Shared by a middle school science teacher in South Carolina.
Waves
Forces and Motion
Adaptations
Inquiry
Effect of Environment on New Life Form
Using the scientific method, control the environmental conditions for a fictional alien organism in order to learn how the organism responds to changes in conditions. Sunlight, water, and temperature can be varied to determine their effects on the shape of the aliens.
Earth's Resources
Household Energy Usage
Explore the energy used by many household appliances, such as television sets, hair dryers, lights, computers, etc. Make estimates for how long each item is used on a daily basis to get an estimate for the total power consumed during a day, a week, a month, and a year, and how that relates to consumer costs and environmental impact.
Rocks and Minerals
Seasons
Seasons: Why do we have them?
Learn why the temperature in the summertime is higher than it is in the winter by studying the amount of light striking the Earth. Experiment with a plate detector to measure the amount of light striking the plate as the angle of the plate is adjusted (and then use a group of plates placed at different locations on the Earth) and measure the incoming radiation on each plate.
Seasons in 3D
Gain an understanding of the causes of seasons by observing Earth as it orbits the Sun in three dimensions. Observe the path of the Sun across the sky on any date and from any location. Create graphs of solar intensity and day length, and use collected data to describe and explain seasonal changes.
Seasons: Earth, Moon, and Sun
Observe the motions of the Earth, Moon and Sun in three dimensions to explain Sunrise and Sunset, and to see how we define a day, a month, and a year. Compare times of Sunrise and Sunset for different dates and locations. Relate shadows to the position of the Sun in the sky, and relate shadows to compass directions.
Phases of the Moon
Understand the phases of the Moon by observing the positions of the Moon, Earth and Sun. A view of the Moon from Earth is shown on the right as the Moon orbits Earth. Learn the names of Moon phases and in what order they occur. Click Play to watch the Moon go around, or click Pause and drag the Moon yourself.