7th Grade Science

3rd/4th Quarter Units of Study:

Phase Change and Phase Change Engineering Internship

Unit Question: How can the appearance of a substance change without it becoming a different substance?

Taking on the role of student chemists working for the Universal Space Agency (a fictional agency), your students will investigate the mystery of the methane lake on Titan. One team of scientists at the Universal Space Agency claims that the lake evaporated while the other team of scientists claims that the lake froze. 

Phase Chang Engineering Internship

In this Engineering Internship, students play the role of chemical engineering interns at Futura Engineering. They will consider the design problem of how to create an incubator that considers three criteria: keep the baby’s average temperature close to 37°C, minimize the time outside the healthy temperature range, and keep costs low. Students use the BabyWarmer Design Tool to collect and analyze data about their designs, complete iterative tests, and learn about optimizing designs. By the end of this unit, students will compose a written proposal that supports their optimal designs for making an effective portable incubator, while managing the trade-offs among the project criteria.

1