Create a handout of an altered periodic table that has the element symbol missing. Also randomly remove several elements altogether. Create several different periodic table boards with different elements missing, and allow students to use stickers or ripped pieces of paper as bingo markers. When playing, call out an element, and the students will have to match the element with its correct elemental and atomic number. The student that gets five elements in an elemental group first wins.
Instruct students to build a functioning bridge using only a box of toothpicks and fast-drying glue. The bridge must support 5 lbs., span 12 inches and be at least two toothpicks wide. The students will have to use their knowledge of vectors and structural tension. You can create or alter requirements for the bridge as you see necessary, and the students can even decorate their bridges if they desire.
Allow your students to learn how forensic investigators can use rate of change of temperature to determine time of death and solve crimes. The students will investigate the "time of death" of an orange; you can fabricate a story to go along with the investigation theme. Divide the class into groups, and give each group an orange, a hot plate, a thermometer, metal tongs and a beaker large enough to hold the orange. Each student should have his own "crime fact sheet," a sheet of paper to record data. Take a cooler and pour 3 inches of water inside. The students will then record the temperature on their crime fact sheet.
When the students return to their station, they should fill their beaker three-quarter full with water and place the orange inside. Use the hot plate to heat the water to 100 degrees Fahrenheit -- average body heat of a human at 98.6-degrees F -- and maintain this temperature for 30 minutes. Grab the metal tongs, and remove the orange from the beaker. The students will insert the tip of a thermometer into the center of the orange and record the temperature and time on the fact sheet. Place the oranges in the cooler, and record the temperature every two minutes until it reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Average the class temperatures of the oranges, and graph the results. Use this data to calculate the rate of change, which is the change in temperature divided by the time.
Students can learn about the effects of gravity by working in teams to create a parachute that will safely transport a falling egg to the ground. The students can experiment with materials such as poster board, cardboard, cotton, toilet paper and plastic bags. Once their parachutes are completed, the students can test their hypothesis by dropping their eggs from the second floor of a building. After the activity is completed, hold a class discussion on why some parachutes worked better than others.