Interactive and Experiential Science Tools

Creativity in science classrooms, what's coming in June 2016

5. June 2016 Prepmagic-Content-Team Product Update (0)

Though the school year is coming to an end, exploration and learning will continue. We all know, that science learning playgrounds are everywhere around us, and hence we educators are constantly trying to figure out how to bring creativity to our classrooms and beyond. We particularly liked this article published in Wired, that talks about creativity in science classrooms.

At prepmagic.com we believe our deep contextualization engine which allows you to customize our interactives and control the narrative is a great catalyst to your creative endeavor.

Visit prepmagic.com to check out the May interactives. The new ones that are coming in June are listed below.

CHEMISTRY

Atomic Theory

  • Gold Foil Experiment - Recreation of Rutherford's gold foil experiment that led to discovery of the nucleus and the formulation of the nuclear model.

NGSS: SEP - Developing and using models, SEP - Planning and carrying out investigations, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, CCC - Energy and matter, DCI - PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter.

Periodic Table

  • Property Trends - Investigate the trends in properties such as atomic radius, electronegativity and ionization energy across elements in the periodic table

NGSS: SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Patterns, DCI - PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter.

Stoichiometry

  • Mole Concept - Explore the concept of mole and the relationship between molar mass and atomic mass.

NGSS: SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Energy and matter, DCI - PS1.B: Chemical Reactions.

BIOLOGY

Cell Structure & Function

  • Diffusion - Explore diffusion and facilitated diffusion as modes of passive transport.

NGSS: SEP - Developing and using models, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Systems and System Models, CCC - Structure and Function, DCI - LS1.A: Structure and Function.

  • Active Transport - Investigate transportation against the concentration gradient by expending energy.

NGSS: SEP - Developing and using models, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Systems and System Models, CCC - Structure and Function, DCI - LS1.A: Structure and Function.

  • Life Functions: Virus Replication - Explore how a virus infects and rapidly replicates inside a host cell.

NGSS: SEP - Developing and using models, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Stability and Change, DCI - LS1.A: Structure and Function.

PHYSICS

Radioactivity

  • Radioactive Decay - Investigate effects of emitting an alpha particle or a beta particle and the resulting decay chain.

NGSS: SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, PS1.C: Nuclear Processes.

Momentum

  • Impulse Momentum - Explore thrust produced by a jet or a rocket engine resulting in its motion.

NGSS: SEP - Planning and carrying out investigations, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, DCI - PS2.A: Forces and Motion.

2-D Motion

  • Projectile - Explore motion of a projectile in 2 dimensions.

NGSS: SEP - Planning and carrying out investigations, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, DCI - PS2.A: Forces and Motion

CU Boulder's movement to improve the quality of science education around the country and what's coming in May 2016

3. May 2016 Prepmagic-Content-Team Product Update (0)

What happens when Katie, a 20-year-old junior with glasses, an aerospace engineering major, starts tutoring a roomful of students who are her own age or even a bit older? University of Colorado Boulder, has started a movement to improve the quality of science education around the country, not only on campuses but in K-12 classrooms, and the LAs, as they're called, are at the center of this work. Read more about "Making Science Teaching More Than 'A Backup Plan' here.

Visit prepmagic.com to check out the April interactives. The new ones that are coming in May are listed below.

CHEMISTRY

Kinetics Equilibrium

  • Catalysts - Investigate how catalysts speed up a chemical reaction.

NGSS: SEP - Developing and using models, SEP - Planning and carrying out investigations, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, CCC - Energy and matter, PS1.B: Chemical Reactions.

  • Disturbing Chemical Equilibrium - Investigate how equilibrium in a reversible reaction can be disturbed by changing concentration by adding reactants or removing products..

NGSS: SEP - Developing and using models, SEP - Planning and carrying out investigations, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, CCC - Energy and matter, PS1.B: Chemical Reactions.

  • Temperature and Reaction Rate - Investigate how change in temperature affects the rate of a chemical reaction.

NGSS: SEP - Developing and using models, SEP - Planning and carrying out investigations, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, CCC - Energy and matter, DCI - PS1.B: Chemical Reactions.

  • Reaction Quotient - Explore the change in reaction quotient Q of a chemical reaction as it proceeds towards equilibrium.

NGSS: SEP - Developing and using models, SEP - Planning and carrying out investigations, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, CCC - Energy and matter, DCI - PS1.B: Chemical Reactions.

Acids Bases

  • Diprotic Acid Titration - Explore titration of a strong diprotic acid with a strong base.

NGSS: SEP - Planning and carrying out investigations, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, PS1.B: Chemical Reactions.

BIOLOGY

Cell Structure Function

  • Osmosis - Explore movement of water molecules through a semi-permeable membrane from area of lower solute concentration to area of higher solute concentration.

NGSS: SEP - Developing and using models, SEP - Planning and carrying out investigations, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, LS1.A: Structure and Function.

Heredity Evolution

  • Fitness - Explore how sexual selection and natural selection will cause favored alleles to become more common over time.

NGSS: SEP - Developing and using models, SEP - Planning and carrying out investigations, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, LS3.B: Variation of Traits.

  • Mutation - Explore why some mutations survive and thrive, while others wither away.

NGSS: SEP - Developing and using models, SEP - Planning and carrying out investigations, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, LS3.B: Variation of Traits.

PHYSICS

Fluids

  • Bernoulli's Principle - Investigate how Bernoulli's principle of fluids in motion and Newton's laws of motion determine the forces acting on an airplane that enable it to lift off the ground during take off.

NGSS: SEP - Planning and carrying out investigations, SEP - Analyzing and Interpreting Data, CCC - Cause and effect, DCI - PS2.A: Forces and Motion