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5th Grade Science Skills

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Return to Grade Level Skills - For other resources, refer to our Elementary Science page
Links verified 4/2/08

a site for teachers | a PowerPoint show | Adobe Acrobat document | a Word document sound | video format | interactive lesson | a quiz | lesson plan | to print

1. Animal and Plant Cells - first select Similarities and then select Differences from the index on the left at this page.
2. Animal Cell Structure - good drawing, explanation of cell components - scroll down to see component names on 3/27/08
3. Cells at the Science Lab - Select Cells in the list of labs. The illustration shows the parts of a cell. Move your mouse around the drawing to get information. Next, click on Looking Through a Microscope near the top of the Cells window. Click on the word View to see cells in a microscope. Click Back to select a new slide to view. Click on the book in the bottom left corner to read about cells.
4. Cell Inspector - match cell parts to the right name on 3/26/08
5. The Cell Page - Click on the label for any plant or animal cell organelle to find out more about it. (great drawings)
6. Cells are the Starting Point - [this link opens on a new page] learn about cells at this Biology4Kids site and then take a quiz on cells or a quiz on organelles. on 3/27/08
7. Cross Section of a Plant Cell - from Enchanted Learning [nice, clean drawing]
8. Cross Section of an Animal Cell - from Enchanted Learning [nice, clean drawing]
9. Cells: The Unit of Life - multiple choice quiz - 20 questions on 3/26/08
10. - Teaching idea! - Have your students prepare a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting plant and animal cells. Teachnology has an online Venn diagram generator. (scroll past the membership information)
    1. Comparing plant and animal cells - Teachnology has a worksheet to print to help your students get ready for the activity above
11. Comparison of Plant & Animal Cells - illustrations with hyperlinked labels
12. Mixed Up Cells - [this link opens on a new page] identify and explain the differences and similarities between plant and animal organelles (Author - Julie Thompson)
13. Parts of an Animal Cell - click and drag the names of structures to match the drawing
14. Parts of a Plant Cell - click and drag the names of structures to match the drawing
15. Plant and Animal Cells - examine a cell, one structure at a time - learn about plant and animal cell organelles with this simulation on 3/26/08
16. Plant Cell Structure - good drawing, explanation of cell components - scroll down to see component names on 3/27/08
17. Simple Animal Cell - good for student review
18. Virtual Cell - Zoom in as if you had an electron microscope on 3/27/08

1. Review cell structure and function (plant and animal)
2. Cell Structure and Function Quiz
3. Inside a Cell - select each part of the cell to see its function
4. Quiz on Cell Parts - [this link opens on a new page] instructions included for a paper and pencil quiz

1. Amoeba - a tiny, one-celled organism
2. Photos of Single Celled Organisms - from Encarta
3. Single Celled Organisms - background essay and link to a video segment on 3/27/08
4. Single Celled Organisms Vocabulary -

1. Human Impact - environmental effects brought about by humans
2. The Impact of Humans - the effect of humans on living things in the environment on 4/3/08

1. Build a Fish - Build a Fish by choosing a body, mouth, and color/pattern, and then release it into the reef! In the process you will learn about adaptations that help the fish survive in their environment.
2. Micro-organisms - [designed for 5-6 UK standards] explore the benefit, and possible harm, of micro-organisms then take a quiz. (from the BBC)

1. Acid Rain - causes, effects, and possible solutions
2. Ozone Depletion - from the US Environmental Protection Agency
3. Global Warming - from the US Environmental Protection Agency
4. Toxic Air Pollutants - from the US Environmental Protection Agency

1. Corn and Photosynthesis - efficient photosynthetic system and a long period of seasonal growth allow corn to produce high yields (reading level is a bit high, but this is short and succinct)
2. Green Plants as Organisms - BBC lessons on photosynthesis, index to five pages and quizzes
3. Illuminating Photosynthesis - from NOVA Online
   1. Worksheet to use with the Nova site
4. Introduction to Photosynthesis and Its Applications - from Arizona State University
5. Photosynthesis - [this link opens on a new page] a BioCoach activity
   1. 25 question quiz to go with the BioCoach activity [this link opens on a new page]
6. Photosynthesis - a one slide ppt show which uses animation effectively on 4/4/08
7. Photosynthesis - a 38 slide ppt show
8. Photosynthesis - an explanation of the four parts from Biology4Kids
9. Photosynthesis - an excellent Flash animation on 4/4/08
10. Photosynthesis - how life keeps going...and going...and going...
11. Photosynthesis - a Thinkquest entry
12. Photosynthesis - from Wikipedia
13. Photosynthesis - the process by which plants use energy from sunlight to produce sugar (high reading level, but a large number of really good illustrations)
14. Photosynthesis and transpiration (made easy) - from the Wildlife Trusts
15. Photosynthesis animation
16. Photosynthesis animation - this Shockwave animation has variables students can change
17. Photosynthesis animation - students are required to click on areas to keep the animation going
18. Photosynthesis: How do plants make food? - a Teacher's Guide to show number 907 in the Newton’s Apple series.
19. Photosynthesis and Respiration - [this link opens on a new page] a quiz from the Quia site
20. Photosynthesis: Don't "Leaf" Out Fall's Most Valuable Lesson! – (a lesson planning article from Education World) They have raked up a pile of activities for you to "leaf" through.
21. Photosynthesis: Life's Basic Rx - a 52 slide ppt show with many great images
22. Photosynthesis: Light Reactions - an excellent Flash animation on 4/4/08
23. Photosynthesis quiz - decide after the quiz if you really know this material
24. Photosynthesis Study Guide - good review questions to test your knowledge [no answers]
25. Plant Physiology: Photosynthesis - a 41 slide ppt show
26. Quiz on Photosynthesis - seven questions
27. Transpiration - transfer of water from plants to the atmosphere
28. Virtual Photosynthesis Experiments - [this link opens on a new page] on-line virtual experiments with Dr. Gene Splicer which show some of the ways scientists study photosynthesis
29. What Happens in a Typical Leaf - excellent illustrations in this photosynthesis tutorial
30. What is Photosynthesis - from Arizona State University's Center for Bioenergy & Photosynthesis
31. Why Do Leaves Change Color in the Fall? - To answer that question, you first have to understand what leaves are and what they do.

1. Take a Tour of the Basics of Heredity - from the index at the top of the blue box, select Heredity, then click Next to progress through the windows of this show.
2. Those Genes - [this link opens on a new page] introduction to genetic inheritance. (Author - Carol Rine)

1. Reproduction and Development - from the Regents Prep test prep site in New York
2. Species Survival Programs - from The Wildlife Conservation Society

1. Animal Growth and Heredity - a Sunken Millions game for review
2. Diagram of Complete Metamorphosis
3. Diagram of Incomplete Metamorphosis
4. Dragonfly Lake - a PowerPoint game with slides to print to make a game board
5. Insect Growth and metamorphosis - this page includes sample life cycle diagrams of each
6. Insect Metamorphosis - discussion of each type is followed by insect web sites to visit for the purpose of determining which type of metamorphosis that insect undergoes
7. Insects: Inside and Out - the end of this slide show discuses metamorphosis

1. Build a Fish - Build a Fish by choosing a body, mouth, and color/pattern, and then release it into the reef! In the process you will learn about adaptations that help the fish survive in their environment.
2. Flamingos - Adaptations for Their Environment
3. How Cactus survive in the desert
4. Plant Adaptations in Arid Environments - The plants that grow in the arid eastern region near the Columbia River and the Columbia Basin have a number of traits which help them to be successful in the desert.

1. Animal Characteristics - Animals can be grouped together by the ways they are similar to each other
2. Bugging You - [this link opens on a new page] examine the characteristics of an insect (Author - Carolyn Garner)
3. Similarities Among Living Orgnaisms - from an evolution web site written by Shlomiya Bar-Yam on 4/2/08

1. Animal Adaptations - see how fast you can match up animals' adaptations on 4/2/08
2. Animal Adaptation E-Safaris - meet some interesting animals to explore how they are adapted to their environments
3. Camouflage Field Book - click on an environment for a hidden animal search
4. Dinosaur Habitat and Community - a BBC presentation about these very adaptable animals
5. Form and Function - put together a sedt of adaptations to make an animal on 4/2/08
6. Interdependence and Adaptations - [designed for 5-6 UK standards] interactive learning activity from the BBC
7. Polar Bears' Adaptations - a nice concept map made by a first grade student
8. Structural and Behavioral Adaptations - from New Hampshire Public Television on 4/2/08
9. Survival of the Fittest - Adaptations and Natural Selection
10. Ukaliq: Spot the Arctic Hare - in this game your challengs is to find hare or hares in each photograph on 4/2/08

1. The 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - Photo Gallery
2. Endangered Species - Click on a state for lists of endangered species in that state
3. Global 200 - [does not work in IE 7, Safari works fine] some of the richest, rarest, and most endangered terrestrial, marine and freshwater natural areas of the world (a National Geographic site)
4. Threatened and Endangered Plants and Animals - a database posted by the U S Fish and Wildlife Service
5. Wildlife Crime Busters - Super sleuth scientists get the evidence to solve crimes against animals. (a National Geographic site)
6. World Endangered Species - a Think Quest site

1. Life Has a History - an educational module sponsored by the National Science Foundation (select level 2 for 5-8)

1. Amber in Nature - Look at pieces of amber to find out what is captured inside and what clues it provides about the ancient ecosystem.
2. Fantastic Fossil Finds
3. Fossil Horse Cyber Museum - from the Florida Museum of Natural History
4. Fossil Lesson Plans - lesson plans on fossils of individual phyla, as well as general lesson plans for introducing fossils and how they are formed
5. Fossils - Clues to the Past - Fossils provide clues to what life was like in ancient times.
6. Fossils of Iowa on 4/2/08
7. Fossils Rock - especially for teachers, students, and homeschoolers who want to put some fun into their earth science classes on 4/2/08
8. How fossils can form - This animation shows the formation of a cast and mold, one way that fossils can form. Casts are copies of fossilized plants or animals. Molds are hollow impressions of the fossil. This process takes thousands or millions of years.
9. How Fossils Form - from Enchanted Learning
10. Life Has a History - an educational module sponsored by the National Science Foundation (select level 2 for 5-8)
11. Paleontology Portal -
12. Recreating extinct animals from fossil evidence is like completing a giant jigsaw puzzle, but without all the pieces.
13. Resources for K-12 Teachers and Students
14. Trilobite Cookies - just for fun, looks like a great cookie
15. Using Fossils - discussion of two principal uses of fossils; dating and interpreting environment
16. Virtual Fossil Museum - fossils across geological time and evolution on 4/2/08
17. What Are Fossils - from the San Diego Natural History Museum on 4/2/08
18. What is a Fossil - discussion of Type I and Type II fossils
19. What's a Fossil? - from the UN Museum

1. Age of Fossils
2. The Clock Of Eras - a graphic aid to help visualize geologic time on 4/2/08
3. Determining Age of Rocks and Fossils - from UCMP Berkeley
4. Fossils, Rocks, and Time - from USGS
5. Fossils Through Time - choose a time period to see what life was like on 4/2/08
6. Geology of the Grand Canyon - The ultimate display of rock layers
7. Geology of the Grand Canyon area - from Wikipedia on 4/2/08
8. Grand Canyon National Park - geology field notes from the NPS
9. Grand Canyon Rock Layers - includes a mnemonic sentence to help you remember the layers
10. How Old Can it Be? - lesson plan including picture cards to print
11. Overview of Grand Canyon Geology and Rock Formations - from a Grand Hikes page
12. Prehistoric Life - determining the age of rocks and fossils
13. Relative Age - determining relative age from the rock record on 4/2/08
14. Relative Dating - stratigraphy and the principles of relative dating
15. Relative Time Scale - from USGS
16. Who's On First? - a Relative Dating activity

1. Earth and Moon Matchup - phases and other earth/moon terms are in this Quia Quiz
2. Moon Phases Java Applet - Select "both" for the point of view and run the simulation to see the cause of moon phases. Stop the animation and use their chart to see the name of the moon phase.
3. Virtual Reality Moon Phase Pictures - You can view the phase of the Moon for any date and time [1800-2199 A.D.].
4. Phases of the Moon - a good diagram to print so students could list the phases in order
5. Earth-Moon-Sun system with Moon phases animation - The Sun is to the right of the Earth and Moon. (The animation is near the bottom of this page)
6. Moon Phase Calendar - shows the moon phases for each day of the current month.
7. Moon Phases - Excel workbook to use with interactive whiteboard or projection - let students drag phases to the correct position
8. Phases of the Moon Quiz
9. Phases of the Moon Activity (from Newton's Apple)
10. Phases of the Moon - from Harcourt School (short, simple, well done)
11. Moon Phase Applet - use this page to see the phases of the moon for an entire year (from 1973 to 2107)
12. The Phases of the Moon - from Enchanted Learning
13. Phases of the Moon - This is one of the best animations for explaining moon phases. (from the Science Alberta Foundation)
14. Put the Moon's Phases in Correct Order - [this link opens on a new page] a Quia quiz
15. What Our Moon Looks Like During a Complete Lunar Cycle - from the Astronomy Picture of the Day
16. Phases of the moon from Earth and space - For each phase, examine how the view from Earth is related to the view from space.
17. Worksheet to use with Moon Phases - One sheet gives students places to draw and name the phase, the other worksheet asks students to identify positions of the moon and earth in relation to the sun for each of the eight phases

1. Examine the vast distances between planets in the solar system - This animation simulates a voyage from the sun past all nine planets. In this animation, the apparent speed of the viewer is over 300 times the speed of light.
2. Exploring Planets in the Classroom - Hands-on Activities for Science Classes. More than 25 hands-on science activities are provided in classroom-ready pages for both teachers and students for exploring Earth, the planets, geology, and space sciences.
3. Field Guide to the Universe - Solar System
4. Learn about the Planets - from KidsAstronomy
5. The Nine Eight Planets: A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System
6. Order it up - Measures of size and scale help us understand the magnitude of objects. Play with scales while trying to arrange planets by magnitude of mass, size, temperature, density, distance, gravity or magnetic field. Correctly order the planets and you unscramble a mystery picture! To play, click on the blue link; Play Order it Up: Solar System Edition
7. Planets of the solar system - Click on a planet to get a short bit of information about each one. Caution, relative sizes are not accurate.
8. Planetary Orbits - A neat Shockwave simulation showing planetary orbits.
9. Pluto demoted to dwarf planet
10. See Earth from Eight Different Perspectives - a fantastic series of animations showing our dynamic atmosphere, seasonal variation in vegetation, and six others.
11. Solar System - This real-time 3D simulation allows the student to inspect our solar system from any angle or vantage point as well as gain detailed information about each element.
12. The Solar System in Pictures - [this link opens on a new page] This web site has 2 purposes: To give a pictorial overview of the solar system and to quiz you about these pictures.
13. Views of the Solar System - This site presents a vivid multimedia adventure unfolding the splendor of the Sun, planets, moons, comets, asteroids, and more. Discover the latest scientific information, or study the history of space exploration, rocketry, early astronauts, space missions, spacecraft through a vast archive of photographs, scientific facts, text, graphics and videos. Views of the Solar System offers enhanced exploration and educational enjoyment of the solar system and beyond.
14. Virtual Solar System by National Geographic - your chance to discover the wonders of our solar system in a spectacular 3-D environment. Take a fly-by tour of the sun and each planet in its orbit, observe close-up views of the planets, extraterrestrial weather patterns, and more.
15. Welcome to the Planets - This is a collection of many of the best images from NASA's planetary exploration program.

1. Build Your Own Roller Coaster - experiment with "g" force while you ride the coaster
2. The Cause of Tides - the easy version
3. From Apples to Orbits - a Think Quest entry on 4/2/08
4. Gravitation - encyclopedia article from Encarta
5. Gravity - The Universe's Main Attraction on 4/2/08
6. Gravity Concept Map - individual concepts are hyperlinked
7. Gravity Definition Page - from Windows to the Universe
8. How Does Gravity Work - from How Stuff Works
9. Sir Isaac Newton - the law of universal gravitation
10. Universal Gravitation - Gravity is More Than a Name
11. Universal Gravitation - The Apple, the Moon, and the Inverse Square Law
12. Universal Gravitation - Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation
13. Your Weight on Other Worlds - determined by how hard a planet pulls on you

1. Astronomy - Rotation & Revolution - [this link opens on a new page] a Quia quiz
2. Earth Sun Geometry - rotation and revolution of the earth with many good diagrams
3. Earth's Orbit Activities - eleven activities
4. Earth's Rotation Activities - nine activities
5. Explore a Model of Earth's Yearly Rotation - from Hughton Mifflin
6. Revolution with and without rotation
7. Rotation aned Revolution of the Earth - an Introduction to Solar System Astronomy from Ohio State
8. Rotation and Revolution of the Planets - consider the orbits of the planets in more detail

1. Eclipse: How Can the Moon Hide the Sun - a two page document from NASA on 4/2/08
2. How Can the Little Moon Hide the Giant Sun - lesson plan designed for lower grades, but can be modified

1. Interactive map of the various types of climate features on the Earth's surface
2. Introduction to Climate - Listing the general distinctions between weather and climate
3. Weather vs Climate
4. What is Climate Change - this begins with a discussion of the difference between weather and climate
5. What's the Difference Between Weather and Climate?

1. Click and Drag Water Cycle Components - place the first step anywhere you wish and then put the other steps in order
2. Create a model of the water cycle - lesson plan from Oceans Alive
3. Follow a drop through the water cycle
4. How You Can Make a Model of the Water Cycle - print this to give to your students
5. Ideas for teaching about the water cycle - from Pro Teacher on 4/1/08
6. Introduction to the Water Cycle
7. Water Cycle
8. Water Cycle Animation - Observe a raindrop traveling through various paths of the water cycle. In this visualization, the blue raindrop shows where water is. The red arrows show the processes that could move it to another place.
9. Water Cycle Animation - from BBC
10. Water Cycle Animation - make changes to the image by selecting buttons on the left - from EarthGuide
11. The Water Cycle - US Geological Survey's Water Cycle - one of the most complete explanation of the cycle
12. The Water Cycle Lesson Plan - five activities in one
13. Water Science - US Geological Survey's (USGS) Water Science for Schools web site! They offer information on many aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can give opinions and test your water knowledge.
14. Water Cycle - a slide show by Soo Park, Alex Reynolds, Kate Schmidt, Connie Woo, and Christine Zackrison
15. Water Cycle Lesson Plan - from Planet H2O on 4/1/08
16. Water Cycle WebQuest - [designed for 5th grade]
17. Water Wizard quizzes - Do you have a fountain of knowledge when it comes to water? Well, dive right in and test your knowledge of water with these Water Wizard quizzes.
18. The Watershed Game - Many things happen in a watershed that affect the quality of the water we rely upon . Examine the issues in each area of the watershed, then see the impacts of your choices.
19. Weather in the Science Lab - Select Weather in the list of labs. The illustration shows a water cycle. Move your cursor around the image for more information. Click on The Weather Maker near the top of the weather window. Set the temperature of two air masses and the relative humidity, and then see what weather develops. Click on the book in the bottom left corner to read about weather.

1. Compare and contrast warm and cold fronts - excellent animations of each type of front
2. How to interpret a weather map
3. Predicting Weather - posted by United States Search and Rescue Task Force
4. Reading Weather Maps - In the sections that follow, students will examine features to look for on weather maps to make a forecasts, general methods of preparing a forecast, and more specific tips for specific scenarios.
5. Real-time data sources to use in weather forecasting projects
   1. Weather Underground - look up any city in the US and most cities around the world
   2. Intellicast Radar Loop of the last 2 hours covering the contiguous United States. This Doppler radar site indicates clouds, rain and snow with different colors, and refreshes 4 times per hour. They now offer a 12 hour java loop. More importantly, this loop allows you to step forward, or backward, one image at a time.
   3. National Forecast Maps from NOAA
   4. Conditions for the last 24 hours reported by the National Weather Service - Select State from the pull down menu, then select City
6. Satellite Movies of Air Masses Moving across North America
7. Tips for Forecasting the Weather - step-by-step process including links to real time weather data
8. Weather Forecasting Using the University of Michigan Weather Underground
9. Weather Quizzes - seven quizzes from easy to advanced from Weather Wiz Kids

1. Climate - systems that play a role in determining climate
2. Create a New Hawaiian Island - read the page then click on the link at the bottom of the page to experiment with these local effects on climate by creating a new Hawaiian island!
3. How do geographical features affect climate in Juneau Alaska? - from Wiki Answers
4. Primary Influence on Climate
5. Secondary Influences on Climate

1. Animations Plate Tectonics animation (Warning!: These animated gifs, including the smallest files, load slowly)
2. Animations in the form of PowerPoint shows are available from the PLATES project at the University of Texas.
3. History - Plate Tectonics: The Rocky History of an Idea
4. How the Plates Move - a lesson from Volcano World
5. Mechanisms - explanation of the driving forces behind plate tectonics
6. Paleomap Earth History maps
7. Paleomap VR animations
8. Pangaea to the Present - a study of the history of the Earth's tectonic plates.
9. Plate Tectonic Reconstruction Service. In this section you can calculate plate tectonic reconstructions of any age back to 150 My
10. Science Odyssey: You Try It: Plate Tectonics - A hands-on exercise about plate tectonics and earthquakes from PBS. (requires Shockwave plug-in)
11. Observe the break up of Pangaea - This animation shows how the locations of continents and islands have changed over the past 150 million years.
12. Observe animations of processes that occur along plate boundaries (transform, convergent and diverging)

1. Age of Fossils
2. The Clock Of Eras - a graphic aid to help visualize geologic time on 4/2/08
3. Determining Age of Rocks and Fossils - from UCMP Berkeley
4. Fossils, Rocks, and Time - from USGS
5. Fossils Through Time - choose a time period to see what life was like on 4/2/08
6. Geology of the Grand Canyon - The ultimate display of rock layers
7. How Old Can it Be? - lesson plan including picture cards to print
8. Prehistoric Life - determining the age of rocks and fossils
9. Principal of Uniformitarianism - states that the processes affecting Earth today are the same ones that affected it in the past.
10. Principle of Superposition - in a sequence of undisturbed sedimentary layers or lava flows, the oldest layers are at the bottom. (includes an animation)
11. Relative Age - determining relative age from the rock record on 4/2/08
12. Relative Dating - stratigraphy and the principles of relative dating
13. Relative Time Scale - from USGS
14. Who's On First? - a relative dating activity

1. Abundances of the elements in the Earth's crust - data for students to enter into Excel.
2. Chemical Make-up of the Earth's Crust - includes a great pie chart (Unfortunately some filters block the MIStupid site)
3. Cross-Section Globe - from Canon's Bubble Jet Printer Creative Park
4. Earth's Interior & Plate Tectonics - covers the following: The Earth's Interior, The Lithosphere & Plate Tectonics, Oceanic Lithosphere, Continental Lithosphere and Plate Tectonics. [pop-ups here]
5. Earth’s Interior Structure - from Explorations in Earth Science
6. The Earth's Layers - (slide show format - from Volcano World) click on the arrow (named Next) to move through the slides - move through the lessons at your own pace
7. Earth's Layers - [this link opens on a new page] a Quia quiz - Rags to Riches
8. Earth Like a Puzzle - learn about plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes at this site from Scripps Institution of Oceanography on 4/1/08
9. Earthquake Provides Proof That Earth's Innermost Core Is Solid - A Northwestern University seismologist and a colleague at the French Atomic Energy Commission have provided the first direct evidence that - inside a liquid core - the very center of the Earth is solid. (a 1998 news story from Science Daily)
10. Earth's Structure - a ThinkQuest entry
11. Earth Structure - a Virtual Journey to the Center of the Earth
12. Earthquake: Layers of the Earth - separate layers for crust, mantle and core on 4/1/08
13. How Many Licks Does it Take to Get to the Center - layers of the Earth
14. Image of the earth's Interior layers
15. Inside the Earth : Label the Inside of the Earth (from Enchanted Learning)
16. Inside the Earth - from USGS
17. Journey to the Center of Earth - a slide show on layers of the earth by Kelly Kupferschmid
18. Layers of the Earth - from CNN Technology on 4/1/08
19. Layers of the Earth - eleven slide show using a peach as a model on 4/1/08
20. Savage Earth - layers of the earth from PBS
21. Structure of the Earth - features a globe with a removable section
22. Surface and Interior of the Earth -

1. Ask the Answer Worm! - It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it - S.K.Worm, the official annelid, or worm, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service answers students questions about soil.
2. The Soil Food Web - handle with care

1. Animation showing how coal forms (nonrenewable resource)
2. Classify Resources - Click on Resource ID in the yellow Activities box to take a quiz.
3. Energy Kids - energy facts about various forms of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources
4. Natural Resources - Can We Use Them Forever?
5. Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources – a quiz written by Kathy Tucker
6. Renewable Energy and You - some things that everyone should know about renewable energy
7. Renewable Energy Fact Sheets - there is a section of fact sheets for kids and one for adults
8. Renewable Energy vs. Fossil Fuels - Suggestion: create a Pro and Con list for each energy source. That will give you a a way to compare the various energy resources.

1. Build Your Own Roller Coaster - experiment with "g" force while you ride the coaster
2. The Cause of Tides - the easy version
3. From Apples to Orbits - a Think Quest entry on 4/2/08
4. Gravitation - encyclopedia article from Encarta
5. Gravity - The Universe's Main Attraction on 4/2/08
6. Gravity Concept Map - individual concepts are hyperlinked
7. Gravity Definition Page - from Windows to the Universe
8. How Does Gravity Work - from How Stuff Works
9. Sir Isaac Newton - the law of universal gravitation
10. Universal Gravitation - Newton's Law
11. Your Weight on Other Worlds - determined by how hard a planet pulls on you

1. Forces and Motion - Use this BBC interactive site to learn about various factors, then take a Quiz
2. Friction - [designed for 3-4 UK standards] Investigate friction on a variety of surfaces, then take a quiz.
3. Forces in Action - [designed for 5-6 UK standards] from the BBC

1. Compound Machine - answer a series of questions which require the selection of the most appropriate simple machine
2. Design and Test - This project simulates the Design and Test process through the development of a virtual paintball catapult. The student must build catapults capable of performing a variety of tasks, stay within the allotted budget, and interpret test results to fine tune their design.
3. Inclined Plane - This Java applet demonstrates a motion on an inclined plane with constant velocity and the corresponding forces.
4. Lever - attach a new mass piece or put it to another place with pressed mouse button
5. Eureka: The Lever - a YouTube video on 4/5/08
6. Machines Make Life Easier - a set of activities about simple machines
7. Move Our Principal - [this link opens on a new page] learn about the six simple machines then use their knowledge to assist their principal. (Author - Sandi King)
8. Pulley - Investigate mechanical advantage of a pulley with this interactive java applet [unavailable on 4/2/08]
9. Pulley System - (raise or lower the load with the mouse) If you click on the mouse button, a spring balance will appear showing the tension in the string.
10. Rube Goldberg Machines - a simple machines PowerPoint show by Matt Aufman and Steve Case, University of Mississippi [23 slides]
11. Simple Machines game from Harcourt School
12. Simple Machines - An excellent overview from the Franklin Institute On-Line
13. Simple Machines part 1 - a Bill Nye the Science Guy video on YouTube on 4/5/08
14. Simple Machines part 2 - a Bill Nye the Science Guy video on YouTube
15. Simple Machines part 3 - a Bill Nye the Science Guy video on YouTube
16. Simple Machines Activities: Learn about simple and compound machines while you explore the House and Tool Shed at E-Heads!
17. Simple Machines Made Simple - [this link opens on a new page] an introduction to the six simple machines (Author - Sandi King)
18. Sunken Millions - a Simple Machines review game

1. Change of State & Latent Heat Quiz - [this link opens on a new page] in the format of a "Thrillionaire" Game
   1. Change of State Quiz - [this link opens on a new page] same quiz, but in a multiple choice format
2. Chem4Kids Quiz on States of Matter [this link opens on a new page] [caution, some are tricky]

1. Sciencegy Game Board - [this link opens on a new page] Physical and Chemical Change [unavailable on 4/2/08]
   1. Answers [unavailable on 4/2/08]
2. What is the difference between chemical and physical change?
3. Physical vs Chemical change - an interactive lesson

1. Magnetic Field of a Bar Magnet - The magnetic field of a bar magnet can be investigated with this compass needle applet.

1. Keeping Warm - [designed for 3-4 UK standards] investigate how well various materials insulate

1. Field lines round a magnet from BBC physics
2. Magnetic Field of a Bar Magnet - The magnetic field of a bar magnet can be investigated with this compass needle applet.

1. Conduction - background information
   1. Conduction lab lesson plan
2. Convection - background information
   1. Convection lab lesson plan
3. Radiation - background information
   1. Radiation lab lesson plan
4. Solar Oven - instructions on building a pizza box solar oven

1. Kinetic Energy - more good diagrams and 4 practice problems
2. Potential Energy - excellent diagrams and 3 practice questions
3. Potential and Kinetic Energy Experiment - illustrates the relationship between potential and kinetic energy by raising and dropping a 100 kg anvil on 4/6/08
4. QuickTime movie showing the motion of a roller coaster car down a vertical drop, through two vertical loops, over a small hill, and to the end of the track. The animation portrays the relative amounts of kinetic energy, potential energy, and total mechanical energy of the car as it moves along the track.

1. Series and Parallel circuits illustrated by BBC Physics
2. Circuits and Conductors - [designed for 3-4 UK standards] an interactive site from the BBC
3. Electricity and Magnetism - the basics of circuits
4. Investigate a complete circuit at BBC

1. The anatomy of a lens
   1. Refraction by Lenses
   2. Image Formation Revisited
   3. Ray Diagrams (converging lenses)
   4. Object-Image Relations
   5. Ray Diagrams (diverging lenses)
   6. Object-Image Relations
   7. The Mathematics of Lenses
2. An index of ray optics animations from the Physics Classroom
3. Thick Lens java applet which allows your students to manipulate the variables

1. Virginia State Standards of Learning - Select Science 5, and then select 10, 20, or 40 questions.
2. On-line end-of-year Science tests from Texas - 2003 | 2004