Don’t Quote Me on That: Math Attitude Card Sort
A Carolina EssentialsTM Activity Total Time: 25-45 mins Prep: 10-15 mins | Activity: 15-30 mins Life Science, Physical Science 9-12 High School Total Time: 25-45 minutes [ Prep: 10-15 mins | Activity: 15-30 mins ] Subject: Life Science, Physical Science Grade: High School Overview It has often been said that mathematics is the language of […]
Newton’s Law of Cooling
Newton’s law of cooling states that the rate at which an object cools is proportional to the difference in temperature between the object and the object’s surroundings. Simply put, a glass of hot water will cool down faster in a cold room than in a hot room. This simple principle is relatively easy to prove, and the experiment has repeatable and reproducible results.
Introducing the Chi-Square Test Through Inquiry
Adapted from a creative statistics lesson taught by master science educator Mark Krotec, this pre-lab investigation introduces the value of statistics, the inherent qualities of uncertainty, and data interpretation. Students are asked to discredit the claim that their teacher possesses psychic ability by using a clever card trick, a careful experimental design protocol, and the application of the chi-square test.
What Is a Light Year?
Understanding Unfamiliar Units This activity gets students out of their desks to practice measuring and manipulating units in a fun, interactive manner. Conversion units of distance are often too awkwardly large to manipulate when discussing planets, solar systems, and galaxies. Units such as light-years are useful when discussing enormous distances but are difficult for students […]
The Basics of Graphs and Charts
Help your students brush up on their graphing skills with this quick review. Â Graphs and charts communicate information visually. They can show patterns, help scientists identify correlations, and get the point of the experiment across quickly. Typically, the independent variable is plotted on the x-axis The dependent variable is plotted on the y-axis. The […]
Webinar: Making Sense of Inheritance Data
Empower students to build an understanding of the importance of sampling size and repeated trials with Wisconsin Fast Plants® crosses using CODAP (Common Online Data Analysis Program). This webinar looks at a new way to let students explore data. We delve into a sample lesson that allows students to examine phenotypic data collected from Wisconsin […]
Gathering, Visualizing, and Interpreting Data
“Data, data, data. I can’t make bricks without clay!” Sherlock Holmes This quote from the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is a perfect analogy for teaching your students about working with data. Data are the raw materials from which scientists draw conclusions and develop theories. Data collection and analysis is a large part of every scientist’s […]
Very Trendy: Analyzing Data
Students often struggle with how to analyze and present the data they obtain in an experiment. While many schools offer courses in statistics or in computer spreadsheet and graphing applications, these are rarely prerequisites for science courses. In your science class, spend some time discussing data analysis at the beginning of the year to help […]
Derivation of the Kinematics Equation
High school physics courses usually begin with a study of classical mechanics. Early in the course students are introduced to the equations of motion, the kinematics equations. Kinematics Kinematics is the study of the motion of objects without concern for the forces causing the motion. These familiar equations allow students to analyze and predict the […]