Lessons

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  Combustion

  6-8  
  In this lesson, students will gain a better understanding of what energy is, how it can be changed into other forms of energy, and how physical and chemical processes contribute to that.
• 

  Converting Energy

  6-8  
  In this lesson, students will study energy through the idea of energy transformations and conversions.
• 

  Static Electricity 1: Introducing Atoms

  6-8  
  In this lesson, students are asked to review websites to learn about the atom's basic structure and the positive and negative charges of its subparticles.
• 

  Static Electricity 2: Introducing Static Electricity

  6-8  |  Hands-On
  This lesson helps expand students’ concepts about atoms and how they relate to static electricity.
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  Static Electricity 3: More About Static Electricity

  6-8  
  This lesson helps reinforce the concept that static electricity is a phenomenon that involves positive and negative charges.
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  The Chernobyl Disaster

  9-12  
  In this lesson, students explore how a nuclear accident can affect biological systems.
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  Dangers of Radiation Exposure

  9-12  
  In this lesson, students learn about sources of high-energy radiation and calculate student exposure to ionizing radiation over the past year.
• 

  Frosty the Snowman Meets His Demise: An Analogy to Carbon Dating

  9-12  |  Hands-On
  This lesson will help students understand how scientists use carbon dating to try to determine the age of fossils and other materials.
• 

  The History of the Atom 1: The Ancient Greeks

  9-12  
  This lesson introduces students to the ancient theories of matter that led to the work of John Dalton.
• 

  The History of the Atom 2: Dalton

  9-12  
  In this lesson, students explore early milestones in the development of modern atomic theory and the role of John Dalton.
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  The History of the Atom 3: The Periodic Table

  9-12  
  In this lesson, students explore the early history of the periodic table and how it contributed to the understanding of atoms.
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  The History of the Atom 4: J.J. Thomson

  9-12  
  In this lesson, students explore the development of modern ideas about the inner workings of atoms and the contributions of J.J. Thomson.
• 

  The History of the Atom 5: The Modern Theory

  9-12  
  In this lesson, students explore the development of modern atomic theory.
• 

  Isotopes of Pennies

  9-12  |  Hands-On
  This lesson helps students build their understanding of the properties of matter and of atomic mass.
• 

  Radioactive Decay: A Sweet Simulation of a Half-life

  9-12  |  Hands-On
  This lesson simulates radioactive decay to develop the understanding of what we mean by half-life.
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  Splitting the Atom

  9-12  
  In this lesson students explore the history of the splitting of the atom.
• 

  Technological Advances in Health

  9-12  
  Students will learn how technology influences human existence by examining the benefits and risks of different biotechnological advances.
• 

  Watch Your Thoughts! Diagnostic Imaging and the Brain

  9-12  
  This lesson provides students with a brief introduction to various diagnostic imaging technologies used in brain research.

Tools

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  Atom Builder

  9-12  |  Interactive
  In this activity from A Science Odyssey on the PBS site, you have a chance to build a carbon atom.
• 

  Energy Time Machine

  6-12  |  Interactive
  The Energy Time Machine is a site that presents the history of energy from 500,000 BCE (Before the Common Era) up to 2006.
• 

  Molecules App

  9-12  |  Interactive
  Molecules is a free application for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad that allows you to view three-dimensional renderings of molecules and manipulate them using your fingers.
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  Peering Inside the Body

  6-12  |  Interactive
  This site describes the sophisticated tools and techniques used in medical imaging including the PET scan, X ray, angiography, ultrasound, and CT Scan.
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  Power Up!

  3-8  |  Interactive
  This interactive challenges students to think about the positive and negative consequences of various types of power.

Science Updates

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  Astronaut Health Risks

  6-12  |  Audio
  Astronauts on long-term space missions may face health risks that their predecessors didn't have to worry about. These Science Update reports describe two of them.
• 

  Fossil Fuel Switch

  6-12  |  Audio
  Learn about a thirty-year plan to replace 70 percent of our fossil fuels, using only current technologies like storable solar power, safer nuclear plants, and methanol from crop waste.
• 

  Feather Analysis

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, you'll hear about a new technique for tracking birds.
• 

  Pushing Atoms

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, learn how scientists have calculated the force it takes to move one atom.
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  Zeolites

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, hear how scientists are creating new ways to separate toxic waste and dangerous chemicals from the environment.

Videos

• A Smaller, Faster, Cheaper Route to Fusion Energy

  9-12  |  Video
  Fusion has the potential to be the perfect energy source—safe, clean, and limitless—but scientists are struggling to make it work. Now a change of shape may turn the mainstream reactor design, known as a tokamak, into something simpler, faster, and cheaper.