In this media-rich lesson, students explore some of the ethical, legal, and social issues related to personal genetic testing and genome sequencing.
In this video segment adapted from NASA, students in Matsuyama City, Japan, interview Expedition 8 Commander and NASA Science Officer Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri about life and work aboard the International Space Station.
In this video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA, astronaut John Young experiences extreme temperatures on the Moon that are a result of the Moon's low gravity and lack of atmosphere.
In this lesson, students model their current conception of computers using a variety of self-selected media. They explain why they believe something is a computer.
Play with a bar magnet and coils to learn about Faraday's law. Move a bar magnet near one or two coils to make a light bulb glow. View the magnetic field lines. A meter shows the direction and magnitude of the current. View the magnetic field lines or use a meter to show the direction and magnitude of the current. You can also play with electromagnets, generators and transformers!
This video segment adapted from NOVA explains how the sprinkler revolutionized fire safety and also features developments in fire-safety design for high-rise buildings.
This lesson plan is intended to encourage learners to integrate the visual arts with science and appreciate nature. Students will create a round or square stepping stone using colored glass pieces with a mortar and sand mixture.
Explore the forces at work when you try to push a filing cabinet. Create an applied force and see the resulting friction force and total force acting on the cabinet. Charts show the forces, position, velocity, and acceleration vs. time. View a Free Body Diagram of all the forces (including gravitational and normal forces).
Explore the forces at work when you try to push a filing cabinet. Create an applied force and see the resulting friction force and total force acting on the cabinet. Charts show the forces, position, velocity, and acceleration vs. time. View a Free Body Diagram of all the forces (including gravitational and normal forces).
This video segment from NOVA: "The Killer's Trail" investigates the potential for DNA evidence to solve murder cases, even those from the distant past.
Learn how to make waves of all different shapes by adding up sines or cosines. Make waves in space and time and measure their wavelengths and periods. See how changing the amplitudes of different harmonics changes the waves. Compare different mathematical expressions for your waves.
Match shapes and numbers to earn stars in this fractions game. Challenge yourself on any level you like. Try to collect lots of stars! The main topics of this interactive simulation include fractions, equivalent fractions, and mixed numbers.
Explore fractions while you help yourself to 1/3 of a chocolate cake and wash it down with 1/2 a glass of orange juice! Create your own fractions using fun interactive objects. Match shapes and numbers to earn stars in the fractions games. Challenge yourself on any level you like. Try to collect lots of stars!
In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, hydrogen fuel cell cars promise pollution-free driving, but will we see them anytime soon?
In this video segment adapted from FETCH!, contestants are challenged to use materials from a garbage dump to build a boat that floats, can be steered, and is propelled by something other than oars.
Just after World War II, nuclear scientists turned their attention from fission to fusion. This video segment adapted from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE looks at the beginnings of thermonuclear power generation.
This video segment adapted from NOVA shows how Galileo, using his newly developed refracting telescope, observed four of Jupiter's moons, the first astronomical bodies to be discovered since ancient times.
Build a gene network! The lac operon is a set of genes which are responsible for the metabolism of lactose in some bacterial cells. Explore the effects of mutations within the lac operon by adding or removing genes from the DNA.
Kibera, a poor community, in Nairobi, was a blank spot on the map until recently. This video from Penn State Public Broadcasting’s Geospatial Revolution shows how geospatial technology enabled residents to map resources to help their community.
Learn how scientists regulate a nuclear reactor in this animation-enhanced essay from the FRONTLINE Web site.