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Middle School Science

You can make experiments the most fun and engaging part of your science class. Experienced educators and curriculum specialists have developed each of these lessons, and we have tested them in real classrooms. PocketLab middle school lessons span across all the Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) disciplines. Browse all the middle school lessons below or use the filters to search for specific content.

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intelino/PocketLab: A Study of Randomness for Grades 6-8

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Submitted by Rich on Tue, 08/06/2019 - 20:44

Introduction

This lab, featuring Voyager and intelino, designed for junior high math students, will help your students understand the true nature of randomness.  By the time youngsters enter junior high school, they have encountered randomness in a variety of situations.  They have likely seen random ping-pong balls drawn in lotteries.  They have seen coin tosses before the start of football games.  They may have been asked to draw a random card in a card trick.  Perhaps they or their parents have purchased tickets for a raffle.  The list could g

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Grade Level

Thermos Design Challenge

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Submitted by PocketLab on Fri, 08/02/2019 - 13:33

In these two design challenges, students will design and construct their own thermos/storage device using craft materials and measure its effectiveness to insulate a liquid with a PocketLab temperature probe. These activities are aligned with two middle school NGSS standards and are a great open-ended, hands-on project for students to engage their critical thinking and engineering skills. 

intelino/PocketLab: Relative Velocity Lab Grades 6-9

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Submitted by Rich on Wed, 07/31/2019 - 15:47

Introduction

Here is a physical science lab for junior high students that brings out the S, T, E, and M in STEM -- S for the science of relative velocity, T for the technology of sensors, E for engineering an experiment design, and M for the mathematics used in analyzing data.  How can all of this be accomplished?  Simply interface  PocketLab Voyager

Grade Level

intelino smart train/PocketLab: Match-made-in-heaven

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Submitted by Rich on Mon, 07/22/2019 - 15:35

Introduction

Are you looking for some great physical science activities for 4th grade through junior high school students?  If so, it would be well worth considering interfacing PocketLab Voyager with the  "intelino® smart train".  Designed for all ages, intelino is intuitive with its app, has built-in sensors to provide an interactive experience for the user, and is easily programmed with color snaps that allow the user to control intelino's actions.  In this lesson, your students are challenged to design an experiment to measure intel

intelino smart train/Voyager: Angular Velocity

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Submitted by Rich on Tue, 07/16/2019 - 20:53

Introduction

In a previous lesson the "intelino® smart train" was introduced, and an activity on speed for 4th grade through middle school students was presented.  In that lesson Voyager was "on board" the intelino train and collected data for measuring the speed of the train.  With students at the 4th grade level learning angle measurements in degrees and also having a solid foundation in multiplication and long division, there is

PocketLab Voyager Rides the “intelino® smart train”

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Submitted by Rich on Fri, 07/12/2019 - 17:32

Introduction

There is a new train out there - the “intelino® smart train, the classic toy train reinvented", according to the developer.  Designed for all ages, it is intuitive with its app, has built-in sensors to provide an interactive experience for the user, and is easily programmed with color snaps that allow the user to control intelino's actions.  Attach a PocketLab Voyager to the top of the intelino smart engine as shown in Figure 1, and you have a great way for children from 4th grade through middle school to s

Particulate matter and its Health Effects

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Submitted by Danny on Fri, 07/05/2019 - 01:22

 

First, what is particulate matter (PM)? Particulate matter is a mixture of solids and/or liquids suspended within the air. These solids and liquids are too small for the eye to see, however, if they're in a high enough concentration it will often look like a haze in the air.  The particles that make it up can be anything from pollen and dust to even molecules of water. The number at the end (ex. the 10 in PM10) is the upper limit of the particles’ diameter. A size comparison produced by the US EPA can be seen below.

How much Carbon Dioxide do you Produce? (MS-ESS3-4 )

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Submitted by Danny on Fri, 07/05/2019 - 00:59

It is almost instinctive when you first get the PocketLab Air to breathe directly on it just to see what happens. As seen below, of the PocketLab Air's seven sensors, five of them detect changes from a direct human breath. These parameters are carbon dioxide, particulate matter, temperature, humidity, and pressure. The most interesting of these is the sharp rise in carbon dioxide which, as the most important greenhouse gas, brings about strong connections to the topic of climate change.

Sensors for Forest Fires

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Submitted by Danny on Wed, 06/05/2019 - 19:41

Forest fires are a common natural disaster within western North America and pose a serious risk to many communities both nearby due to direct danger of the fire, as well as far away in the form of air pollution. Currently, in many places, some form of government employee will be in charge of looking out for forest fires and once identified, satellites and computer programs can be used to track its progression and predict where the fire will spread and where the smoke cloud will go. This allows us to evacuate individuals who may be in danger and minimize loss of life.

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