WildHeart's Class

The penny lab is a simple easy to do lab that students tend to enjoy. I use each year as an intro type lab when talk over properties of water. It can be fit into topics that include the scientific method, valuable properties of water, surface tension, activity of soap (or NaOH), or just a general fun competition style lab. Students enjoy trying to fit the most drops they can on the penny and using the concept of a controlled experiment to "discover" the valuable properties of soap and water.

One of the common overlooked first lessons of biology is determining if life exists. There are seven characteristics/factrors that must be met in order for an object to be considered living. The attached worksheet is a solid homework/in-class activity that focuses students attention to the basic characteristics of life. The worksheets present various conditions/characteristics and students must pick out the seven correct choices to unscramble the "code" and solve the worksheet. This works well