Classroom Activities
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Petri Dish Electrolysis Activity Introduce your students to reduction-oxidation reactions and some of the basic terms of electrochemistry (such as electrode potential, anode, and cathode) with this activity—creating electrolysis in a petri dish. View »
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Chemoween and Other Spooky Science Treat your students to some spirited demos and hands-on activities, and celebrate Halloween as the finale to your October science explorations. View »
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Volcano in the Classroom Here’s a safe, easy, and vivid interpretation of a classic activity that won’t break the budget. All you’ll need are a few common items—a beaker, sand, water, a candle, and a hot plate. View »
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Make the Invisible Visible: Detecting IR Light with a Smart Phone When it comes to light, there’s more than meets the eye. But with a smartphone camera and a remote control, you can make the invisible visible and show your students infrared light. View »
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The Lava Lamp Lab: A Guided-Inquiry Approach to Intermolecular Forces Remember that lava lamp you had? You and your students can use this lab to explore the fascinating world of intermolecular forces firsthand. View »
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Teaching Chemistry with Manipulatives Manipulatives can help students (especially visual and tactile learners) understand abstract concepts by allowing them to “see” a chemical structure or process. We offer 2 ideas for creating manipulatives and how to use them. View »
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Chemistry Holiday Hoopla! If the approaching holidays are causing student minds to wander, try these holiday-oriented demonstrations to recapture their attention. The activities acknowledge the season while helping students understand important chemistry concepts. View »
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Cow Eye Dissection: Examining Structure and Function Use this simple, engaging dissection to teach your students about the eye's structures and their functions. View »
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Biology in the Movies See how you can use movies to facilitate engaging learning experiences for your students. Each suggestion includes a brief synopsis and talking points. Here’s to making your biology lessons even better than before. View »
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Ballistics: Student Investigation Sheet How do holes left by projectiles help forensic investigators? This activity asks students to calculate the angle of incidence of several perforations. View »
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Bloodstain Analysis: Student Investigation Sheet Like other physical evidence, blood often links a scene, perpetrator, and victim. This activity describes how to determine the angle of incidence of a blood drop. View »
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Five Photography Terms Every Arson and Crime Scene Photographer Should Know Despite its advantages, photography remains the least understood and developed skill for arson and crime scene investigators. Learn about key terms and techniques and try a fingerprint distortion activity. View »
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The Connection Between Taste, Smell, and Flavor This activity demonstrates that the sense of smell is crucial to determining the flavor of food. View »
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Evaluating a Scientific Claim: Evaluating Lemonade as a Buffer Students can use this graphic organizer to evaluate a scientific claim about adding buffers to medicines. View »
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Human Body: Respiratory System Review Review respiratory system structure and function with this graphic organizer. View »
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Thermochemistry: An Endothermic Reaction In this thermochemistry demonstration, students observe an extreme, spontaneous endothermic reaction between 2 solid compounds, measure changes in temperature, and make observations. View »
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Carbon Snake In this teacher-directed demonstration of an exothermic reaction, students observe the dehydration of a carbohydrate using concentrated sulfuric acid. View »
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Sense of Smell and Olfactory Fatigue In this introductory activity, students use fragrant oils to determine the time of olfactory fatigue for both of their nostrils and examine the link between smell and memories. View »
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Reaction Time and Practice Introduce students to reflexes and reactions, the nervous system, or learning theory with this engaging activity. View »
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A Visual Introduction to Ionic and Net Ionic Equations With this activity students explore the phenomenon of chemical precipitation and construct an atomic level model of precipitation using ionic and net ionic equations. View »
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Human Body: Nervous System Review Review nervous system structure and function with this graphic organizer. View »
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The Physics of Vision Get ready to investigate parallax and depth perception with 2 activities you can complete in less than 30 minutes. View »
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Elephant Toothpaste This demonstration showing the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, catalyzed by iodide ions, provides students with visual evidence of a chemical reaction. View »