Table of Contents
About This Book iii
About the Authors iv
Correlations of Activities to the National Science Content Standards xii
Unit I. Physical Science
Section 1: Organization of Matter
1.1 Boyle’s Gas Law: Marshmallow Under Pressure 3
1.2 Buoyancy: Ketchup Packet Cartesian Divers 4
1.3 Counting Molecules and Atoms: Number of Molecules of Chalk in Your Signature 5
1.4 Identifying and Naming Isotopes: ‘‘EggCeptional’’ Isotopes 6
1.5 Chemical and Physical Changes: Examining Paper for Change 7
1.6 Physical Properties of Matter: Tootsie Roll Properties 8
1.7 Density: Can’t Hold a Good Ping-Pong Ball Down 9
1.8 Atomic Size in Picometers: Cutting Paper to Atom Size 10
1.9 Surface Tension: Why Some Insects Can Walk on Water 11
1.10 Birds in Flight: How Birds’ Wings Enable Them to Fly 12
1.11 Mendeleev’s Periodic Table: It Was All in the Cards 13
1.12 Volume of a Cylinder: The Long and Short of Volume 14
Section 2: Interactions of Matter
2.1 Acids and Bases: Cabbage Juice Indicators 16
2.2 Polymers: Water-Loving Chemicals in Diapers 17
2.3 Freezing Point: Why We Sprinkle Salt on Icy Roads 18
2.4 Exothermic and Endothermic Reactions: Hot Packs and Cold Packs 19
2.5 Chemical Reactions: Alka-Seltzer and Water Temperature 20
2.6 Balancing Chemical Equations: Rearranging Atomic Dots 21
2.7 Limiting Reactants: Putting a Halt to the Reaction 23
2.8 Writing Ionic Formulas: Equating the Ions 24
2.9 Single Replacement Reactions: Turning Iron into Copper 25
2.10 Double Replacement Reactions: Trading Partners 26
2.11 Polarity and Solubility: Breaking Bonds of Packing Peanuts 27
2.12 Surface Area and Solubility: Sweet Solutions 29
Section 3: Energy of Motion
3.1 Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy: Bouncing Golf Balls 31
3.2 Potential Energy: The Energy of Falling Objects 32
3.3 Friction Through a Fluid: Fluids and Falling 33
3.4 Newton’s First Law of Motion: Inertia—the Magician’s Friend 34
3.5 Law of Conservation of Momentum: Marble Collisions 35
3.6 Static Friction: Going Against the Grain 36
3.7 Newton’s Second Law of Motion: Acceleration of the Coffee Mug 37
3.8 Using the Speed Formula: Speedy Manipulations 38
3.9 Newton’s Third Law of Motion: What Is a Reaction? 39
3.10 Inclined Planes: Making Lifting Easier 41
3.11 Levers: First-Class Machines 42
3.12 The Three Classes of Levers: Lots of Levers and Lots of Class 43
Section 4: Heat, Light, and Sound Waves
4.1 Thermal Energy: What Does Temperature Really Measure? 46
4.2 Measuring Temperature: Human Thermometers 47
4.3 Refraction: A Real Light Bender 48
4.4 Concave and Convex Mirrors: An Up-Close Look at the Spoon 49
4.5 Magnifying Lens: Water Drop Microscopes 51
4.6 Mechanical Waves: The Stadium Wave 52
4.7 Transverse Waves: Anatomy of a String Wave 53
4.8 Compressional Waves: Making Waves with a Slinky 54
4.9 Sound and Its Mediums: Sound Matters 55
4.10 Sound Vibrations: Rubber Band Music 56
4.11 Sound and Water: Tuning Forks and Water 57
4.12 Energy Conductors and Insulators: The Cook’s Choice 58
Section 5: Magnetism and Electricity
5.1 Charging by Friction: Balloons and Dancing Salt Grains 60
5.2 Closed Circuits: A Battery, a Bulb, and a Paper Clip 61
5.3 Electrochemical Cell: Nine-Volt Battery Electrolysis 62
5.4 Resistance: Series and Parallel Circuits 63
5.5 Making Electricity: A Shocking Activity 64
5.6 Schematic Circuit Diagrams: Seeing the Circuit 65
5.7 Electromagnets: The Art of Magnetizing a Nail 67
5.8 Magnetic Field: Long-Distance Attraction 69
5.9 Magnets: What’s in a Refrigerator Magnet? 70
5.10 Magnetizing Metals: The Magnetic Nail 71
5.11 Magnets and Compasses: Which Way Is North? 72
5.12 Magnetic Forces: Force Blockers 74
Unit II. Life Science
Section 6: The Cell
6.1 Characteristics of Life: Is It Alive? 77
6.2 Energy Molecules: ATP and ADP 78
6.3 ATP and Lactic Acid: Muscle Fatigue 79
6.4 The Cell Cycle, Part One: Getting Started 80
6.5 The Cell Cycle, Part Two: The Process 81
6.6 Cell Transport: When It Comes to Cells, Small Is Good 82
6.7 Proteins as Enzymes: Saltine Crackers and Amylase 83
6.8 Plant Cell or Animal Cell: Shoestring Venn Diagram 84
6.9 Enzymes: Temperature and Paperase 86
6.10 The Mitochondria: Surface Area and the Folded Membrane 87
6.11 Photosynthesis and Respiration: Formula Scramble 88
Section 7: Genetics
7.1 DNA: Candy Nucleotides 90
7.2 Chromosomes: Learning to Speak ‘‘Chromosome’’ 92
7.3 Genetic Diversity: Crossing Over During Meiosis 93
7.4 Genetic Combinations: Tall and Short Pea Plants 95
7.5 Mendel’s Law of Segregation: Cystic Fibrosis 96
7.6 Dominant and Recessive Genes in Cat Breeding: Curly-Eared Cats 97
7.7 Pedigrees: The Higgenbothum Hairline 98
7.8 Sex-Linked Traits: Flipping Over Color Blindness 99
7.9 Gene Splicing: Human Growth Hormone and Recombinant DNA 100
7.10 Protein Synthesis: Modeling Transcription 101
Section 8: Evolution
8.1 Natural Selection: Life as a Peppered Moth 103
8.2 Advantageous Traits: Which Creature Is the Fittest? 105
8.3 Primate Adaptations: The Importance of the Opposable Thumb 106
8.4 Steps of Natural Selection: Natural Selection Sequencing 107
8.5 Plant Adaptations: Features for Survival in the Rain Forest 108
8.6 Adaptive Radiation: The Beaks of Darwin’s Finches 109
8.7 Variations and Survival: Pine Needle Variation 110
8.8 Horse Evolution: Horse Height Over Time 111
8.9 Fossil Dating: Stacking Up Rock Layers 112
8.10 Antibiotic Resistance: Present-Day Evolution 115
Section 9: Diversity of Life
9.1 The Six Kingdoms: Kingdom Match Game 117
9.2 Vascular Plants: Checking Out a Fern Frond 119
9.3 Flower Parts: Dissecting the Flower 120
9.4 Food Storage in Seeds: Dissecting a Dicot 122
9.5 Seed Dispersal: Where Plants Come From 123
9.6 Animal Symmetry: What Symmetry Is This? 124
9.7 Viruses: Nuts and Bolts of a Bacteriophage 125
9.8 Bird Digestion: Why Birds Don’t Need Teeth 126
9.9 Examining a Fungus: Close-Up Look at a Mushroom 127
9.10 Taxonomic Categories: Addressing Classification 129
Section 10: Ecology
10.1 Energy Flow Through the Food Chain: The 10 Percent Rule of Energy Flow 131
10.2 Population Growth Rate: Growing Exponentially 132
10.3 Food Web: Piecing Together a Food Web Puzzle 133
10.4 Population Estimations: Mark and Recapture of Wildlife 134
10.5 The Importance of Niches: Extinction and the Paper Clip Niche 135
10.6 Symbiosis: Want Ads for Mutualism 136
10.7 Human Pollution: Plastic Killers 137
10.8 Plant Growth Requirements: When Seeds Get Too Crowded 138
10.9 Packaging and the Environment: Convenience or Conservation? 139
10.10 Arthropod Behavior: Response of the Pill Bugs 140
Section 11: Body Systems
11.1 The Role of Bile in Digestion: Emulsifying Fat 143
11.2 Tendons: Visualizing How the Fingers Work 144
11.3 The Heart: The Strongest Muscle of the Body 145
11.4 Partnering of the Brain and Eyes: Putting the Fish in the Bowl 146
11.5 Lung Capacity During Exercise: Balloons and Vital Capacity 148
11.6 Blood Vessels: Arteries or Veins? 149
11.7 Muscle Interactions: Pairing of the Biceps and Triceps 150
11.8 Mechanical Digestion: The Initial Breakdown of Digestion 152
11.9 Peristalsis During Digestion: Moving Food Through the Esophagus 153
11.10 Why We Sweat: Staying Cool with the Sweat Glands 155
Unit III. Earth Science
Section 12: Structure of Earth Systems
12.1 Core Sampling: Seeing Inside the Cupcake 158
12.2 Metamorphic Rocks: Pressure and the Candy Bar 159
12.3 Sedimentation: Making Sedimentary Rocks 160
12.4 Soil Conservation: How Much of the Earth Is Usable Soil? 161
12.5 Physical Weathering of Rocks: Sugar Cube Breakdown 162
12.6 Mineral Hardness: Mineral Ranks 163
12.7 Cross Section of the Earth: Egg Modeling 165
12.8 Porosity of Soil Samples: Soil’s Holding Power 166
12.9 Groundwater and Permeability: Just Passing Through 167
12.10 Water in the Ocean: Sink or Float? 168
12.11 Ocean Currents: Temperatures Start the Motion 169
12.12 Bottle Eruption: Volcanic Activity 170
Section 13: Earth’s History
13.1 Inferences from Fossils: Who Was Here? 172
13.2 Magnetic Rocks: Lodestones 173
13.3 Radioactive Rocks: The Age of Rocks 174
13.4 Continental Drift: Puzzling Over the Continents 175
13.5 Strength of Earthquakes: It’s the Cracker’s Fault 176
13.6 Fossil Molds and Casts: Making Fossils 177
13.7 Glaciers: Ice in Motion 178
13.8 Deformation of Rocks: Rocks Under Stress 179
13.9 Geologic Time Scale Model: Earth’s History on a Football Field 181
13.10 Graded Bedding: Breaking the Law 182
13.11 Seismic Waves: Human Wave Form 183
13.12 Mountain Building: Paper Peaks 184
Section 14: Meteorology
14.1 Temperature Inversions: Weather Patterns and Pollution 186
14.2 Cloud Formation: The Cloudy Bottle 187
14.3 Warm Air Rises: Refrigerated Balloons 188
14.4 Water Vapor: Dew on the Beaker 189
14.5 Rain Gauge: Let It Pour 190
14.6 The Loss of Ozone: Oxygen Is Not Just for Breathing 191
14.7 Temperature: Do You Want That in Celsius or Fahrenheit? 192
14.8 Heat Transfer: Spiraling Upward 194
14.9 Read a Climatogram: Quick Take on Climate 195
14.10 Air Has Weight: Living Under Pressure 197
14.11 Make It Rain: Bottle Rainstorm 198
14.12 Winds: Air Masses in Motion 199
Section 15: The Universe
15.1 Telescopes: An Eye on the Universe 201
15.2 Light-Years: Universal Time 202
15.3 Star Constellations: How Many Do You Know? 203
15.4 Viewing Constellations: Moving Patterns in the Sky 204
15.5 The Gyroscopic Effect: Spacecraft Navigation 206
15.6 Space Shuttle Orbits: Holding Onto Your Marbles 207
15.7 Gravity and Space Instruments: Writing in Space 209
15.8 Visible Light: A Blend of Colors 210
15.9 Infrared Light: Feel the Heat 211
15.10 Star Magnitude: The Brightness of Stars 212
15.11 Inertia in Space: Objects Keep Moving 213
15.12 The Parallax Effect: A Different Perspective 214
Section 16: The Solar System
16.1 Planetary Revolutions: Birthdays on Mercury and Jupiter 216
16.2 Jupiter’s Atmosphere: A Stormy Planet 217
16.3 Orbiting the Sun: Earth’s Trip Around the Sun 218
16.4 Planet Formations: How the Planets Were Made 220
16.5 Surviving on the Moon: Lunar Trek 221
16.6 Solar Eclipse: Blocking the Sun 222
16.7 Astrolabe: Medieval Measurements 223
16.8 Precession of Earth: Spinning on the Axis 225
16.9 Lunar Surface Regolith: After the Meteorites Hit the Moon 227
16.10 Weight and Gravity: Weighing In on the Earth, Moon, and Sun 228
16.11 Auroras: Party Lights in the Sky 229
16.12 Moon Face: The Moon’s Revolution and Rotation 231
Teacher’s Notes 232
Answer Key 239
