Browse by Grade & Topic: Science Skills

Investigate the growth of three common garden plants: tomatoes, beans, and turnips. You can change the amount of light each plant gets, the amount of water added each day, and the type of...

Measure the height, diameter, and circumference of trees in a forest. Count growth rings to determine the age of each tree. Grow the trees for several years and investigate how growth is...

Go on an African safari and observe a variety of animals walking and running across the savanna. Videotape the animals, and then play back the videotape to estimate animal speeds. Which...

Observe frogs jumping around on colored lily pads. Find, test, and reason about patterns you see in their jumping.

Find the effect of length, mass, and angle on the period of a pendulum. The pendulum is attached to a clock that can be adjusted to tell time accurately. The clock can be located on Earth...

Use a balance to measure mass and a spring scale to measure the weight of objects. Compare the masses and weights of objects on Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and the Moon.

Learn how to determine the mass of an object using a triple beam balance. The mass of a variety of objects can be determined using this simulated version of a common real-world laboratory...

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Grow Wisconsin Fast Plants® in a simulated lab environment. Explore the life cycles of these plants and how their growth is influenced by light, water, and crowding. Practice pollinating...

Study photosynthesis in a variety of conditions. Oxygen production is used to measure the rate of photosynthesis. Light intensity, carbon dioxide levels, temperature, and wavelength of...

Measure the volume of liquids and solids using beakers, graduated cylinders, overflow cups, and rulers. Water can be poured from one container to another and objects can be added to...

Practice measuring the period of a pendulum. Perform experiments to determine how mass, length, gravitational acceleration, and angle affect the period of a pendulum.

Observe and measure the properties of a mineral sample, and then use a key to identify the mineral. Students can observe the color, luster, shape, density, hardness, streak, and reaction to...

Measure your reaction time by clicking your mouse as quickly as possible when visual or auditory stimuli are presented. The individual response times are recorded, as well as the mean and...

Create a graph (bar graph, line graph, pie chart, or scatter plot) based on a given data set. Title the graph, label the axes, and choose a scale. Adjust the graph to fit the data, and then...

Explore a wide variety of cells, from bacteria to human neurons, using a compound light microscope. Select a sample to study, then focus on the sample using the coarse and fine focus...

Measure the time required to write a word when the mouse behaves in a normal fashion and when the direction of motion is reversed from left to right, up to down, or both. Run several...

Use unit conversion tiles to convert from one unit to another. Tiles can be flipped to cancel units. Convert between metric units or between metric and U.S. customary units. Solve distance,...

Try to click your mouse once every 2 seconds. The time interval between each click is recorded, as well as the error and percent error. Data can be displayed in a table, histogram, or...

Use the Unit Conversions Gizmo to explore the concepts of scientific notation and significant digits. Convert numbers to and from scientific notation. Determine the number of significant...

Try to estimate the passage of time by selecting a time interval, clicking the Start button, and clicking Stop when you think the interval has passed. The estimate and percent error are...

Perform multiple experiments using several common powders such as corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and gelatin. The results of the research on the known powders can then be...

Use a variety of real-world lab tests to analyze common food samples in order to determine if the food is a carbohydrate, a protein, or a lipid. Tests that can be performed include:...

Have you ever used a glove warmer to keep your hands warm? How about an instant cold pack to treat an injury? In the Feel the Heat Gizmo, create your own hot and cold packs using various...

Test the acidity of common substances using pH paper. Materials including soap, lemon juice, milk, and oven cleaner can be tested by comparing the color of pH strips to a standard scale.

In this introduction to coding, program a rover to explore the surface of Mars. Start by using tiles to create simple programs involving moving forward or backward, turns, jumps, loops, and...

Test the acidity of many common everyday substances using pH paper (four color indicators). Materials including soap, lemon juice, milk, and oven cleaner can be tested by comparing the...