Virtual Science Teachers
All VST mini-challenges in one place.
Choose a science category, then select a topic.
Atoms & the periodic table
Build vocabulary for atoms, elements, subatomic particles, and atomic models. Includes a matching worksheet and word wall.
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Word wall
Worksheet
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Atoms & the periodic table
Practice vocabulary for reading the periodic table, with a matching worksheet and word wall.
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Word wall
Worksheet
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Scientific thinking & investigations
Practice the meanings of questions, hypotheses, variables, controls, measurements, and data.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Practice vocabulary for evidence, claims, reasoning, models, criteria, and constraints.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Match safety equipment, including goggles and an eyewash, to its purpose.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Match measuring and laboratory tools to the quantities or tasks for which they are used.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Evaluate Earth science investigation questions for measurable variables and evidence.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Read about Wegener and evaluate the evidence, later discoveries, and revision of scientific explanations.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Recognize evidence, testing, peer review, and revision of scientific ideas.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Recognize evidence, testing, peer review, and revision of scientific ideas.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Distinguish descriptions of patterns from explanations and reject the claim that theories become laws.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Practice the meanings of questions, hypotheses, variables, controls, measurements, and data.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Identify what several diagrams, a globe, and a graph help represent.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Match measuring and laboratory tools to the quantities or tasks for which they are used.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Read a measurement model or match measurement quantities, metric units, and symbols.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Read a measurement model or match measurement quantities, metric units, and symbols.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Read a measurement model or match measurement quantities, metric units, and symbols.
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Scientific thinking & investigations
Read a measurement model or match measurement quantities, metric units, and symbols.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Sort statements about a photograph into direct observations and inferences based on evidence.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Sort statements about a photograph into direct observations and inferences based on evidence.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Sort statements about a photograph into direct observations and inferences based on evidence.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Sort statements about a photograph into direct observations and inferences based on evidence.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Sort statements about a photograph into direct observations and inferences based on evidence.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Classify questions using the activity’s criteria for an experiment with observable results.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Classify questions using the activity’s criteria for an experiment with observable results.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Classify questions using the activity’s criteria for an experiment with observable results.
Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Identify solar-system objects, their characteristics, and their locations.
Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Review terms for orbital motion, gravity, and changing solar-system models.
Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Place historical solar-system explanations and discoveries in chronological order.
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Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Compare relative sizes, distances, or characteristics of solar-system objects.
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Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Identify solar-system objects, their characteristics, and their locations.
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Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Identify solar-system objects, their characteristics, and their locations.
Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Identify solar-system objects, their characteristics, and their locations.
Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Read planetary distance data and compare distances or the relationship between distance and year length.
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Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Read planetary distance data and compare distances or the relationship between distance and year length.
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Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Compare relative sizes, distances, or characteristics of solar-system objects.
Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Change mass, distance, or gravity in a simulation and observe the effect on orbital motion.
Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Review rotation, revolution, seasons, lunar phases, eclipses, and tides.
Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Use the relative positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon to label lunar phases.
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Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Use the tilted Earth’s positions in orbit to identify Northern Hemisphere seasons.
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Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Relate the positions of Earth, the Moon, and the Sun to tidal patterns or tidal range.
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Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Complete the original paired lunar-phase and tide tasks as one resource.
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Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Relate the positions of Earth, the Moon, and the Sun to tidal patterns or tidal range.
Earth materials & landforms
Identify and describe Earth’s crust, mantle, and cores.
Earth materials & landforms
Classify plate-boundary motion and associated surface features and events.
Earth materials & landforms
Review terminology for breaking, moving, and depositing Earth materials.
Earth materials & landforms
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Earth materials & landforms
Identify rock types and the processes that form or change them.
Earth materials & landforms
Identify and describe Earth’s crust, mantle, and cores.
Earth materials & landforms
Classify plate-boundary motion and associated surface features and events.
Earth materials & landforms
Identify rock types and the processes that form or change them.
Earth materials & landforms
Sort photographed examples into weathering, erosion, and deposition, including ice wedging, moving sediment, deltas, and dunes.
Earth materials & landforms
Read a soil-depth graph and interpret how its values change over time.
Earth materials & landforms
Use supplied fossil assemblages and rock layers to infer relative order and changes in life through time.
Earth materials & landforms
Use supplied fossil assemblages and rock layers to infer relative order and changes in life through time.
Earth materials & landforms
Use supplied fossil assemblages and rock layers to infer relative order and changes in life through time.
Water, weather & climate
Review water-property terms, solutions, phase changes, and density.
Water, weather & climate
Review terms for water’s effects on land, climate, water quality, agriculture, and public health.
Water, weather & climate
Order how solar heating, evaporation, cooling, clouds, and precipitation interact.
Water, weather & climate
Identify atmospheric and hydrospheric components and processes powered by solar energy.
Water, weather & climate
Identify which water-cycle movements are driven by solar energy or gravity.
Water, weather & climate
Label evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection in a water-cycle diagram.
Energy & heat
Interpret a warm-water/cold-water demonstration and explain why convection circulates the fluid.
Water, weather & climate
Identify atmospheric layers and their characteristics.
Water, weather & climate
Match gases to proportions in an atmospheric-composition chart.
Water, weather & climate
Identify incoming solar energy, reflection, absorption, outgoing infrared energy, and greenhouse interactions.
Energy & heat
Review energy forms and the processes of energy transfer and transformation.
Water, weather & climate
Identify incoming solar energy, reflection, absorption, outgoing infrared energy, and greenhouse interactions.
Water, weather & climate
Identify incoming solar energy, reflection, absorption, outgoing infrared energy, and greenhouse interactions.
Water, weather & climate
Identify incoming solar energy, reflection, absorption, outgoing infrared energy, and greenhouse interactions.
Water, weather & climate
Distinguish short-term weather descriptions from longer-term climate patterns.
Water, weather & climate
Use isobars and high/low-pressure centers to infer likely weather and wind patterns.
Water, weather & climate
Identify fronts, air-mass movement, and the weather associated with warm and cold fronts.
Water, weather & climate
Identify fronts, air-mass movement, and the weather associated with warm and cold fronts.
Water, weather & climate
Identify fronts, air-mass movement, and the weather associated with warm and cold fronts.
Human impacts & resources
Classify energy sources as renewable or nonrenewable.
Human impacts & resources
Distinguish natural and human sources of air pollution.
Water, weather & climate
Distinguish causes of sea-level rise, including warming and land-ice melt, from coastal effects.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Identify measurable independent and dependent variables in plant-investigation questions.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Read about scientists and evaluate how observations and evidence changed scientific understanding.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Read about scientists and evaluate how observations and evidence changed scientific understanding.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Identify independent/dependent variables and controlled conditions in a supplied plant or cell-transport investigation.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Identify independent/dependent variables and controlled conditions in a supplied plant or cell-transport investigation.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Identify independent/dependent variables and controlled conditions in a supplied plant or cell-transport investigation.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Identify independent/dependent variables and controlled conditions in a supplied plant or cell-transport investigation.
Cells & body systems
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Cells & body systems
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Cells & body systems
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Cells & body systems
Evaluate microscope observations and choose evidence that living things consist of one or more cells.
Cells & body systems
Sort organelles into plant cells, animal cells, or both.
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Cells & body systems
Match cell structures or microscope-visible structures to names and functions.
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Cells & body systems
Match cell structures or microscope-visible structures to names and functions.
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Cells & body systems
Match cell structures or microscope-visible structures to names and functions.
Cells & body systems
Match cell structures or microscope-visible structures to names and functions.
Cells & body systems
Match cell structures or microscope-visible structures to names and functions.
Cells & body systems
Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells using the visible examples and cell-structure clues.
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Cells & body systems
Predict or observe diffusion or osmosis across a selectively permeable cell membrane.
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Cells & body systems
Predict or observe diffusion or osmosis across a selectively permeable cell membrane.
Cells & body systems
Predict or observe diffusion or osmosis across a selectively permeable cell membrane.
Cells & body systems
Identify levels of organization and connect tissue roles to an organ’s function.
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Cells & body systems
Compare unicellular and multicellular organisms and how cells perform life functions.
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Cells & body systems
Identify levels of organization and connect tissue roles to an organ’s function.
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Cells & body systems
Identify levels of organization and connect tissue roles to an organ’s function.
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Cells & body systems
Identify human body structures or systems and their major functions.
Cells & body systems
Identify human body structures or systems and their major functions.
Cells & body systems
Identify human body structures or systems and their major functions.
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Living things & ecosystems
Connect roots, stems, leaves, xylem, root hairs, and stomata with water movement or exchange.
Living things & ecosystems
Classify organisms using cell structure and characteristics of domains or kingdoms.
Living things & ecosystems
Classify organisms using cell structure and characteristics of domains or kingdoms.
Living things & ecosystems
Use a classification hierarchy, binomial names, or a dichotomous key to identify organisms.
Living things & ecosystems
Use a classification hierarchy, binomial names, or a dichotomous key to identify organisms.
Living things & ecosystems
Use a classification hierarchy, binomial names, or a dichotomous key to identify organisms.
Living things & ecosystems
Use a classification hierarchy, binomial names, or a dichotomous key to identify organisms.
Living things & ecosystems
Use a classification hierarchy, binomial names, or a dichotomous key to identify organisms.
Living things & ecosystems
Identify pollination structures and the role of an animal pollinator.
Cells & body systems
Identify photosynthesis inputs, outputs, light energy, or the roles of photosynthetic organisms.
Cells & body systems
Identify photosynthesis inputs, outputs, light energy, or the roles of photosynthetic organisms.
Cells & body systems
Identify photosynthesis inputs, outputs, light energy, or the roles of photosynthetic organisms.
Cells & body systems
Identify photosynthesis inputs, outputs, light energy, or the roles of photosynthetic organisms.
Cells & body systems
Identify photosynthesis inputs, outputs, light energy, or the roles of photosynthetic organisms.
Cells & body systems
Identify photosynthesis inputs, outputs, light energy, or the roles of photosynthetic organisms.
Cells & body systems
Identify photosynthesis inputs, outputs, light energy, or the roles of photosynthetic organisms.
Living things & ecosystems
Read a multiyear chlorophyll graph and interpret seasonal patterns.
Cells & body systems
Identify substances used or produced in cellular respiration and released cellular energy.
Cells & body systems
Identify substances used or produced in cellular respiration and released cellular energy.
Cells & body systems
Compare or connect photosynthesis and respiration through matter and energy.
Cells & body systems
Compare or connect photosynthesis and respiration through matter and energy.
Living things & ecosystems
Trace nitrogen among the atmosphere, soil, organisms, and bacteria.
Living things & ecosystems
Trace feeding relationships or energy flow in a chain or pyramid.
Living things & ecosystems
Trace feeding relationships or energy flow in a chain or pyramid.
Living things & ecosystems
Trace feeding relationships or energy flow in a chain or pyramid.
Living things & ecosystems
Trace feeding relationships or energy flow in a chain or pyramid.
Living things & ecosystems
Identify producers and consumer roles in a supplied food web.
Living things & ecosystems
Predict direct food-web effects, shared food sources, and predator-prey relationships.
Living things & ecosystems
Predict effects of drought, disease, pollution, or harvesting on food-web populations.
Living things & ecosystems
Identify producers and consumer roles in a supplied food web.
Living things & ecosystems
Trace energy paths, predict direct food-web effects, and consider decomposition.
Living things & ecosystems
Predict effects of drought, disease, pollution, or harvesting on food-web populations.
Living things & ecosystems
Match organisms with their feeding or interaction roles.
Living things & ecosystems
Interpret wolf and elk population patterns in a supplied graph and consider predation.
Living things & ecosystems
Connect physical or behavioral traits to survival in a particular environment.
Living things & ecosystems
Connect physical or behavioral traits to survival in a particular environment.
Living things & ecosystems
Sort examples into organism, population, community, and ecosystem.
Living things & ecosystems
Distinguish daily, seasonal, and long-term responses to environmental change.
Living things & ecosystems
Sequence ecosystem development or recovery after disturbance.
Living things & ecosystems
Sequence ecosystem development or recovery after disturbance.
Genetics & evolution
Relate a cell, nucleus, chromosome, DNA, and gene in a nested model.
Genetics & evolution
Complete the original Punnett-square and probability questions together.
Genetics & evolution
Complete the original Punnett-square and probability questions together.
Genetics & evolution
Complete the original Punnett-square and probability questions together.
Genetics & evolution
Identify generations, traits, mutation, and populations while using a rabbit simulation.
Genetics & evolution
Manipulate environmental conditions and observe or explain how survival and trait frequencies change over generations.
Genetics & evolution
Manipulate environmental conditions and observe or explain how survival and trait frequencies change over generations.
Genetics & evolution
Manipulate environmental conditions and observe or explain how survival and trait frequencies change over generations.
Genetics & evolution
Compare extinct organisms’ structures and relative sequence to interpret change through time.
Genetics & evolution
Compare extinct organisms’ structures and relative sequence to interpret change through time.
Genetics & evolution
Compare corresponding limb bones between a human and another mammal.
Genetics & evolution
Compare corresponding limb bones between a human and another mammal.
Genetics & evolution
Compare corresponding limb bones between a human and another mammal.
Cells & body systems
Classify biological molecules by examples, functions, or levels of structure.
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Cells & body systems
Classify biological molecules by examples, functions, or levels of structure.
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Genetics & evolution
Sequence how genetic instructions are used in making a protein.
Genetics & evolution
Sequence how genetic instructions are used in making a protein.
Cells & body systems
Identify the roles of enzyme, substrate, active site, and products.
Cells & body systems
Compare health indicators and food access, evaluate a claim, and distinguish an association from a causal conclusion.
Cells & body systems
Compare cellular bacteria with viruses and distinguish their structures and reproduction.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Evaluate physical-science questions for measurable variables and evidence.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Read about a scientist or engineer and evaluate the role of evidence, tools, repeated measurements, or research.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Read about a scientist or engineer and evaluate the role of evidence, tools, repeated measurements, or research.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Read about a scientist or engineer and evaluate the role of evidence, tools, repeated measurements, or research.
Scientific thinking & investigations
Identify variables and controls in a proposed wire-coil/electromagnet investigation.
Matter & chemical changes
Distinguish matter from examples of energy or other nonmatter concepts.
Atoms & the periodic table
Order changes in atomic models as scientific knowledge developed.
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Atoms & the periodic table
Identify subatomic particles, relative charge/mass, and features of atomic representations.
Atoms & the periodic table
Identify subatomic particles, relative charge/mass, and features of atomic representations.
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Atoms & the periodic table
Identify subatomic particles, relative charge/mass, and features of atomic representations.
Atoms & the periodic table
Identify subatomic particles, relative charge/mass, and features of atomic representations.
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Atoms & the periodic table
Identify an element’s symbol, atomic number, name, and average atomic mass in a periodic-table square.
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Atoms & the periodic table
Use proton, neutron, or electron counts to reason about isotopes, mass number, or charge.
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Atoms & the periodic table
Use proton, neutron, or electron counts to reason about isotopes, mass number, or charge.
Atoms & the periodic table
Use proton, neutron, or electron counts to reason about isotopes, mass number, or charge.
Atoms & the periodic table
Use proton, neutron, or electron counts to reason about isotopes, mass number, or charge.
Atoms & the periodic table
Use proton, neutron, or electron counts to reason about isotopes, mass number, or charge.
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Atoms & the periodic table
Use proton, neutron, or electron counts to reason about isotopes, mass number, or charge.
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Atoms & the periodic table
Use proton, neutron, or electron counts to reason about isotopes, mass number, or charge.
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Atoms & the periodic table
Classify elements as metals, nonmetals, or metalloids using their properties and table positions.
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Atoms & the periodic table
Classify or describe ionic and covalent bonding in compounds.
Atoms & the periodic table
Classify or describe ionic and covalent bonding in compounds.
Matter & chemical changes
Use mass and volume information in the original density challenge collection, including sink/float predictions.
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Matter & chemical changes
Test samples, compare pH, manipulate conditions, and answer the activity’s five questions.
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Matter & chemical changes
Classify everyday substances and particle representations as elements, compounds, or mixtures.
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Matter & chemical changes
Distinguish attraction between like substances from attraction to a different material.
Matter & chemical changes
Identify solute, solvent, solution, and what happens when salt dissolves.
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Matter & chemical changes
Identify solute, solvent, solution, and what happens when salt dissolves.
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Matter & chemical changes
Interpret particle motion, state changes, or a heating curve as thermal energy is added.
Energy & heat
Match familiar temperature reference points between Celsius and Kelvin scales.
Energy & heat
Match familiar temperature reference points between Celsius and Kelvin scales.
Matter & chemical changes
Interpret particle motion, state changes, or a heating curve as thermal energy is added.
Matter & chemical changes
Interpret particle motion, state changes, or a heating curve as thermal energy is added.
Matter & chemical changes
Interpret particle motion, state changes, or a heating curve as thermal energy is added.
Matter & chemical changes
Sort examples of physical changes and the formation of new substances.
Energy & heat
Use thermometer observations from dissolving substances to identify heat absorption or release.
Matter & chemical changes
Identify reactants, products, formulas, or coefficients in a displayed reaction.
Matter & chemical changes
Identify reactants, products, formulas, or coefficients in a displayed reaction.
Matter & chemical changes
Use supplied measurements and observations to reason that mass remains when salt dissolves or ice melts.
Matter & chemical changes
Use supplied measurements and observations to reason that mass remains when salt dissolves or ice melts.
Matter & chemical changes
Interpret a closed-system reaction and explain why gas production does not remove mass.
Matter & chemical changes
Use an already displayed reaction to account for atoms before and after rearrangement.
Matter & chemical changes
Use an already displayed reaction to account for atoms before and after rearrangement.
Matter & chemical changes
Use an already displayed reaction to account for atoms before and after rearrangement.
Matter & chemical changes
Use an already displayed reaction to account for atoms before and after rearrangement.
Matter & chemical changes
Choose coefficients to conserve the number of each type of atom.
Matter & chemical changes
Choose coefficients to conserve the number of each type of atom.
Matter & chemical changes
Choose coefficients to conserve the number of each type of atom.
Matter & chemical changes
Choose coefficients to conserve the number of each type of atom.
Energy & heat
Classify energy-transfer examples as conduction, convection, or radiation.
Energy & heat
Choose the direction of heat transfer between warmer and cooler objects.
Energy & heat
Distinguish stored and motion energy or relate their changes to roller-coaster position.
Energy & heat
Distinguish stored and motion energy or relate their changes to roller-coaster position.
Energy & heat
Read a graph showing kinetic energy versus mass while speed is constant.
Energy & heat
Identify how energy moves or changes form in illustrated systems.
Energy & heat
Identify how energy moves or changes form in illustrated systems.
Energy & heat
Identify how energy moves or changes form in illustrated systems.
Energy & heat
Identify how energy moves or changes form in illustrated systems.
Energy & heat
Trace energy forms and component roles in an electricity-generating system.
Energy & heat
Trace energy forms and component roles in an electricity-generating system.
Energy & heat
Trace energy forms and component roles in an electricity-generating system.
Energy & heat
Trace energy forms and component roles in an electricity-generating system.
Energy & heat
Trace energy forms and component roles in an electricity-generating system.
Forces & motion
Classify everyday examples by Newton’s first, second, or third law.
Forces & motion
Calculate net force and acceleration from forces and mass in a supplied scenario.
Forces & motion
Calculate net force and acceleration from forces and mass in a supplied scenario.
Forces & motion
Calculate net force and acceleration from forces and mass in a supplied scenario.
Forces & motion
Read or manipulate distance/displacement-time representations and connect them with motion.
Forces & motion
Distance, displacement, velocity, and motion graphs. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by Virtual Science Teachers.
Forces & motion
Calculate a velocity change, elapsed time, average acceleration, or final velocity from supplied values.
Forces & motion
Calculate a velocity change, elapsed time, average acceleration, or final velocity from supplied values.
Forces & motion
Calculate a velocity change, elapsed time, average acceleration, or final velocity from supplied values.
Forces & motion
Calculate a velocity change, elapsed time, average acceleration, or final velocity from supplied values.
Forces & motion
Calculate a velocity change, elapsed time, average acceleration, or final velocity from supplied values.
Forces & motion
Calculate a velocity change, elapsed time, average acceleration, or final velocity from supplied values.
Forces & motion
Distinguish mechanical work or classify machines by how their components apply a force.
Forces & motion
Distinguish mechanical work or classify machines by how their components apply a force.
Electricity & magnetism
Distinguish accumulated charge from charge flowing in a complete circuit.
Electricity & magnetism
Observe electron transfer and charge imbalance in a balloon/sweater simulation.
Electricity & magnetism
Observe attraction and repulsion among charged balloons and a neutral wall in a simulation.
Electricity & magnetism
Identify or manipulate circuit components, paths, or conditions affecting current and energy transfer.
Electricity & magnetism
Identify or manipulate circuit components, paths, or conditions affecting current and energy transfer.
Electricity & magnetism
Identify or manipulate circuit components, paths, or conditions affecting current and energy transfer.
Electricity & magnetism
Identify or manipulate circuit components, paths, or conditions affecting current and energy transfer.
Electricity & magnetism
Test materials in a simulated circuit and classify them by whether they allow current.
Electricity & magnetism
Identify or manipulate circuit components, paths, or conditions affecting current and energy transfer.
Waves, sound & light
Compare mechanical sound waves and electromagnetic light, including their need for a medium.
Waves, sound & light
Identify amplitude, wavelength, crests/troughs, or compressions/rarefactions in wave representations.
Waves, sound & light
Use a guitar-string video to connect vibration and decreasing amplitude with sound energy.
Waves, sound & light
Identify amplitude, wavelength, crests/troughs, or compressions/rarefactions in wave representations.
Waves, sound & light
Classify or label reflection, refraction, absorption, or transmission using examples of light interacting with materials.
Waves, sound & light
Classify or label reflection, refraction, absorption, or transmission using examples of light interacting with materials.
Waves, sound & light
Classify or label reflection, refraction, absorption, or transmission using examples of light interacting with materials.
Waves, sound & light
Order electromagnetic regions and connect wavelength/frequency ranges with uses.
Waves, sound & light
Order electromagnetic regions and connect wavelength/frequency ranges with uses.
Waves, sound & light
Order visible colors and interpret their frequency/wavelength ranges.
Waves, sound & light
Decode binary high/low wave patterns into letters.
Waves, sound & light
Review light-interaction and wave vocabulary through a crossword.
Atoms & the periodic table
Protons, neutrons, and electrons, plus isotopes and ions. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu).
PhET Studio preset · Licensing
Energy & heat
Particle motion, temperature, pressure, volume, and gas behavior. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu).
PhET Studio preset · Licensing
Matter & chemical changes
Density, displacement, floating, sinking, and buoyant force. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu).
PhET Studio preset · Licensing
Energy & heat
Kinetic, potential, and thermal energy through motion and friction. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu).
PhET Studio preset · Licensing
Forces & motion
Balanced and unbalanced forces, friction, mass, and acceleration. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu).
PhET Studio preset · Licensing
Electricity & magnetism
Build circuits and investigate current, voltage, conductors, series, and parallel paths. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu).
PhET Studio preset · Licensing
Matter & chemical changes
Acids, bases, neutral solutions, dilution, and changes in pH. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu).
PhET Studio preset · Licensing
Waves, sound & light
Amplitude, frequency, wavelength, particle motion, reflection, tension, and damping. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu).
PhET Studio preset · Licensing
Space & Earth–Moon–Sun
Gravitational force, orbital motion, mass, velocity, and scale. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu).
PhET Studio preset · Licensing
Matter & chemical changes
Particle motion, concentration, temperature, mass, and mixing. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu).
PhET Studio preset · Licensing
Cells & body systems
Diffusion across membranes, channels, gates, pumps, and selective transport. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu).
PhET Studio preset · Licensing
Water, weather & climate
Energy entering and leaving Earth, greenhouse gases, clouds, surfaces, and climate. Choose from 10 five-question mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu).
PhET Studio preset · Licensing
Water, weather & climate
Explain how cohesion and surface tension help a water strider stand on water and a water drop hold its shape.
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Water, weather & climate
Use a paper-towel video and particle models to distinguish adhesion, cohesion, and capillary action.
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Living things & ecosystems
Follow water through roots, xylem, and leaves; connect cohesion, adhesion, and transpiration to water transport in plants.
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Included with eligible VST memberships.
Matter & chemical changes
Explore why ice floats, how freezing changes volume and density, and how floating ice helps protect a pond’s liquid habitat.
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Included with eligible VST memberships.
Matter & chemical changes
Compare sugar and oil in water, use particle models to explain dissolving, and plan a fair comparison of materials.
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Included with eligible VST memberships.
Energy & heat
Compare equal masses of water and sand receiving or losing equal amounts of energy, then explain their different temperature changes.
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Included with eligible VST memberships.
Water, weather & climate
Compare coastal and inland temperature records and explain how the ocean’s heat capacity helps moderate seasonal temperatures.
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Included with eligible VST memberships.
Cells & body systems
Identify digestive organs on a labeled diagram, including the liver, stomach, pancreas, and intestines.
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Included with eligible VST memberships.
Cells & body systems
Trace the path food takes through the digestive tract and distinguish organs it passes through from organs that supply digestive substances.
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Included with eligible VST memberships.
Cells & body systems
Match digestive-organ functions to the correct locations on an anatomical diagram.
Cells & body systems
Distinguish mechanical digestion, which breaks food into smaller pieces, from chemical digestion, which changes food into simpler substances.
Living things & ecosystems
Sort animals according to whether they have a backbone.
Living things & ecosystems
Sort animals into major phyla using shared body structures and characteristics.
Living things & ecosystems
Group plants using vascular tissue, seeds, spores, cones, and flowers.
Living things & ecosystems
Match bird beak shapes to feeding functions and explain how those structures support survival.
Living things & ecosystems
Match leaf structures to plants and consider how the structures help them survive in their environments.
Atoms & the periodic table
Read a lithium periodic-table tile to distinguish chemical symbol, atomic number, proton count, and average atomic mass.
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Included with eligible VST memberships.
Atoms & the periodic table
Read a carbon periodic-table tile to distinguish chemical symbol, atomic number, proton count, and average atomic mass.
Atoms & the periodic table
Read an oxygen periodic-table tile to distinguish chemical symbol, atomic number, proton count, and average atomic mass.
Atoms & the periodic table
Read a sodium periodic-table tile to distinguish chemical symbol, atomic number, proton count, and average atomic mass.
Atoms & the periodic table
Read a magnesium periodic-table tile to distinguish chemical symbol, atomic number, proton count, and average atomic mass.
Atoms & the periodic table
Explain why the periodic table is ordered by atomic number and use proton counts to identify element positions.
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Included with eligible VST memberships.
Atoms & the periodic table
Identify vertical groups and horizontal periods and locate elements using their group and period.
Atoms & the periodic table
Use positions and material properties to classify elements as metals, metalloids, or nonmetals.
Atoms & the periodic table
Connect valence electrons with the shared chemical behavior of element families.
Atoms & the periodic table
Use evidence about element families to recognize and predict reactivity patterns.
Water, weather & climate
Identify fronts, pressure systems, and weather-map symbols using a practice map.
Water, weather & climate
Read a practice weather map’s precipitation, temperature, wind, fronts, and pressure systems.
Water, weather & climate
Compare three days on a practice weather map and predict changes as fronts and a storm system move.
Matter & chemical changes
Explore solids, liquids, gases, particle motion, phase changes, pressure, and water-cycle connections. Choose from 10 mini-challenges.
Simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://phet.colorado.edu).
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Use an activity as a quick check, guided practice, or review. Many mini-challenges give immediate feedback and let students try again. PhET challenges are grouped by simulation: select Launch Mini-Challenge to choose an activity. The matching printable resources stay together on the activity’s card.
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