Interactive and Experiential Science Tools

The Nation’s Report Card on Science is out. The average NAEP science scores for the nation increased 4 points between 2009 and 2015 in both grades 4 and 8, but did not change significantly at grade 12. Scores for most student groups at grades 4 and 8 were higher in 2015 compared to 2009, but were not significantly different at grade 12. At grades 4 and 8, Black and Hispanic students made greater gains than White students, causing the achievement gap to narrow in comparison to 2009. 

Compared to 2009, scores were higher at grades 4 and 8 in all three science content areas (physical science, life science, and Earth and space sciences) in 2015, while there were no significant changes in content area scores at grade 12. Read more.

This month on prepmagic.com we will see the following new interactives.

Rocket Propulsion and Newton’s Laws of Motion

• Explore how Newton's third law explains the generation of thrust by a rocket engine and how Newton's second law describes the acceleration of the rocket due to the thrust generated.

NGSS: Physical Sciences HS-PS2-1. Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration. HS-PS2-2. Use mathematical representations to support the claim that the total momentum of a system of objects is conserved when there is no net force on the system.

Effect of gravitational acceleration on projectile motion

• Explore the effect of gravitational acceleration (g) on the projectile trajectory including popular phenomena such as fired bullet versus falling bullet, shoot the monkey, etc.

NGSS: Physical Sciences HS-PS2-1. Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration. HS-PS2-2. Use mathematical representations to support the claim that the total momentum of a system of objects is conserved when there is no net force on the system.

Lift on an airplane - 2

• Compare the lift generated in different types of aircrafts, varying in terms of size, load and propulsion systems.

NGSS: Physical Sciences HS-PS2-1. Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration. HS-PS2-2. Use mathematical representations to support the claim that the total momentum of a system of objects is conserved when there is no net force on the system.

Potential Energy of a Chemical Reaction

• Investigate how the difference in the potential energy of the reactants and the products determine whether the reaction is exothermic or endothermic in nature.

NGSS: Physical Sciences HS-PS1-4. Develop a model to illustrate that the release or absorption of energy from a chemical reaction system depends upon the changes in total bond energy.

Enthalpy of neutralization reaction

• Investigate the enthalpy of neutralization, which is the change in heat content of the system that occurs when an acid and a base undergo a neutralization reaction to form water and a salt.

NGSS: Physical Sciences HS-PS1-4. Develop a model to illustrate that the release or absorption of energy from a chemical reaction system depends upon the changes in total bond energy.

Half-life of a Radioactive Substance

• Understand the concept of half-life by comparing the decay process across a set of radioactive isotopes.

NGSS: Physical Sciences HS-PS1-8. Develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay.

Radioactive Decay Series

• Explore the effects of emission of an alpha particle or a beta particle and the resulting decay chain for radioactive elements - thorium, neptunium and actinium.

NGSS: Physical Sciences HS-PS1-8. Develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay.

Periods and Groups - Property Trends

• Explore and compare the trends exhibited for different physical and chemical properties across periods and groups in the periodic table.

NGSS: Physical Sciences HS-PS1-1. Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.

Homeostasis - Effect of Nicotine on Heart Rate

• Investigate the effect of nicotine on the heart rate of Daphnia magna.

NGSS: Life Sciences HS-LS1-3. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis.

With a few schools back in session and many others to follow these coming weeks, we know how exciting it is for teachers to return back to what they love the best; their kids and classrooms. More often than not, this beginning can be strenuous at times, hence this nice article on the National Education Association website, offers educator-tested tips, advice, and resources for a successful start to the school year.Over the summer we have been working relentlessly to get the best, that interactive and experiential science education has to offer.

This August we will be publishing the following interactives on prepmagic.com.

Seismic Waves and Epicenter Location

• Interactives exploring the different types of seismic waves, speed through different media and locating the epicenter by the triangulation method.

NGSS: Physical Sciences and Earth & Space Sciences HS-PS4-1. Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the frequency, wavelength, and speed of waves traveling in various media. HS-ESS3-1. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.

The Greenhouse Effect

• Interactive demonstrating the greenhouse effect using a simplified model based on thermal radiation and climate sensitivity. 

NGSS: Earth & Space Sciences and Physical Sciences HS-ESS2-2. Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems. HS-PS3-1. Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known.

Satellite Launch and Orbit

• Interactives exploring Newton's law of gravitation by launching a satellite and configuring the resultant orbit, including conditions for a geostationary orbit. 

NGSS: Physical Sciences and Earth & Space Sciences HS-PS2-4. Use mathematical representations of Newton’s Law of Gravitation and Coulomb’s Law to describe and predict the gravitational and electrostatic forces between objects. HS-ESS1-4. Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.

Food Energy Calorimetry

• Interactive investigating energy derived from different food types based on heat of oxidation measured using a bomb calorimeter.

NGSS: Physical Sciences and Life Sciences HS-PS3-4. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that the transfer of thermal energy when two components of different temperature are combined within a closed system results in a more uniform energy distribution among the components in the system (second law of thermodynamics). HS-LS1-7. Use a model to illustrate that cellular respiration is a chemical process whereby the bonds of food molecules and oxygen molecules are broken and the bonds in new compounds are formed resulting in a net transfer of energy.

Active Transport and Chemiosmosis

• Interactives exploring the mechanics of active transport and chemiosmosis during the process of cellular respiration.

NGSS: Life Sciences HS-LS1-7. Use a model to illustrate that cellular respiration is a chemical process whereby the bonds of food molecules and oxygen molecules are broken and the bonds in new compounds are formed resulting in a net transfer of energy.

Homeostasis - Effect of Chemical Agents on Heart Rate

• Interactives investigating the effect of chemical agents such as ethanol, nicotine and caffeine on the heart rate of Daphnia magna.

NGSS: Life Sciences HS-LS1-3. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis.

Ionization Energy and Electronegativity Trends

• Interactives exploring and comparing the trends in ionization energy and electronegativity of elements based on their positions in the periodic table.

NGSS: Physical Sciences HS-PS1-1. Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.