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Good News - We're on the Rise!
Students build and observe a simple aneroid barometer to discover changes in barometric pressure and weather forecasting. They graph changes in barometric pressure for two weeks and make weather predictions.
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Making Decisions: Packaging and the Environment
Students work in small groups to redesign the packaging of several common items. They attempt to reach the goal of 25% reduction in packaging materials currently used and explore the impact of various materials and designs in landfills...
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Lunar Lollipops
Students work with a partner, Styrofoam ball and light source to simulate the positions of the Earth, Moon and Sun at various stages during the phases of the Moon. They describe why the Moon is visible from Earth and complete a worksheet.
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Manufacturing Technologies: Making a Picture Frame
Learners use cereal boxes, paint, buttons and glue to design and make a frame for a photograph. They consider the different processes involved in making the frame and discuss how their observations apply to manufacturing systems that are...
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Ohm's Law I
High schoolers work to increase the intensity of a light bulb by testing batteries in series and parallel circuits. They analyze Ohm's Law, power, parallel and series circuits, and ways to measure voltage and current.
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Skateboard Disaster
Students conduct a hands-on experiment with collisions between two skateboards of different masses. They are introduced to the concept of conservation of momentum in collisions and consider how their observations might help engineers...
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Sliders - Static and Kinetic Friction
Students work in groups to conduct experiments the demonstrate the differences between static and kinetic friction. They consider how friction affects us in our everyday lives, determine the effects of weight on friction and complete a...
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Soapy Stress
Students investigate the three types of material stress related to rocks. They identify the three types of stress, conduct a simulation by breaking bars of soap using only their hands, and complete a worksheet.
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TE Lesson: Energy Transfer in Musical Instruments
Students study concepts of energy and energy transfer. They look at how these concepts apply to musical instruments. They study the law of conservation of energy. They use the concepts studied in the lesson to design a musical instrument.
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Getting to the Point
Middle schoolers determine location by using the technique of triangulation. They imagine that they are out in the wilderness and have come to the top of a ridge. How can one identify the ridge on the topo map? How can one figure out...
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Harnessing Wind
Students explore the ways that engineers study and harness the wind. They study the different kinds of winds and how to measure wind direction. In addition, students learn how air pressure creates winds and how engineers build and test...
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TE Lesson: GPS on the Move
Students participate in a scavenger hunt and a drawing activity to examine the use of Global Positioning Systems including a handheld GPS receiver for personal navigation. They practice using the GPS receivers while collecting data from...
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How Do Things Fall?
Students study forces by examining the force of gravitational attraction. They observe how objects fall and measure the force of gravitational attraction upon objects. Students discover that, since gravitational constants are different...
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TE Lesson: I've Got Issues!
Students study environmental issues from different perspectives. They look at the issues from the view of both preservationists and conservationists as they identify themselves with one group or the other. They determine how teamwork...
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TE Lesson: I've Gotta Get Some Air
Students investigate types and sources of indoor air pollutions both at home and in school. They decide on how to prevent poor indoor air quality. They debate smoking in order to determine how language usage can be an influence in...
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Interactions Everywhere!
Students examine interactions within the environment and environmental engineering careers. They discuss and view photos of natural and manmade environments, explore various websites, create a web to identify interactions between living...
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Let's Heat Things Up!
Young scholars build and evaluate simple models to understand the greenhouse effect. They explore the role of increased greenhouse gas concentration in global warming, and the implications of global warming theory for engineers,...
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Medical Instrumentation
Students analyze how medical devices that help the human body function. They work in pairs or groups to draw multiple views of the medical device and describe how engineering is used by biomedial engineers.
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Oil Spill
Students explore an important role of environmental engineers by studying the Exxon Valdez oil spill. They experiment with different strategies in order to clean up their own manufactured oil spill.
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TE Lesson: Pollution Solutions
Students study how industrial technology helps clean up and prevent air pollution. They role play as engineers to examine methods of engineering pollutant recovery methods such as scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators, cyclones, and...
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Rock Solid
Students investigate the three types of material stress related to rocks. They watch a PowerPoint Presentation, view an online animation of the three types of rock stress, identify the various types of rocks, answer true or false...
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DNA Modeling
Students study DNA and its nucleotides. They manipulate paper nucleotides of DNA and investigate how the molecule is produced. Paper versions of sugars, phosphates, and nitrogen bases included.
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Photosynthesis: Using the Sun to Make Food
In this photosynthesis instructional activity, students learn how plants use the sun to convert energy into food. They then answer 10 questions using the information they just read. The answers are on the last page.
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Shapes Sally Snake Can Make Story Book
Students listen to the book Shapes Sally Snake Can Make while they hold their own snake made out of a pipe cleaner. In this shapes lesson, students develop their listening skills while the book is read to them, and then they manipulate...