Interactions
The Interactions curriculum introduces students to science as an endeavor, a process we engage in, rather than solely a set of discoveries by others. Through engaging in modeling and scientific explanation students explore curious aspects of the everyday world, discovering how the unseen world of atomic level interactions and energy transformations are responsible for much of what we observe around us.
- Designed from the ground up to support the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and three dimensional learning.
- For 9th grade physical or integrated science students.
Curriculum Overview
Fundamental forces, unseen yet felt in every moment of our existence, govern the interactions of matter and energy that in turn shape our lives. By understanding these forces, we create a foundation that supports doing and understanding modern sciences and technologies. Why do clothes stick together when they come out of the dryer? How is it that a tiny spark can trigger an explosion? Working from these and other questions, students start their explorations by asking their own questions and discussing what they already know. They observe phenomena, engage in hands on activities and use online simulations to collect evidence. From their evidence, they construct mental models of the forces that drive interesting phenomena and test their models by predicting further events. Learn more »
The Interactions curricular materials are provided under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. If redistributing the materials you must give appropriate credit and indicate if any changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the materials for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. As noted within the materials, some images, videos, and simulations may have different licensing, either more restrictive or more open than the CC-BY-NC-SA license.
Curricular materials are available below. Sign up for access to comprehensive teacher guides and pre-post assessments.
Featured in NSTA Video Series
Watch these eight videos to discover important strategies on the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Learn about major shifts in science instruction and the new role of the teacher.
NGSS Design Badge
Awarded: Mar 13, 2018
Awarded To: Interactions Unit 1 - Why do some clothes stick together when they come out of the dryer?
- Units
- Simulations
Unit 1 - Part 1: Why do some clothes stick together when they come out of the dryer?
Unit 1 - Part 2: Why do some clothes stick together when they come out of the dryer?
Unit 2 - Part 1: How does a small spark trigger a huge explosion?
Unit 2 - Part 2: How does a small spark trigger a huge explosion?
Unit 3: What powers a hurricane?
Unit 4: Why is a temperature of 107 degrees deadly?
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3D Exploration of Bound Antibody and Antigen
Explore the role of shape in how antibodies and antigens interact.
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Atom and Ion Builder
Create multiple versions of helium atoms and make observations of how changing protons, electrons, and neutrons change atoms.
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Atom and Ion Builder (with table)
Create multiple versions of various atoms and record the number of protons, electrons, and neutrons in a table.
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Boiling Point of Polar & Nonpolar Substances
Explore the relationships between properties of molecules, temperature, and movement of particles.
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Breaking a Molecular Bond (conceptual version)
Adjust the initial velocity of a third atom as it hits two bonded atoms and track the changes in energy during this interaction.
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Chain Reaction Between Hydrogen and Oxygen
Observe how a chemical reaction evolves over time and affects the balance of potential and kinetic energy in the system.
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Charge Intensity and Electric Force
Explore the relationship between charge, electric fields and forces on objects by manipulating charge in this simulation.
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Charge Intensity and Electric Force 2
Explore the relationship between charge, electric fields and forces on objects by manipulating charge.
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Collisions and Kinetic Energy
Explore the energy exchange between colliding objects and observe how energy transfer occurs under various circumstances.
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Comparing Attractive Forces Between Molecules
Explore the difference in attractive forces between polar and nonpolar molecules.
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Comparing Potential Energy of a Bond
Compare the change in potential energy when you separate molecules from each versus when you break molecules apart.
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Concentrating Charge and Electric Fields
Simulate an analogy to Rutherford’s gold foil experiment to distinguish between the plum pudding and hard nucleus model of the atom.
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Conversion of Electric Potential Energy
Explore how potential energy created by particles of varying charge is converted to thermal energy.
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Crookes Tube
Experiment with a simulated Crookes tube for qualitative results similar to Thomson's experiments in which the electron was discovered.
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Deformed Electron Cloud
Explore the effect of an electric field on the electron distribution of an atom.
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Diffusion of a Drop (with temperature)
Add a drop of dye to water and watch how the dye molecules spread by interacting with water molecules.
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Direction and Strength of Force in Electric Fields
Explore the strength and direction of forces between two charged objects by observing the color and size of force pointers.
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Direction of Force Around a VDG (Negatively Charged)
Observe the direction of forces between a negatively charged Van De Graaff Generator and a positively charged object.
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Direction of Force on Charged Objects
Drag around a stationary charged object and observe the force on the stationary object when it is positive and negative.
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Dissolving
Observe the impact on potential energy when a substance dissolves in water.
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Dissolving Experimental
Explore how the polarity of molecules affects how they mix (or don’t) when combined.
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Electric Potential Energy and Charge Intensity
Set the amount and type of charge on particles and compare the potential energy of the electric field that is generated.
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Electric Potential Energy and Type of Charge
Set the charge of two particles and compare the potential energy of the electric field they generate as the particles are moved around.
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Electrostatics: Maze Game
Apply knowledge of the interaction between charged particles to guide an object through a maze.
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Elements and Polarity
Compare the surface charges on various molecules and explore which atom types tend to cause uneven sharing of electrons.
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Energy of a Pendulum
Set the initial height of a pendulum and observe how potential, kinetic, and thermal energy change during pendulum swings.
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Energy of a Spring
Set the initial position of a mass on a spring and observe how potential, kinetic, and thermal energy change when the spring is released.
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Energy of Bond Formation (conceptual version)
Explore how different elements come together to form bonds and compare changes in potential energy and forces.
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Exploring Electron Properties
Use this simulation to compare the behavior of charged atoms and cathode ray particles (electrons).
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Exploring Hydrophobic Core
Explore the structure of various proteins and see how the nonpolar amino acids form the core of many protein structures.
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Exploring Protein 3D Structure
Explore a protein and its components using both a simplified representation to see structure, or view all atoms to see full details.
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Forming a Molecular Bond (conceptual version)
Explore the potential and kinetic energy as two atoms form a covalent bond.
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Forming a Molecule
Using a cloud model explore the balance of forces and electron distribution as two atoms are moved closer and further apart.
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Gas Pressure in a Syringe
Explore how a particle model of gasses works to predict the behavior of a syringe under various conditions.
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Making and Breaking Bonds: The Effect of Temperature
Observe the effects of temperature on chemical reactions.
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Making Molecules
Modify an existing molecule and observe how different atoms affect the electron distribution within the model.
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Micelles
Observe changes in potential energy as molecules self-assemble into micelles.
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Mixing Liquids
Explore how mixing two different liquids together can result in less total volume by investigating at the molecular level.
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Molecular Sorting
Add various unknown molecules to oil and water, and observe how the molecules sort themselves in response to interactions with the surrounding environment.
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Non-Bonding (conceptual version)
Compare the electron distribution, potential energy, and forces of two interacting hydrogen atom (which can bond) with two helium atoms (which don't).
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Oil and Water
Observer changes in potential energy as mixtures of polar and nonpolar molecules naturally separate like oil and water after being shaken.
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Opposites Attract
Change the charge on spheres to positive or negative and observe how charges affect the interaction between them.
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Polar and Non-Polar Interface
Observe how molecules with hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions move in a mixture of oil and water and how that affects potential energy.
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Polarization
Explore how the types of atoms forming a bond affect the distribution of electrons and overall shape of the molecule.
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Protein Folding
Generate proteins with different molecular properties and observe how their folding changes the potential energy of the system.
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Protein Folding Exploring
Generate proteins with different molecular properties and observe how their folding changes the potential energy of the system.
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Reaction Between Hydrogen and Oxygen Atoms
Observe a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen atoms, and watch how potential and kinetic energy change.
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Reaction Between Hydrogen and Oxygen Molecules
Carefully observe changes in kinetic and potential energy as hydrogen and oxygen molecules react.
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Sticking a Balloon to a Wall
Explore the interactions between a charged balloon and a neutral wall at the atomic-level.
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Structure of an Atom
Map the probable locations of electrons around an atom to understand probability distributions and the electron cloud model.
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Target Game (Charge Magnitude / Force Relationship)
Manipulate the magnitude of charges on two objects to get a third positively charged particle to hit a target.
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Target Game (Distance/Force Relationship)
Drag the location of charges to get a positively charged particle to the target while observing forces and fields.
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Target Game (Free Play)
Manipulate the location and magnitude of charges to get a positively charged particle to hit a target.
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Understanding Probability Maps
Use a dart board simulation to understand probability distributions.
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Van de Graaff (VDG) Discharge
Explore how the charging and discharging of a Van de Graaff Generator occurs and changes in potential energy.
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Visualizing Electric Fields and Forces
Model how electric fields change due to number and placement of charged objects.
Contact Us for PD Opportunities
Research shows professional development significantly improves implementation. To learn about professional development options and opportunities, visit https://create4stem.msu.edu/professional_learning or send an email to nextgenpbl@create4stem.org.
For more details about the NSF project that funded this curriculum, visit the Interactions project web page.
Partners
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DRL-1232388. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Curriculum Overview
This NGSS aligned curriculum is designed to support high school physical science students in developing an understanding of the forces and energy involved in atomic and molecular interactions. The year-long Interactions curriculum could be used in a physical science class, or tweaked to embed activities into a chemistry class. Interactions can be offered as a paper-pencil curriculum with the teacher facilitating web based simulation activities on a classroom computer, or it can be offered completely online for classrooms where students have personal (or shared) computers. In particular, students will:
- Develop and use models of interactions at the atomic molecular scale to explain observed phenomena.
- Develop a model of the flow of energy and cycles of matter for phenomena at macroscopic and sub-microscopic scales.
These goals support students in building a foundation that prepares them for explaining and making predictions about important phenomena in all science disciplines.
The design principles and goals used to guide the development of the materials include:
- Building understanding of ideas within and across units
- Explicitly stating learning performances to guide the development of learning and assessment tasks
- Engaging students in scientific practices
- Engagement with phenomena to help illustrate and involve students with disciplinary core ideas
- Physical models and computer simulations to help students connect observable phenomena with sub-microscopic mechanisms
- Reading materials that support understanding by building on in-class experiences
The curriculum consists of four units that focus on answering a driving question designed to engage students in the learning goal and help them relate and build connections among ideas developed throughout the unit. Each unit is made up of a series of investigations, which are in turn consists of several activities. Driving questions and overviews for each unit are included below.
Unit 1: Why do some clothes stick together when they come out of the dryer?
Students develop a model of electric interactions to explain electrostatic phenomena. To develop and revise their models, students collect evidence related to how charged objects interact with other objects. They develop a particulate model of materials and a model of atomic structure to start building an understanding of the mechanism of charging objects.
Unit 2: How does a small spark trigger a huge explosion?
Students further develop their model of electrostatic interactions by incorporating the relationship between electric potential energy and electric forces. In particular, the unit focuses on the electrostatic attractions and energy conversions involved in the formation of molecules (chemical reactions).
Unit 3: What powers a hurricane?
Students use their models of molecular structure to explain and predict observed properties of materials. Then, students analyze and compare the energy transformations and conversions that occur during phase changes and chemical reactions. The model of electric interactions expands to incorporate permanent dipoles at the molecular level.
Unit 4: Why is a temperature of 107 degrees deadly?
Students explore how molecular interactions in water based environments are important for life and result in shapes necessary for biological functions. Students will apply the notion of stability and energy to describe how a fever can disrupt biologically important molecules (proteins). They will use simulations to see how temperature changes can affect the binding structure of proteins.