Current Lesson Plans: -
AGPA K-12 HomeAge of Fossils - For Grades 9-12
This lesson is designed to help students understand the concepts of radioactive dating to help determine the approximate age of fossils and rocks. After this lesson students will have an understanding of how maerials undergo radioactive decay and that the rate of decay allows scientists to predict the approximate age of the specimen. This lesson is geared to help take the "mystery" out of scientific dating of rocks and fossils.
The Bending and Bouncing of Light - For Grades 6-8
Students will learn about the transfer of light energy as it interacts with matter. Key terms of refraction and reflection will be explored through hands-on inquiry. The science of the formation of rainbows will also explored.
Building a Picnic Cooler - For Grades 9-12
After examining and testing various types of coolers and thermoses, students, in teams, will design and build a cooler "jug" to contain a pop can containing 300g of frozen water. The cooler's effectiveness will be determined by comparing the amount of water formed with the amount of ice used over the 24 hour period.
Can You See the Light? - For Grades 6-8
Students will learn through design and implementation of their own experiments about the transmission of light energy. Vocabulary terms such as transparent, translucent, and opaque are introduced and explored through hands-on exploration.
Check out Lights and Shields with Beads - For Grades 6-8
Students explore Ultraviolet (UV) detecting beads, conduct several investigations with them to find sources of UV radiation, and find materials that block U V radiation. Eventually students will realize that over-exposure to UV radiation is harmful to their eyes and skin.
Cling On's - For Grades 6-8
Through design and implementation of their own experiments, students will learn about static electricity and its relationship with various materials. Additionally, students will learn the conditions in which static electricity is produced and how it can be reduced.
Consider Your Options - For Grades 6-8
Students will watch another student make a lunch to take to school. The students will make a list of all the plastic items used to make the lunch. Discussion will follow about the items used to make a complete list. Other students will make the same lunch without using plastic items.
Counting Animal Populations - For Grades 6-8
Through hands-on investigation, students will learn about the method field scientists use to determine the population of a species for a specified study area. Through collaboration they will design and implement their own strategic method for counting the population of students in their school.
Cross that Bridge! - For Grades 6-8
This hands-on inquiry activity sets up a problem for students (design a bridge) and gives them specific constraints (type of materials, amount of materials, length of bridge, etc.) under which to work. The participants will work in groups to brainstorm and test multiple bridge designs. Throughout this lesson, the best teaching practices of inquiry approaches, hands-on/minds-on learning, and applications to the real world, will be emphasized.
Current Data Graphing - For Grades 6-8
Everywhere you look graphs surround your life. All types of businesses, periodicals, and reference materials utilize graphs to visually depict statistical information. Graphing skills are not only helpful within the walls of a science classroom but also in understanding the complexities of everyday life. This lesson is designed to help students identify the difference between an effective and ineffective graph, draw their own graphs, and interpret and relay information in a graph into another form of communication. This elsson requires the use of computers and the Internet by student groups.
Describing the Motion of a Battery Powered Car - For Grades 6-8
Students use the variables of time and distance traveled to observe the characteristics of a distance vs time graphs for the motion of a battery powered car operating with one battery then again with two batteries. This allows students to explore how the number of batteries used to power the car affects the characteristics of distance vs time graphs. Students then use the time and distance data collected for the motion of the cars in the two trials to calculate the average speed of the car in each case. The average speeds will then be compared to the slopes of the respective distance vs time graphs.
Determining the Density of Water - For Grades 6-8
Students will determine the density of one drop of water using experimental laboratory methods and graphing techniques, and then independently find the density of another liquid such as cooking oil. This lesson can be teacher directed or conducted as an open investigation.
Diaper Goo and Fire Protection - For Grades 6-8
Students will compare the absorbency of regular disposable diapers with Swimmers in fresh water and salt water.
The Dirt on Soil - For Grades 6-8
Through hands-on exploration, students will learn about three basic soil types and some of their physical properties. Concepts of porosity and permeability will be developed through experimentation. Students will design and implement a model of a water treatment plant.
Downhill Racer - For Grades 6-8
Students investigate the motion of a car traveling on an inclined plane and along a flat surface. Students observe the pattern of drops left by the moving car. The changing distances between the successive drops indicate that the car was not traveling at a constant speed. From the drops, students will be able to collect data and graph both the velocity and acceleration of the car.
Egg Walk Challenge - For Grades 6-8
Students will design a pair of shoes using plastics that will enable them to walk on eggs without breaking them.
Elasticity and Conservation of Momentum - For Grades 9-12
Using the game of marbles, students will explore how momentum is transferred from one object to another object in an elastic collision. Students will determine the properties that make a good shooter.
Electromagnetic Energy and Its Spectrum - For Grades 6-8
As a result of hands-on exploration and inquiry, students will learn about electromagnetic radiation and the electromagnetic spectrum. Students will create waves to understand the relationship between energy and wavelength. Students will design and implement an experiment to reduce UV exposure to an object.
Fishing line tests - For Grades 9-12
This lab is to test the stretch and breaking points of various brands and strength of polymer fishing lines and to graph the data collected.
Float Your Boat - For Grades 6-8
Through design and implementation of their own experiments about Archimedes' Principle, students will learn the effects of the force of buoyancy, and the role density plays in the sinking and float of objects.
Fractional Distillation - For Grades 6-8
Students will be divided into research teams. Each team will research how fractional distillation works, as well as describe one of the major products of fractional distillation. Students will then use distillation to separate 2 liquids. The concept of density will be used. (D=M/V).
How are polymers utilized in everyday life? - For Grades 9-12
Students will choose one of the ten areas of polymer science from the Macrogalleria web site. They will use the Macrogalleria web site to gather information to put into a graphic organizer. From the information on their graphic organizer the students will construct a Power Point presentation to report their findings to the class.
Jungle-Gym Drop - For Grades 3-5
Through several trials of dropping objects from various levels of a jungle-gym, students will be able to find out more about gravity, forces, and motion.
Making Balls - For Grades K-2
Children have the opportunity to use different materials to make balls. They design and build balls and explore how their balls roll, bounce, and fall. They also take apart old balls to see how they are made and use these ideas in making more balls.
Magnetic Discovery Bottle - For Grades 3-5
This lesson uses a "Magnetic Discovery Bottle" to teach students: how to conduct a simple investigation; to use simple equipment to gather data; to use data to arrive at a reasonable explanation; to communicate the investigations and explanations; to describe the properties of magnets; to explain why some materials are magnetic and some are not.
Miracle Fish - For Grades 6-8
This lesson plan leads students through the process of designing an experiment. First, students are given a miracle fish and asked to make observations. Then, through a series of steps, they develop procedures to investigate the behavior of the fish and determine the most likely cause of the curling of the fish when it is placed in the palm of the hand. After discussing the components of an experiment, students are led through a second exploration, involving polymer spikes, where they practice and build on what they have learned by forming questions, identifying variables, making observations, collecting data, completing graphs, and drawing conclusions.
Observations and Inferences - For Grades 6-8
Students will learn to distinguish observations from inferences. Students observe what they think is a burning candle and list all their observations. In reality they are observing a cylinder of apple or potato with a burning nut on the end. When all the students' observations are listed, a discussion is lead to separate actual observations from inferences students have made. Next students observe the appearance and behavior of two balls which are similar in appearance but very different in composition. Observations and inferences are made relating to the two balls.
One Plus One Makes New - For Grades 6-8
Through the introduction of a historical event, students will learn about the properties of matter and how properties can change when composite materials are produced. Through initial guided experimentation, students will be able to apply the knowledge learned and design and implement their own experiments.
Physics on the Playground - For Grades K-2
Students are challenged to ask the question, "What materials will allow me to slide the fastest down the slide?" Allow students to make a prediction and plan a procedure to fairly test the question with polymers.
Polymer Cup Speakers - For Grades 9-12
Students will establish criteria by which to test their speakers. Students will construct and test their speaker. The students will compare speakers and test variable components of a speaker.
The Polymer Schoolhouse - For Grades 3-5
Each cooperative group will construct a shoe box diorama of a particular room of their school. This would include rooms, such as classrooms, playground, cafeteria, gymnasium,principal's office, art/music rooms, etc.
Polymers, Where are you? - For Grades 6-8
Teacher will introduce the concept, "what is a polymer?" using video clips from the AGPA website (grades 5-8). Students will make a collection of common objects made of polymeric materials and formulate their own questions as to the make-up of these objects.
Rethink Those Polymer Six Pack Rings - For Grades K-2
Students will bury organic and man-made materials, some of which are polymers, to see if they decompose. They will observe the materials and record their results. After seeing that the polymer of the six-pack rings does not disintegrate at all after being buried, they will learn that these can photo degrade. They will then design and perform an experiment to photo degrade the six-pack rings and record their results.
Specific Gravity - The Relative Density of Liquids - For Grades 6-8
Students will learn, through the creation of their handmade hydrometer, how a hydrometer functions and what it measures. Using their hydrometer, they will determine the relative differences in specific gravity of liquids and compare these values to those obtained from a commercially manufactured hydrometer. Based on their findings, students will create their own liquid density column.
Sports Helmets and Impact Testing of Polymers - For Grades 6-8
In sports, participants may be subjected to collisions with balls or other people or even crashes on bikes and skateboards. How is it possible for athletes to tolerate such blows and still "remain in the game"? This activity allows students to use inquiry to investigate the materials used to make sports helmets, a modern form of body armor. The students will perform impact tests on plastic (polymer) samples by dropping a plumb bob from differing heights onto the samples. The tests, modeled after actual industrial testing methods, will measure the brittleness of a material that has been subjected to an intense blow. Both "hard" plastics that may be used in the outer shell of a helmet and foamed plastics that can be used for the inner lining of the helmet will be tested. The students will use data gained from their tests to determine which plastics they feel are most suitable for usage in a helmet.
Study the Fizz - For Grades 6-8
This inquiry activity uses an everyday item, soda, to help the students learn the concepts of solute and solvent and to review the components of a good experiment. The students will discuss and determine manipulated and responding variables and will write a hypothesis and procedure for part of the lesson. Throughout this lesson, the best teaching practices of inquiry approaches, hands-on/minds-on learning, and applications to the real world will be emphasized.
Where Did the Water Go? - For Grades 6-8
As a result of the teacher-conducted discrepant event demonstration (described below), students will pose a problem. They will formulate their hypotheses, conduct experiments, and report their findings. Since it is unlikely that the students will be able to reproduce the outcome of the teachers' demonstration, it will be pointed out to them that very often scientific investigations do not lead to "answers".
You Are What You Eat! - For Grades 6-8
Through hands-on activities and inquiry, students will construct a simple calorimeter. Through experimentation and simple calculation, students will determine the number of calories in a sample of food. Through the use of the Internet, students will plan a meal and calculate the number of calories the meal contains. From that calorie count, they will devise an exercise program to "burn off" the calories consumed.
Ziplock Chemistry - For Grades 5-8
Three substances are mixed in a sealed plastic bag. A reaction occurs that causes the bag to get warm and expand while the color of the contents of the bag changes.