Grade 11 Lesson plan
Why the Denholt Pump Cavitates: Vapor Pressure and Lift
A grade 11 lesson using a syringe demonstration and a fictional pump station record to explain cavitation as boiling at reduced pressure, with head math.
NGSS · High School (9–12)
HS-PS1-3 Investigate bulk properties to infer forces between particles
Plan and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to compare the structure of substances at the bulk scale to infer the strength of electrical forces between particles.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on understanding the strengths of forces between particles, not on naming specific intermolecular forces (such as dipole-dipole). Examples of particles could include ions, atoms, molecules, and networked materials (such as graphite). Examples of bulk properties of substances could include the melting point and boiling point, vapor pressure, and surface tension.
Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include Raoult's law calculations of vapor pressure.
Why water teaches this standard well
Surface tension, one of the standard's named bulk properties, is water's signature behavior and a direct window into its strong hydrogen bonding. Investigating why water beads, climbs, and dissolves so much explains the molecular reasons behind nearly every treatment and quality process students will study.
Materials tagged with this code are written to the full standard , including its clarification statement and assessment boundary, and each carries a written note explaining the alignment. See how we review materials.
10 materials aligned to HS-PS1-3
Lesson plans
Grade 10 Lesson plan
Driftwood Springs Water Treatment: Breaking Down the Treatment Train
A grade 10 lesson where students sequence a fictional plant's treatment stages and use turbidity data to judge compliance with a real federal limit.
Worksheets
Grade 11 Worksheet
Thornbury's Jar Test: Coagulation Chemistry and Turbidity Removal
Grade 11 students calculate turbidity-removal percentages from a fictional plant's alum jar test and explain coagulation using particle surface charge.
Labs & experiments
Grade 10 Lab / experiment
Clearing Cloudy Water: A Coagulation and Flocculation Jar Test
A grade 10 lab where students add different alum doses to muddy water, run a jar test, and rate how coagulation and settling change water clarity.
Grade 10 Lab / experiment
Counting Water Drops on a Coin: A Surface-Tension Lab
A grade 10 lab where students count how many drops of plain and soapy water a coin holds, then use the results as evidence of water's hydrogen bonding.
Grade 11 Lab / experiment
Lindmere's Taste-and-Odor Problem: A Carbon Dose Adsorption Lab
Grade 11 students dose colored water with activated carbon at four levels, compare it with a sand control, and turn their removal data into a full-scale carbon feed rate.
Grade 9 Lab / experiment
Salt, Conductivity, and Dissolved Solids: A Grade 9 Water Lab
A grade 9 lab where students test how dissolved salt changes water's electrical conductivity, then link the result to dissolved solids and reverse osmosis.
Grade 11 Lab / experiment
Surface Tension and Hydrogen Bonding: A Coin-and-Droplet Lab
A grade 11 chemistry lab where students measure surface tension with a penny-and-dropper method, comparing plain water to a surfactant solution to study hydrogen bonding.
Classroom activities
Grade 12 Classroom activity
Surface Tension, Foam, and PFAS at Ninebark Lake
A grade 12 four-station rotation comparing bulk properties of water and alcohol, then using surfactant behavior to explain why lake foam concentrates PFAS.
Quizzes & test questions
Grade 10 Quiz & test questions
Lake Everhart Raw Water Chemistry and Testing Assessment
A grade 10 chemistry assessment mixing multiple-choice, short-answer, and computation items on pH, dissolved oxygen, and water's solvent properties.