PhET Blog

PhET K-12 Specialist, Trish Loeblein, along with PhET chemists Julia Chamberlain and Emily Moore, will be holding a workshop at the Rocky Mountain Regional ACS Meeting High School Program. The workshop for high school chemistry teachers will be at the Westin on Friday, October 19th from 10 AM to 12 PM. Registration and information is at http://rmrm2012.sites.acs.org/aboutthemeeting.htm .

Using PhET Simulations for High School Chemistry: Free research-based resources on the web

PhET has developed 38 simulations (sims) in chemistry, free at phet.colorado.edu. PhET sims provide interactive environments for students to learn through scientist-like exploration, making the invisible visible and emphasizing connections between real life phenomena and the underlying science. Participants will discuss how to use PhET chemistry sims to enhance student learning and engagement, and will learn where to find hundreds of editable activities online to use with sims in all science disciplines.

See you at VSS 2012 in New Orleans, LA, October 21-24, 2012. Stop by our booth.

Looking for a lesson on projectile motion for middle school? This lesson plan submitted by UTeach at UT-Austin has students investigate how air resistance affects different objects. Lesson objectives include:

• Students will be able to describe projectile motion with no air resistance.
• Students will be able to explain the effect of air resistance on a projectile.
• Students will be able to explain the relationship between shape and air resistance.
• Students will be able to contrast the motion of a projectile without air resistance to motion with air resistance.
• Students will be able to predict the amount of air resistance an object would have relative to other objects.

Standards addressed: TEKS Science: 8.3C, 8.6C CCRS Science Standards: VIII-C1

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Explore fractions while you help yourself to 1/3 of a chocolate cake and wash it down with 1/2 a glass of orange juice! Create your own fractions using fun interactive objects. Match shapes and numbers to earn stars in the fractions games. Challenge yourself on any level you like. Try to collect lots of stars!