My Science Box

Objective:  Factors that Affect the Rate of a Chemical Reaction

Big Idea Application:
During chemical processes matter can change forms.

The overarching essential questions being considered:
What happens during a chemical reaction?

Objective:  Conservation of Matter

Big Idea Application:
During ordinary physical or chemical processes matter can neither be created nor destroyed.  It can only change forms.

The overarching essential questions being considered:
What happens during a chemical reaction?

Objective: Observe Evidence of Chemical Reactions

Big Idea Application:
During chemical processes matter can change forms.

The overarching essential questions being considered:
What happens during a chemical reaction?

The essential questions being considered:

Objective
Given lab equipment, students will be able to measure force required to pull baby shoes and identify factors that make pulling easier or harder.

Relationship to big idea

Objective: 

I have attached my rubric, and two worksheets for my sex ed project. In our library, we have blank papers To help the students with MLA format - I have attached samples of those was well. I am sure there are a few things that need explaining, but I can't think of them now, so please email me or add comments if you have questions, or post your version of it!

Thanks!

Christina Green

Earthquake TowerSummary
In this project, students construct drinking straw towers that must withstand the shaking of a shake table. One by one, 250 gram sandbags are loaded onto the towers. The towers must remain standing for 1 minute from the start of the simulated earthquake. Students then have 2 minutes to repair any damage before another sandbag is loaded and the next earthquake test begins. Students quickly learn basic principles of earthquake engineering and architecture as well as the team skills that are a basic part of all science and engineering fields.

Summary
Raising trout from eggs to fry in the classroom is a fabulous way for students to observe and study the life cycle of vertebrates and simultaneously learn about threatened species in local watersheds. Many states have programs where teachers and students raise trout in their classrooms in partnership with the Department of Fish and Wildlife for later release into a designated lake, creek or river. Described here is information for teachers on how to partner with state agencies, fish hatcheries, and local fly-fisher groups to raise rainbow trout in the classroom. A worksheet for the trout release field trip is provided. Best of all, many Trout in the Classroom Programs are fully supported by local fly-fisher groups and the California Department of Fish and Game (such as the California program that I participated in), and thus there is no materials cost to the teacher beyond the costs of organizing the trout release field trip at the end of the project.

Summary
To study the life cycle and structure of plants, students grow plants from seed, fertilize them, and collect seed, starting the process over again. With the right growing conditions, almost any plant can be grown successfully in the classroom – native plants for a restoration project, vegetables, cut flowers, etc. The instructions provided here are for growing Wisconsin Fast Plants since they are the most widely used species in classrooms across America. These plants have been artificially selected to grow well in small spaces, with indoor lighting, with little soil, and with an exceedingly short life cycle (14-20 days to flower and 21-40 days to set seed). Therefore, they are incredibly well adapted to survive in classroom conditions as well as participate in multi-generational studies such as plant life cycle studies, Mendelian crosses and artificial trait selection. However, the light boxes and terraqua columns lend themselves to growing virtually any

Summary
Bubbling Yeast: Thanks to Ellen Loehman for creating this image.Yeast are a single celled fungi that are a great model organism for studying respiration in the classroom. The species Saccharomyces cerevisiae is commonly used for leavening bread and fermenting beer but other species such as Candida albicans are known to cause infections in humans (vaginal yeast infections and diaper rash being the most common). In this investigation, students fill the bulb of a disposable pipet (eyedropper) with yeast, then submerge the pipet in a test tube of water. They can then measure the rate of respiration by counting the number of bubbles of carbon dioxide gas that emerge from the tip of the pipet in a certain length of time. By varying the temperature and the nutrient source, students can discover what variables affect the rate of respiration in yeast. By submerging the pipet in bromthymol blue (see Colorful Respiration activity), students can identify the gas being produced as carbon dioxide.