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Physics+C — Kinematics I: Car on a Ramp

This unit reviews concepts related to kinematics and the motion of a car on a ramp. It provides students with the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of concepts used to describe motion, including displacement, velocity, and acceleration.

Chemistry+C — Matter: Physical Change of Salt in Water

This unit reviews concepts related to matter. Students will gain a deeper understanding of processes involved in the physical change of an ionic compound dissolving in water and how it can be represented and demonstrated using computer models.

Chemistry+C — Titration: Acid-base Neutralization

This unit reviews concepts related to acid-base chemistry. It provides students with the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of processes involved in chemical reactions and how they can be represented and demonstrated using computer models.

Physics+C — Electricity: Series Circuits

This unit reviews concepts in electricity, including Ohm’s law and series circuit design. The model allows students to explore the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance and the connection between current and the average velocity of electrons in a circuit.

Chemistry+C — Redox: Electrolysis within a Battery

This unit reviews concepts of oxidation and reduction through electrolysis. It provides students with the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of processes involved in influencing the equilibrium of charges within a battery and how it can be represented and demonstrated using computer models.

Chemistry+C — Kinetics: Rate of Reactions

This unit reviews concepts of kinetics and rates of reaction. It provides students with the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of processes involved in changing the reaction speed and how it can be represented and demonstrated using computer models.

Chemistry+C — Periodic Trends: Ionic Compound Interactions

This unit reviews concepts in atomic structure and then provides students with the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the size of an atom as the number of valence electrons increases and the interactions with other atoms.

Chemistry+C — Chemical Reactions: Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

This unit reviews concepts of a commonly known chemical reaction concept (conservation of matter) and then provides students with the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of processes involved in the energy transfer during a chemical reaction and how it can be represented and demonstrated using computer models.

Physics+C — Simple Harmonic Motion: Mass on a Spring

This unit reviews simple harmonic motion through experiments with a NetLogo model that simulates a horizontal mass-spring system. The model allows students to displace a mass that is attached to a horizontal spring and observe the motion of the mass.

Physics+C — Kinematics II: Motion of a Ball

This unit reviews concepts related to kinematics and the motion of a ball near the Earth’s surface. It provides students with the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of 1-dimensional motion (a ball falling and accelerating due to gravity, a ball rolling on a horizontal frictionless surface) and/or 2-dimensional motion (projectile motion) and how it can be represented and demonstrated using computer models.

Physics+C — Mechanical Waves: Sound through Different Media

This unit reviews mechanical waves through experiments with a NetLogo model that simulates a sound wave traveling through a medium.

Physics+C — Nuclear Physics: Rutherford's Gold Foil Experiment

This unit reviews the structure of the atom through experiments with a NetLogo model that simulates Rutherford’s gold foil experiment. The model allows students to shoot alpha particles at a gold foil and observe any changes in the path of the alpha particles.

Alternate activities to introduce Project GUTS

Sometimes, teachers have a students who have already participated in Project GUTS introductory activities, and want to use something different, or want another activity to expand a lesson. Below are links to some alternate activities, both hands-on and on-line, for you to explore.

El Juego de la pesca (La Tragedia de los Comunes)

El Juego de la Pesca utiliza el concepto de Tragedia de los Comunes (Hardin, 1968) para trabajar sobre sustentabilidad. El jugador (pescador) tiene 10 días para atrapar tantos peces como pueda para alimentar a su familia. Cada día, el pescador puede elegir pescar uno, dos o tres peces, o no pescar ninguno. Hay otros dos pescadores que también tratan de capturar tantos peces como puedan. El lago en el que se pesca sólo puede soportar 20 peces (que es la capacidad de carga del lago).

Traffic Patterns for StarLogo TNG

Why do traffic jams form?

Each year the number of paved miles grows by roughly 20,000 miles. When traffic gets too congested, traffic engineers must consider changes to existing roads or intersections. This unit engages students in interactive activities to explore pattern formation in complex systems, and in the use, modification, and creation of agent-based models to conduct experiments on simple virtual traffic systems, to study whether proposed road changes will the desired effect.

Math Challenges in StarLogo TNG

This activity reviews the use of angles, heading, x, y, and z coordinates, and random ranges in StarLogo TNG. It corresponds to the coding challenges for StarLogo Nova (see related link). .

Bumper Turtles for StarLogo TNG

A coding activity to introduce students to conditional logic -- this version follows the "Pixelated Paths" activity and builds the model in Star Logo TNG. 

Painted Turtles for StarLogo TNG

An fun introductory coding activity in StarLogo TNG using the random blocks, which demonstrates the power of parallel programming by simultaneously using many turtles to create patterns on the screen. For StarLogo Nova, see this activity in CS in Science, Module 1.

Walk & Turn for StarLogo TNG

In this activity, students will participate in an activity called “Walk & Turn”, will see a computer model based on the same activity. Of particular interest is the interleaving of activity types; live off-line activities and computer simulations, and the juxtaposition of real and virtual worlds. Following the activity students will use the CAST to analyze the activity as a complex adaptive system. For this activity using StarLogo Nova, see CS in Science, Module 1.

Swords and Shields

Swords and Shields is an interactive simulation game which teaches students some of the basic ideas of complex adaptive systems. After playing, you can show the students a model of the game in StarLogo TNG or StarLogo Nova to discuss basic concepts of agent-based modeling. Try it, it's fun! See also the variation to this activity in Resources, and see the related activity of TryAngles.