Engineering Connection
- Water Power – create model water wheels
- Falling Water – drop weater from different heights to demonstration the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy
- Waterwheel Work – create a model of a water wheel using plastic bottles
Lesson 19–Light
- How Can We See in the Dark?
- A: Up Periscope
- A: Reflecting Rainbows using CD’s
- A: Variation on Kaleidoscopes
- TB: Science of Light
- B: I Spy the Eye
- B: The Retina
- B: Visual Pathways
- B: Do You Wear Glasses?
- Animation- Light and Dark
- Animation-Light and Shadow
- A: Pringles Pinhole
- A: Up Periscope
- Science of Light
Engineering Connection
- Light Scavengers – examine various materials and investigate how they interact with light
- Stations of Light – activities for four station that examine refraction, magnification, prisms, and polarization
- Absorb, Reflect, Transmit, or Refract? – explore how light interacts with materials
Lesson 20–Sound
- L: Sound Themes Page
- A: A Series of Sound Activities
- A: Bonkos
- A: Secret Bells
- A: Ear Guitar
- B: The Ear
- Animation-Changing Sounds
- A: Ear Guitar
- A: Bax guitar
- A: Candemoniun
Engineering Connection
- String Telephones – investigate how sound travels through string and air
- Simple Instruments – work as a team to create four different instruments
- Pitch and Frequency – identify the different pitches and frequencies created by a vibrating ruler and straw kazoo
- Traveling Sound – explore how sound moves through liquids, solids, and gases in a series of simple experiments
- Strum Along – change sound made by a simple instrument into music
- Energetic Musical Instruments – design and make a musical instrument
Lesson 21–Heat
- A/B: Atmospheric Processes – Radiation
- A/B: What is a Greenhouse?
- A: Variation on Hot Water Over Cold
- B: Structure of the Skin
- B: Pain and Why it Hurts
- A: More about Hot Water over Cold
Engineering Connection
- How Much Heat Will It Hold? – test the heat capacities of different materials
- What is the Best Insulator? – working in teams, students investigate the properties of insulators to keep a cup of water from freezing, and once frozen, to keep it form melting
- Stop Heat from Escaping – which types of insulation conserve the most energy
- Hot Cans and Colds Cans – use what you know about heat to keep a can of warm pop warm or a can of cold pop cold
Lesson 18–Energy, Lesson 22–Static Electricity, Lesson 23–Current Electricity
- V: How does a Van de Graaff generator work?
- V: Observe when paper bits are placed on an operating Van de Graaff generator
- V: What happens when bubbles are blown near a Van de Graaff generator?
- You might watch the video and listen to the explanation and then turn off the sound while students watch the video. Instead of listening to the explanation, have students predict what will happen. When the generator is turned out student describe what they see. Modify the explanation for your students OR skip it to use the activity as a review of parts of the inquiry process (what will happen? what did happen?).
- V: Make a simple electroscope with a binder clip and overhead transparency plastic strips
- It is possible to do static electricity experiments in humid weather, it might not be quite as dramatic.
- Teacher Background about Alternating Current
- A: Static Electricity Activities
- A: Static Rolling Pop Can
- A: Remote Control Roller
- A: Variation on static pie pan
Engineering Connection
- Bulbs and Batteries in a Row – build simple serries circuits
- Bulbs and Batteries Side by Side – build simple parallel circuits
- Light the Way – build a simple flashlight
- Will It Conduct? – build and use a simple conductivity tester
- Build a Charge Detector – build and use an electroscope
- Conductivity – create and use a simple conductivity tester
- Yogurt Cup Speakers – build simple speakers using an electromagnet
- Wire Maze – build and test a wire circuit maze
4.2P.1 DESCRIBE PHYSICAL CHANGES IN MATTER AND EXPLAIN HOW THEY OCCUR.
Lesson 24–Changes
- B: Physical Change, Chemcal Change
- A: Black Magic
- A: Variation on Paper Chromotography
- A: Candy Chromotography
- A: Vinegar and Soda in a Baggie
- A: Copper Caper
Engineering Connection
- Newspaper Tower – design and construct a tower out of newspaper
A: Activities  TB: Teacher Background  SB: Student Background
V: Video  D: Diagram  L: Lots of Links
Famous Scientists
Very Capable Students