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Unit 2.6: Is heat always a dead end, or can it do something useful too?
Sandra Penny, Russell Sage College, and Natalie Bursztyn, University of Montana
Students focus on some thermodynamic aspects of energy: Heat, heat engines, and the second law of thermodynamics. We have already laid the groundwork for these concepts in Unit 2.3 (Energy Types and ...

Unit 2.2: Measuring and Analyzing Waves
Sandra Penny, Russell Sage College; Natalie Bursztyn, The University of Montana-Missoula
This unit follows up and reinforces the topics introduced in the previous unit (Unit 2.1) about waves and wave properties. Multiple scaffolded extension activities and lab exercises build on similar concepts with ...

Unit 2.4: Power
Sandra Penny, Russell Sage College
In this unit, students explore the relationship between energy and power when they design an experiment to measure and calculate their maximum power output by running up a staircase at a fast, medium, and slow ...

Unit 5.1: Introduction to flooding and the water cycle
Mark Abolins, Middle Tennessee State University; Karen Viskupic, Boise State University. Parts are based on InTeGrate activities by Manoj K. Jha, Ed Barbanell, Meghann Jarchow, and John Ritter.
Students learn about flooding by exploring the Internet, watching videos, and watching an in-class slide presentation. Unit 5.1 introduces the basic vocabulary and concepts of the water cycle, riverine flooding, ...

Unit 3.2 Why are there layers of the atmosphere?
Sandra Penny, Russell Sage College; Natalie Bursztyn, University of Montana
We know the atmosphere is composed of gases and has a layered structure, yet these properties are invisible to the naked eye. Building on the idea of observing the unobservable, students will investigate air ...

Unit 3.3 What causes ocean stratification?
Natalie Bursztyn, University of Montana
Students will investigate ocean stratification using real-world data, measure the density of various fluids, construct and experiment with a physical model of ocean layers, and compare real-world data with model ...

Unit 3.6 Why do plates "tectonic"?
Natalie Bursztyn, University of Montana
Why do plates "tectonic"? Students will apply their understanding of density and mechanical behavior of Earth's materials to design and build a model with which they can experiment with (and observe) ...

Unit 4.3 Nature and machine: implementation of forces
Natalie Bursztyn, University of Montana
How do forces cause Earth's crust to collide and divide? Students plan, design, and construct a model of plate tectonics to further develop a concept that they began to investigate back in Unit 3. Then, ...

Unit 4.4 Unit synthesis and lesson plan
Natalie Bursztyn, University of Montana
In this final unit for the course, students apply their understanding of motion and forces concepts to: 1. Create an NGSS lesson plan for an activity that they have completed in Unit 4; and 2. Conduct analyses of ...

Unit 1.3: Units and Conversions
Sandra Penny, Russell Sage College; Natalie Bursztyn, University of Montana
Why do we care about units, anyway? In this unit, students are introduced to the concept of standardized units and given motivation for why a common set of units is desirable. Students are also introduced to some ...