Thank you for using our Pocket Lab Activity Lessons. Below are the NGSS correlations for each Activity Lesson. Science and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts use numerals from the NGSS framework, shown at the bottom of this page.
Acceleration and Ramps
Acceleration and Ramps
NGSS Standard: HS-PS2; HS-ETS1
Core Concepts
Distance, displacement, speed, average speed, instantaneous speed, velocity, acceleration
Secondary Concepts
Newton’s Second Law, Angular speed, trains
Science and Engineering Practice
Building equitemporal tracks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
Crosscutting Concepts
1, 2, 4, 6
Atmosphere and Pressure
Atmosphere and Pressure
NGSS Standard: HS-PS2; HS-ESS2
Core Concepts
Atmospheric pressure, weight
Secondary Concepts
Buoyancy, Bernoulli’s principle
Science and Engineering Practice
Airbag Tower: 1- 8
Crosscutting Concepts
1, 2, 3, 4
Climate Change in a Box
Climate Change in a Box
NGSS Standard: HS-PS3; HS-ESS3
Core Concepts
Greenhouse Effect, transparency, opacity, temperature, heat
Secondary Concepts
Specific heat capacity, carbon sequestration, solar fuels
Science and Engineering Practice
Hot boxes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
Crosscutting Concepts
2, 3, 4, 5, 7
Energy at a Distance
Energy at a Distance
NGSS Standard: HS-PS3
Core Concepts
Energy, Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy, Radiant Energy
Secondary Concepts
Inverse-Square law, gravity, astronomy
Science and Engineering Practice
Intensity of light at a distance: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
Crosscutting Concepts
1, 2, 5
Good, But Not That Good: Accuracy and Precision
Good, But Not That Good: Accuracy and Precision
NGSS Standard: HS-PS2
Core Concepts
Accuracy, Precision
Secondary Concepts
Numeracy, human population growth
Science and Engineering Practice
Air pressure balance and calibration: 1 – 8
Crosscutting Concepts
1, 3, 4
Momentum and Crashing Cans
Momentum and Crashing Cans
NGSS Standard: HS-PS2
Core Concepts
Momentum, mass, velocity, conservation of momentum
Secondary Concepts
Bouncing, impulse
Science and Engineering Practice
Crashing cans: 1 – 8
Crosscutting Concepts
1, 2, 4, 5
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices
- Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
- Developing and using models
- Planning and carrying out investigations
- Analyzing and interpreting data
- Using mathematics and computational thinking
- Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
- Engaging in argument from evidence
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts
- Patterns. Observed patterns of forms and events guide organization and classification, and they prompt questions about relationships and the factors that influence them.
- Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation. Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multi-faceted. A major activity of science is investigating and explaining causal relationships and the mechanisms by which they are mediated. Such mechanisms can then be tested across given contexts and used to predict and explain events in new contexts.
- Scale, proportion, and quantity. In considering phenomena, it is critical to recognize what is relevant at different measures of size, time, and energy and to recognize how changes in scale, proportion, or quantity affect a system’s structure or performance.
- Systems and system models. Defining the system under study—specifying its boundaries and making explicit a model of that system—provides tools for understanding and testing ideas that are applicable throughout science and engineering.
- Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation. Tracking fluxes of energy and matter into, out of, and within systems helps one understand the systems’ possibilities and limitations.
- Structure and function. The way in which an object or living thing is shaped and its substructure determine many of its properties and functions.
- Stability and change. For natural and built systems alike, conditions of stability and determinants of rates of change or evolution of a system are critical elements of study.