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Investigation

Phase Changes

In this group of lessons, students will learn about phase changes. Students will explore temperature patterns as water is heated, explore the molecular causes of phase changes, and explore how pressure affects boiling point.

Lesson Options

Designed for Middle School Students

Series

Phase Changes: Mountain Spaghetti

In this lesson series, students will help Kayla, a cooking enthusiast who is having trouble making good spaghetti in her new home in the mountains. Students will explore phase changes, the effect of altitude and air pressure on boiling point, and the molecular causes of phase changes.

Standalone

Phase Changes: Boil in a Bag

Dad forgets to bring the cooking pot on a camping trip, throwing the macaroni and cheese dinner into doubt. Luckily, he comes up with an ingenious solution involving a plastic bag. Students will explain why this works using what they learn about temperature changes during different phase transitions.

Phase Changes: Dance of the Molecules

After a snowstorm cuts power and water, Ethan needs to melt ice and boil the resulting water to cook dinner. This phenomenon leads him to thinking about why water changes from one phase to another. In this standalone lesson, students will explore what is happening at the molecular level to cause phase changes.

Phase Changes: Fast Eggs

Kayla loves to cook deviled eggs, but she hates to wait for the eggs to hard boil. After receiving a pressure cooker as a birthday gift, she is thrilled to discover she doesn't have to wait as long. In this standalone lesson, students gather and analyze data to determine how factors such as air pressure, altitude, and boiling point are related.

Lesson Materials

Phase Changes: Mountain Spaghetti

Teacher Guide Scientific Background Key Vocabulary Usage Guide

Phase Changes: Boil in a Bag

Teacher Guide Scientific Background Key Vocabulary Usage Guide

Phase Changes: Dance of the Molecules

Teacher Guide Scientific Background Key Vocabulary Usage Guide

Phase Changes: Fast Eggs

Teacher Guide Scientific Background Key Vocabulary Usage Guide

Cell Energy Cycle

Explore the processes of photosynthesis and respiration that occur within plant and animal cells. The cyclical nature of the two processes can be constructed visually, and the simplified photosynthesis and respiration formulae can be balanced.

Flower Pollination

Observe the steps of pollination and fertilization in flowering plants. Help with many parts of the process by dragging pollen grains to the stigma, dragging sperm to the ovules, and removing petals as the fruit begins to grow. Quiz yourself when you are done by dragging vocabulary words to the correct plant structure.

Growing Plants

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 soil the seed is planted in. Observe the effect of each variable on plant height, plant mass, leaf color and leaf size. Determine what conditions produce the tallest and healthiest plants. Height and mass data are displayed on tables and graphs.

Plants and Snails

Study the production and use of gases by plants and animals. Measure the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in a test tube containing snails and elodea (a type of plant) in both light and dark conditions. Learn about the interdependence of plants and animals.