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Book Chapter
It is difficult to measure objects in the solar system because it is so massive. In this activity, students use a cross-staff to measure the angular diameter of a paper plate 4 m away. From this, they learn to measure the actual or true diameter of d...
Book Chapter
Understanding the causes of Earth’s seasons is quite challenging and is often misunderstood. Earth’s seasons are caused by the combination of its orbit around the Sun and the tilt of Earth’s axis in relation to that orbit. These factors cause t...
Book Chapter
Introduction to the Curriculum
In this chapter, the development behind this book is discussed. As well as the importance of performance-based assessment and preparing your students for inquiry labs. This chapters gives you an overview of what you will find in the book The Case o...
Book Chapter
Before delving into each individual activity presented in the book, The Case of Kirsten K. , it is important to understand an overall picture of the forensics case itself and what is expected of the students. This chapter will also explain how infor...
Book Chapter
The Cooler and Delivery Truck Evidence
Based on your students’ knowledge of chemistry, local police have asked for their help in solving a local missing-persons case. The victim in this case is Kirsten K. Your students will try to determine which of the suspects is most likely responsib...
Book Chapter
In this chapter, the police are asking your students to analyze new evidence to determine the type of chemical substances present and possibly match the substances at the crime scene to the suspects involved in the case. This performance assessment c...
Book Chapter
The Nuclear Radiation Evidence
The performance assessment, in this chapter, consists of four parts. In the first part, your students will analyze the soil samples collected at the crime scene and compare them to soil samples from each of the suspects’ shoes. In the second part, ...
Book Chapter
A second victim has been found! In this chapter, four performance assessments are presented. In part I of the assessment students will need to analyze fingerprints. Secondly, students will try to match the two types of guns with the aluminum and copp...
Book Chapter
Police have learned some additional information about the suspects involved in this case, and their relationship to the victim. In Part I of the performance assessment, Police have mixed up the infared spectroscopy (IR Spectra) for each of the chemic...
Book Chapter
As with all large projects, there are often many ways to approach the final assessment. Since the inception of this project, the authors have tried numerous methods to evaluate this yearlong performance assessment—some that worked, and some that di...
Book Chapter
Dimension 3: Disciplinary Core Ideas: Physical Sciences
This chapter reviews how the physical science section has been organized under the following four core ideas and 13 component ideas. This sample chapter also includes the Table of Contents and Index. ...
Book Chapter
Archimedes, the Syracuse (Sicily) Scientist: Science Rules Balance and Bathtub Basics
Learners, in this activity, are guided to discover simple, quantitative relationships that support their qualitative observations of playing on seesaws (with different-size children) and taking baths....
Book Chapter
Medical Metaphor Mixer: Modeling Infectious Diseases
This model-building activity helps learners visualize SI’s base-ten relationships; the connections between the meter, liter, and gram; the real-world relevance of mathematics to science; and the somewhat abstract concept of powers of ten that is so...
Book Chapter
A teacher’s success in instructing teenagers is substantially enhanced the more the teacher understands teenagers. Between brain development, changing hormonal makeup, and environmental stimuli, there can be no doubt about what adults have known fo...
Book Chapter
Conquering Culture and Psychology
Students bring their own experience base to the classroom, and it may diverge greatly from that of the teacher. This makes it extremely important that teachers make an effort to understand the community in which they teach and the experiences student...