Science Sampler - Project weigh-in: Learning about mass and weight

Journal Article | August 2005

Using the triple beam balance to measure mass in metrics is just one of the many skills we want our students to master. This article highlights a few effective and fun approaches to develop this skill over a couple of…

Science 101: Do balances and scales determine an object’s mass or its weight?

Journal Article | February 2008

The typical elementary school explanation of the difference between mass and weight goes something like the following: Mass is the amount of matter contained in an object. If you travel to the Moon, another planet, or…

Mass, Volume, and Density

Lesson Plan | June 2021

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about density. The probe is designed to find out whether students have commonly held ideas about mass, volume, shape, and other properties that interfere…

Errors as Teaching Tools—The Mass Media Mistake: Engendering in Students a Healthy Skepticism for the Printed Word

Journal Article | August 1998

While scientists may recognize a mass media mistake, the level of basic scientific understanding among many students—even college students—is too often insufficient to recognize an error. This article describes a…

Mass Marking

Blog Post | November 2017

We are incorporating more writing opportunities in our middle school and high school science classes, both “formal” and ”informal” writings. How can one teacher grade more than 180 pieces of writing in a timely fashion…