Elephant Toothpaste
A CAROLINA ESSENTIALS ACTIVITY Total Time Prep: 30 mins Activity: 20 mins Physical Science, Chemistry Grade Level 6-12 Middle/High School Quick Links Close Quick Links Open Quick Links Introduction Essential Question NGSS Materials Procedures Analysis Kit Resources Introduction Essential Question NGSS Materials Procedures Analysis Kit Resources Introduction This quick demonstration showing the decomposition of hydrogen […]
Engineer Physical Science Excitement with a Carolina STEM Challenge®
Workshop Resource Physical Science 6-12 Middle / High School Rockets zoom and race cars zip through hands-on activities that engage your middle and high school students. Apply creative problem-solving skills and engineering practices to chemistry and physical science challenges. Experience how Carolina makes it easy to incorporate STEM into your classroom. NGSS Scientific and Engineering […]
Chemistry Solutions Practice Problems
Activities with UV Beads
Ultraviolet-sensitive beads change color when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. Students can use these beads to perform inquiry-based experiments to determine if a light source emits UV light or if different materials are able to block it. Students can also use the beads to track their sun exposure. Background UV light is a type of […]
Boats and Buoyancy
Investigate physical science and engineering concepts including buoyancy, displacement, and density. Students construct an aluminum foil boat prototype and measure how much weight their boat can carry before taking on water or sinking.
Dollar Store Single Function Signal Generator
In this activity, students use a solar-powered model, such as the dancing flowers often sold at discount variety stores. They carefully disassemble the plastic housing and attach a sensor to the capacitor, then use probe ware to graph the voltage across the capacitor.
Demonstrations with a Vacuum Pump
Every physics and physical science student will eventually encounter gas laws or equations of state. These are the familiar Charles’s Law, Boyle’s Law, the Ideal Gas Law and others. Understanding these concepts and solving problems based on these laws is a significant part of many physics and physical science courses. There are several activities and […]
Do-It-Yourself Snowflakes
Introduction Growing snowflakes in a bottle can be a fun demonstration to show your students, or they can grow their own snowflakes in class or at home. This is accomplished by using household materials and dry ice. Purchase dry ice from local grocery stores or companies that supply ice. Topics covered: crystallization, crystal structure Snow […]
Investigating Phenomena: What Causes the Colored Solution?
Carolina Phenomenon Phenomena-driven science! Phenomena are observable, naturally occurring events that are everywhere and spark student questions and investigations. Ask students to observe the DCI-linked phenomena in the video and complete the attached student sheet prior to remote learning discussions. Observations: Carefully watch the petri dish electrolysis video. Gather all the evidence you can from […]
Crystallization Investigation
Crystallization through precipitation lab Crystals are solids that form when molecules join in a regular repeating pattern. Crystals mesmerized humans early in our history and served as currency as well as decoration. Today, the jewelry industry relies on precious and semi-precious crystals for rings, pendants, and more; the electronics industry relies on quartz crystals for […]