast the physical characteristics of a few simple mixtures and solutions. Students discuss the separation of mixtures and solutions back into their original components as well as different engineering applications of mixtures and solutions.
An interactive simulation in which students use a model of charged objects …
An interactive simulation in which students use a model of charged objects to explain how charges interact and construct an understanding of Coulomb's Law. It is concerned with comparing ions and neutral atoms. The model allows the user to investigate the relationships between sign of charge, magnitude of charge, and distance between ions. The model illustrates the operation of three types of electroscopes. Next it visually explores how a static charge can bend the path of a moving electron, and then graphically and numerically explores Coulomb's Law. Lastly a model that illustrates polarization of charge illustrates why a charged balloon is attracted to a neutral wall. The system allows students to enter their multiple choice and written answers throughout the activity and generate a report of their responses at the end even if they are not logged into the system.
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