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Rocks & Minerals | |
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How
much do I weigh on the Moon?
-Go to the
weighing station to find out! As you learned in class, gravity is the force
that pulls things towards the center of the Earth. When we weigh something, we
are actually measuring this force! Your bodyweight will be different, depending
on what planet you're standing on!
Estimating
Mass
-In class, we did
an activity in which we estimated the mass of various objects and then
determined their actual mass using a balance and place value blocks. This
activity gives you plenty of practice with estimating mass in Grams and
Kilograms.
Melting
& Boiling - As
we learned in class, when ice melts it's a physical change because whether it is
a solid or a liquid, it's STILL water! We also learned that ice melts when
it is placed in a warm enough environment, but did you know that all matter can
melt and turn into a liquid? Many materials melt at much higher
temperatures than water does. In this activity, test three different
mystery materials and discover their melting point & boiling point.
Chemical
and Physical Changes Lab -See if you can correctly
identify which changes are chemical changes and which changes are physical
changes.
Chemical
& Physical Changes Quiz -
In class, we discovered what the differences
were between a chemical change and a physical change. See if you can
correctly identify which changes are chemical changes and which changes are
physical changes in this quiz. See if you can get a perfect score of
20! Click the "Start Now" button to begin your adventure!
Chemical
and Physical Changes Advanced Laboratory -In this
virtual laboratory experiment, be sure to click on each of the four videos and
use the checklist below the video to determine whether or not you think the
changes in the video are chemical or physical changes.
Solids
& Liquids -When we learned about physical changes
in class, we learned that all solid matter can change into a liquid if you give
it enough energy in the form of heat. In this activity, test various kinds
of matter by heating and cooling them. Find out which materials have a
higher melting point and which materials cool quickly. Having trouble loading
the activity? Click
here!
Solids
& Liquids Quiz Game -When you have finished
the solids and liquids virtual lab, why not try your hand at a quiz game that
goes with the activity!
Characteristics
of Materials -This activity lets you experiment on
a wide variety of different materials. When you are finished, you will
discover which materials are flexible (Can they bend?), which materials are
transparent (Can you see clearly through it?), which materials are waterproof,
and which materials are strong. Having trouble loading the activity?
Click here!
Characteristics
of Materials Quiz Game -When you have finished the
characteristics of materials virtual lab, why not try your hand at a quiz game
that goes with the activity!
Reversible
& Irreversible Changes -When we explored the
differences between chemical and physical changes in class, we discovered that
physical changes could easily be "reversed" or changed back to their original
form. In this activity, you will perform various tasks of dissolving,
heating, and filtering to discover which materials undergo reversible & which
materials undergo irreversible changes.
Ship
Floating Experiment - Did you know that a ship will float in
water at different levels depending on how warm or cold the water is? Did
you also know that a ship will float at different levels depending on how much
salt there is in the water? Click on this activity to learn more about how
temperature and salt content affects the density of water.
Floating
& Sinking - What would happen if we dropped a ball into a jar
of honey? How long do you think it would take for the ball to sink to the
bottom of the jar? What if we dropped that same ball into different kinds
of liquids? Would the ball sink to the bottom at the same speed? In
this activity you get to experiment with 4 different kinds of liquids doing just
that! Once you have collected your data, create a bar graph using that
data.
Exploring
Density
- This activity allows you to compare how different items float or
sink in different liquids. Be sure to use the drop-down menu to change liquids.
Just click and drag the different items into the liquid container.
Based on your experimentation, which liquid is the MOST dense in this activity??
Be sure to click "Launch Gizmo" to begin
your adventure!
Forces
Interactive -This website allows you to
explore virtually everything you'd ever want to know about forces! Click
on the RED box or the "mind map" on the bottom of the screen to begin your
adventure.
Types
of Forces -This website doe a great job of
summarizing the types of forces that act on objects.
Forces
& Motion -This website does a great job of
exploring the concepts of net force, motion, friction, and acceleration.
The
Energy Resource Game
-Which energy
resources are non-renewable? Which energy sources are inexhaustible?
Play the energy resource game to find out! First, identify the resources,
then click and drag the item to one of the 3 black holes. If you identify
the resource correctly, it will disappear!
Strange Matter-
The Transformer! -In this activity, you get to transform or change
matter into different things by heating them, beating them, or by chemically
treating them. Find out what happens when we take the raw materials of
silicon, iron, and carbon and put them through the
transformer!
Strange Matter-The
Crusher! -Which materials are the strongest?
In this activity, you get to crush all sorts of different types of materials.
Click on different contests and find out who the winners are! Remember: The
strongest material crushes last!
Strange
Matter-Zoom! -Discover the
incredibly small world where materials scientists do their work by zooming
inside a soda can. Click on the red arrow to begin your adventure!
The
Great Balloon Race -Why
do hot air balloons rise? It all has to do with density!! The more
packed together something is, the more dense it is. As we have discovered
in science lab, when matter is less dense, it tends to float.
When matter is more dense it tends to sink. But how does
this work with a hot air balloon? Well, when the air inside a balloon is
heated, the air molecules move around faster and spread out, becoming less
dense. That's why a hot air balloon rises! To lower the hot air
balloon once again, we allow the air in the balloon to cool down.
See how good your air balloon flying skills are in this activity. See if
you can beat my personal best score of 2:00 minutes for the "easy"
race!
Line
Rider -See if you can carefully
design a sledding track that will allow our sledder to make a successful run
down the track. Be sure not to make your slope too steep! Have fun
and good luck!
Archived flash-based activities no longer on the web:
Forces
& Movement
-In this activity, drag the red handle back to the yellow light to give the
truck a little push. Find out how far the truck travels. Be sure to
test the larger truck as well. Does it go as far? Why or why not?
Forces
in Action -In this activity, see how far the truck
travels when you increase or decrease the slope. You can also see how
placing different sized parachutes and different sized weights on the back
of the truck affects the motion of the truck as well. Having trouble loading the
activity? Click
here!
Exploring Friction -In this activity, see how far the
sleigh travels on different surfaces using either a small push force or a large
push force. Which surface did the sleigh travel the furthest? Why do you
think so? Which surface did the sleigh travel the smallest distance?
Why do you think so? Having trouble loading the activity?
Click here!
Changing
States of Matter -Find out what happens when you
continue to apply more and more heat to a solid block of ice. Continue to
click on the "Heat" button in this activity! You just might be
surprised with what eventually happens!!
Other Great
Websites about Matter, Energy, & Forces
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Simple Machines Around the House -This is one of the best activities
that I've ever seen on simple machines. Be sure to check out all four
rooms in the house to learn about simple machines. Also, be sure to check out
the tool shed to learn about compound machines.
Build a Rube
Goldberg Machine! -Who is Rube Goldberg? He was a
cartoon writer who had a cartoon called "The Inventions of Professor Lucifer
Gorgonzola Butts." In his cartoon, the professor would build these really
crazy and complicated machines that would do simple tasks. Using levers,
pulleys, and ramps build your own Rube Goldberg machine. See if you can
adjust these simple machines to drop the burger onto the tray to send it
rolling.
Tinker
Ball! -This activity is also like designing a Rube Goldberg
machine. See if you can get the ball to drop into the cup.
Simple Machines in a
Lawnmower -It always amazes me just how many simple machines
are around us at all times. See if you can find all SIX simple machines in
this
lawnmower!
The
Adventures of Twitch the Robot -This really fun
activity comes from the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago. See if
you can help Twitch get the spare parts that he needs to help rebuild his robot!
Archived flash-based activities no longer on the web:
Edheads
The Compound Machine -Just when
you think it doesn't get any better than the first Edheads simple machine
activity, they come out with another one that it even MORE creative! See if you
can get a perfect score of 120 points in this activity.
Other
Great Websites about Simple Machines
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Name That Rock!
-This activity is one that I built and designed myself. Play this game to learn
about some of the most common rocks in the world.
The 15 Most Wanted Quiz
Game! -This activity is one that I designed for my
sixth graders. It will also help you learn to identify some of the most common
rocks found throughout the world.
Minerals and
Metals Around the House -Did you ever stop and
think about just how many raw materials are used in all of the things that we
have in our house? This game helps you discover just some of the many
minerals and metals that are used in making the many things that we take for
granted.
Mohs' Drill & Castle
of Doom! -Learn about Mohs Mineral Hardness Scale while escaping the Castle of
Doom! The walls are closing in on you. To escape, you must drill through the
walls. See if you can find the right drill to blast through the wall.
Igneous
Rock Crystallization Animations -Click on the
labeled features to learn about how igneous rocks form under different cooling
conditions.
Cementation
of Sedimentary Rocks -This animation gives you a
better understanding as to how sedimentary rocks like sandstone form over time.
Rock
Cycle Interactive
-Begin your adventure by
collecting and learning about various rocks. All of the rocks that you
collect are ones that we are learning about and will be on our lab practical!
Also, be sure to click on the
Rock
Cycle Diagram.
There are a lot of good animations to click on to help you better understand all
of the processes that happen in the rock cycle.
Interactive
Animated Rock Cycle -This animation does an
excellent job helping you to understand all of the different parts of the rock
cycle. Click the image to start the animation. Each time the main
animation stops, be sure to click on the blinking features to see a
visualization.
Drag
& Drop Rock Cycle Chart -This activity will help
you review all of the basic processes that happen throughout the course of the
rock cycle. See if you can correctly place each label into this rock cycle
chart.
Another
Animated Rock Cycle -Although I like our rock
cycle chart better than the one in this activity, there are some cool looking
animations that are worth clicking on!
Find a Rock -Use the Foss database to find out
about all sorts of rocks and minerals. A lot of the rocks and minerals
found here, are ones that we've already discovered and learned about in class. I
think that you'll be surprised at what you will remember from class!
Layers of the
Earth -This site does a great job of quickly
explaining the three basic layers of the Earth.
Shape
it Up! -In science lab, we explored how the Grand
Canyon was formed by the powerful eroding force of water. This activity
explores how wind, water, volcanoes, and glaciers have an impact on the shape of
our land over time. Be sure to play this game more than once!
Although you might get the same landform with the same erosional force, it might
be showing you a different length of time!
The
Virtual Stream Table Lab -Did you enjoy the work
that we did with stream tables? There are so many really cool experiments
that can be done with stream tables. This activity allows you to compare 2
stream tables at the same time by changing one variable in the experiment.
The variables (the thing you change in an experiment!) include the length of
time, the slope, the stream flow rate, and type of material. I recommend
that you click on the "View Stream Table" first! Then click on the RED "?"
in the upper right corner of the screen. It will explain all of the
variables as well as how to conduct the different experiments.
Landforms Created by Erosion -Click on different
parts of the U.S. map to see the different types of landforms that have all been
created by forces of erosion.
The Water Cycle Explained (Video) -Click on the various parts of this interactive to learn more about all of the processes that are involved in the water cycle.
What
Happens During the
Water Cycle? -Here is another great resource
about the water cycle. Click on the arrows in this interactive to learn more about all of the processes that are
involved in the water cycle.
Water
Cycle Diagram -Click on the various parts of
this interactive diagram to learn more about all of the processes that are involved in
the water cycle.
Water
Cycle Interactive Video -Click on the various parts of
this interactive video to learn more about all of the processes that are involved in
the water cycle.
Water
Cycle Game -This activity is a great way to
learn about and remember all of the important parts of the water cycle.
Archived flash-based activities no longer on the web:
The Virtual Rock Laboratory -What kind of rock floats in water? Which rocks split easily? What kinds of rocks are more resistant to wearing away? Find out the answers to these questions & more by testing various rocks in your own virtual laboratory!
Other Great Websites about Rocks
& Minerals
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Exploring
Life Cyles -Click on the animals to play the different life
cycle games. Be sure to play the movie to get an overview about the life cycles
of animals.
Living
Things in Their Environment -Why don't polar bears slip on
the ice when it runs? In part 2 of this activity, drag and drop the feet of
various animals to the environment to which those feet are best suited.
The
Secrets of Survival Challenge -Penguins live in rugged
terrain and face some of the harshest weather on the planet. In this
activity, discover how these birds have adapted themselves to such a harsh
environment!
Worlds Within the
Sea -See if you can follow the clues until you have connected
all of the creatures in each of the three ocean ecosystems: The Deep Sea, The
Coral Reef, and The Continental Shelf.
Habitats of the Rainforest -This game is similar to the one
above, except that it explores three different ecosystems found in the
rainforests of the Central African Republic: The Forest, The Bai, and The River.
Click on each of the three boxes to begin your adventure.
Life in the City -You might not think that the city would be
a habitat that would support a great diversity of life. This activity takes you
to a city park and gives you a closer look at the surprising world around us!
Fun with Food
Webs -See if you can put all of the plants and animals in the
correct spots for three different types of food webs- meadow, arctic, & pond
habitats.
Build a Fish -See if you can design a fish
with the right adaptations to survive. Try different combinations and see which
ones work together.
Food Chain Reaction -A lot of people don't realize just how
much the survival of each plant and animal affects the balance of a food web.
Play this game to learn more.
Recycle City
-Click on different parts of the map to learn more about Recycle City.
Then play the Dumptown Game to learn more about the ways in which we can recycle,
reduce, & reuse waste.
The
Great Habitat Match-Up -The place in which animals live is
called their habitat. See if you can match all of the animals with their
habitats.
Archived flash-based activities no longer on the web:
Habitats
& Food Chains
-This activity features a woodland and a pond habitat. Take
pictures of 8 different organisms that live in these habitats. Be sure to
click on the magnifying lens to learn more about each organism. Also, see
if you can correctly create 2 different food chains using organisms from these
two different habitats.