9th Grade Basic Principles Resources

Parachute STEM Lab - Canopy Diameter vs Descent Time | Scientific Method

Created by
TWFScience

Turn a simple parachute build into a rigorous, print-and-go STEM investigation. Students test how canopy diameter affects descent time, practicing the full scientific method: defining variables and controls, following a consistent drop procedure, recording 10 trials per size, calculating averages, a

6th - 10th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: Newton's Three Laws of Motion Worksheets & Activities Bundle | 1st, 2nd, 3rd Law

Cells and Organelles: Structure & Function CER + 50 Question Auto-Graded Quiz

Created by
TWFScience

Cell Structure & Organelles - CER and Review Bundle (10 Days)CER Includes: Hot & Cold Presentations + Teacher Answer KeyReview Includes: 50 Auto-Graded Google Form QuestionsConcepts Covered✅ Structure–function of organelles (nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, ER/Golgi, vacuole, membrane)...

7th - 10th Basic Principles, Biology

NGSS MS-LS1-1, MS-LS1-2, MS-LS1-3+12

Pendulum STEM Lab - Pendulum Length vs Swing Period | Scientific Method

Created by
TWFScience

Give students a true inquiry experience: they build a simple pendulum, change only the string length, and use repeated timings to determine how the period changes with length. The packet guides them from planning a fair test to organizing data, averaging, and graphing—then wrapping up with clear CER

6th - 10th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: STEM Investigations Growing Bundle — Scientific Method, Design, Data & CER

Mitosis and Cell Division CER + 50 Question Auto-Graded Review Quiz

Created by
TWFScience

Mitosis and the Cell Cycle - CER and Review Bundle (10 Days)CER Includes: Hot & Cold Presentations + Teacher Answer KeyReview Includes: 50 Auto-Graded Google Form QuestionsConcepts Covered✅ Why cells divide: reproduction, growth, repair/replacement ✅ Cell size & diffusion constraints (why...

7th - 10th Basic Principles, Biology

NGSS MS-LS1-1, MS-LS1-2, MS-LS1-3+12

Also included in: SNC2D Ontario Grade 10 Science Biology - Cells & Body Systems Full Course Unit

Paper Table STEM Lab: Which Support Shape Holds the Most Weight?

Created by
TWFScience

Give students a fast, hands-on engineering investigation: build a paper “table,” change only the support shape, and measure which design holds the greatest load. With tight build rules and simple materials, students plan a fair test, collect one clear data point per shape, and create a comparison ba

6th - 10th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: STEM Investigations Growing Bundle — Scientific Method, Design, Data & CER

Blow Cup Challenge STEM Lab: Bernoulli, Airflow, and Optimal Gap Distance

Created by
TWFScience

Engage your students with a fast-paced, low-prep engineering and physics lab that turns two cups and a table tennis ball into a rich investigation of airflow and pressure. Students use the full scientific method to test how the gap between two cups affects the success rate of transferring a ball by

6th - 10th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: STEM Investigations Growing Bundle — Scientific Method, Design, Data & CER

Paper Helicopter STEM Lab: Blade Length vs Descent Time | Whirlybird

Created by
TWFScience

Turn a single sheet of paper into a powerful investigation of forces and motion. In this hands-on lab, students build and test paper “whirlybirds” with different blade lengths to determine how blade size affects descent time. The activity emphasizes testing, data quality, graphing, and claim–evidenc

6th - 10th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: STEM Investigations Growing Bundle — Scientific Method, Design, Data & CER

Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis | CER + 50 Question Auto-Graded Quiz

Created by
TWFScience

Help students write stronger scientific explanations—without piling on grading. This 10-day CER pack builds understanding of photosynthesis and cellular respiration with scaffolded (Cold) and transfer (Hot) versions of each prompt, a Teacher Answer Key, and a 50-question Google Forms question bank

6th - 9th Basic Principles, Biology, Earth Sciences

NGSS MS-LS1-1, MS-LS1-2, MS-LS1-3+12

Yeast Balloon STEM Lab: Sugar % vs CO2 Production | Scientific Method

Created by
TWFScience

Turn a cup, balloon, and pantry ingredients into a full scientific-method investigation. Students explore how sugar concentration changes yeast fermentation by measuring balloon circumference as a proxy for CO₂ volume. The lab emphasizes variables, fair testing, repeated trials, graphing, and CER wr

6th - 10th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: STEM Investigations Growing Bundle — Scientific Method, Design, Data & CER

Halloween Ghost Balloon STEM Investigation: The Science of Lift and Reaction

Created by
TWFScience

Tonight is the Hallowbrook Harvest, and the town’s glowing Pumpkin Beacon—the lantern that keeps mischievous spirits from pranking the candy supply—has dimmed. The only way to recharge it is to airlift a ghost balloon up to the Witching Line so it can soak up protective moonlight.Your team has been

6th - 10th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: Halloween Science Activities & Investigations | Labs, Stations, STEM, Readings

Halloween Candy Combustion Calorimetry STEM Lab Food Energy & Chemical Reactions

Created by
TWFScience

Midnight approaches in Hallowbrook, and the town’s Lantern of Wards is flickering. To keep prankster spirits from short-circuiting Halloween, we must fuel the lantern with treats that have enough Treat Heat—the real, measurable energy hidden inside candy. You are the Order of the Calori-mancers. You

9th - 12th Basic Principles, Chemistry, Physical Science

NGSS HS-PS3-1, HS-PS3-4

Also included in: Halloween Science Activities & Investigations | Labs, Stations, STEM, Readings

Balloon Lift Design STEM Investigation: The Science of Lift and Reaction

Created by
TWFScience

Turn a bottle, balloon, and household ingredients into a full engineering-design challenge! Students test how different amounts of baking soda affect CO₂ gas production and balloon lift.The lab emphasizes variables, fair testing, repeated trials, data collection, graphing, and CER writing—perfect fo

6th - 10th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: STEM Investigations Growing Bundle — Scientific Method, Design, Data & CER

Candy Chemistry Combustion Calorimetry STEM Lab Food Energy & Chemical Reactions

Created by
TWFScience

Turn everyday candy into a rigorous calorimetry and energy conservation investigation. Students burn a small candy sample under a soda-can calorimeter, measure the water’s temperature change, calculate q = m·c·ΔT, and estimate energy per gram (J/g and kcal/g)—then deduce from evidence which candy ha

9th - 12th Basic Principles, Chemistry, Physical Science

NGSS HS-PS3-1, HS-PS3-4

Also included in: Valentine's Day Science Activities | STEM, Project, Readings | High School

Haunted Swamp STEM Lab Investigation: Halloween Water Filtration Challenge

Created by
TWFScience

A mysterious toxic spill has cursed the Haunted Swamp! Your class of scientists has been summoned by the local town council to design and build a filtration system that can rescue the swamp’s ghostly residents before Halloween night. Each team must engineer, test, and optimize a filter that clears “

6th - 10th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: Halloween Science Activities & Investigations | Labs, Stations, STEM, Readings

Survival of the Creepiest – Halloween Creature Adaptation STEM Challenge

Created by
TWFScience

On Halloween night, the Earth's climate fractures into eerie realms warped by monstrous weather. Only creatures born of imagination (and backed by science adaptation) can survive. Your mission: design a horrifying yet biologically believable organism that has adapted to, thrives in, one of these cur

6th - 10th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-4+5

Also included in: Halloween Science Activities & Investigations | Labs, Stations, STEM, Readings

Monster Genetics Challenge – Punnett Squares & Heredity Halloween STEM Lab

Created by
TWFScience

Under the eerie glow of a full moon, strange creatures are stirring in the lab—each one a mix of mysterious genes and spooky surprises! It’s up to your students to uncover the secrets of monster heredity by predicting, combining, and sketching their own genetically engineered beasts.In this interact

9th - 12th Basic Principles, Biology

Also included in: Genetics, Heredity, DNA, and Traits - 5E Lesson Bundle | Genotype and Phenotype

Halloween Creatures Dichotomous Key – A Spooky Classification Challenge

Created by
TWFScience

The classroom lights flicker. A chill skims across the lab tables as ten mysterious creatures shuffle, flap, and ooze into view. Your students have one tool to survive the night: a dichotomous key. With each YES/NO choice, they narrow the suspects—bat or crow, wisp or witch’s familiar—until every mo

6th - 11th Basic Principles, Biology

Also included in: Halloween Science Activities & Investigations | Labs, Stations, STEM, Readings

Marble Ramp: Height vs Average Speed STEM Investigation | Scientific Method

Created by
TWFScience

Give students a fast, hands-on motion investigation: set up a simple marble ramp, change only the ramp height, and measure how height affects average speed. With clear test rules and simple materials, students plan a fair test, collect multiple times for each height, calculate average speed, and cre

6th - 11th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: STEM Investigations Growing Bundle — Scientific Method, Design, Data & CER

Clean Water Filtration STEM Investigation | Scientific Method 6th, 7th, 8th

Created by
TWFScience

Give students a fast, hands-on engineering investigation: build a low-cost water filter, change only one design choice at a time (layer order, thickness, sealing, or adding charcoal), and measure which design makes the clearest water the fastest—all while staying under a classroom budget cap. With t

6th - 11th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: STEM Investigations Growing Bundle — Scientific Method, Design, Data & CER

Beetle Genetics STEM Investigation | Scientific Method | 6th, 7th, 8th

Created by
TWFScience

Give students a fast, hands-on genetics investigation: simulate beetle heredity, change only the parent genotypes, and use Punnett squares to predict and compare offspring outcomes. With print-and-cut genotype cards and clear scaffolds, students run multiple monohybrid crosses, extend to one dihybri

6th - 11th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: STEM Investigations Growing Bundle — Scientific Method, Design, Data & CER

Adaptations by Design - Extreme Environments | STEM Investigation 6th, 7th, 8th

Created by
TWFScience

Students will design a biologically plausible organism, choose one extreme environment, and justify how its adaptations solve real environmental pressures. With a trait bank, word bank, a structured CER, and a Survival Index that rolls into a class bar graph, students connect structure → function →

6th - 11th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2+1

Also included in: STEM Investigations Growing Bundle — Scientific Method, Design, Data & CER

Newton 1st Law of Motion STEM Investigation | Penny and Index Card Inertia Test

Created by
TWFScience

Students will investigate Newton’s First Law of Motion by testing how different masses behave when the support beneath them is removed rapidly. Using an index card, a coin, and a cup, students flick the card to observe whether objects of varying mass drop straight into the cup or move with the card.

6th - 11th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-1, MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1+2

Also included in: Newton's Three Laws of Motion STEM Investigations Bundle — Scientific Method

Newton's Second Law of Motion STEM Investigation | Balloon Rocket, 2nd Law

Created by
TWFScience

Students will investigate Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion by testing how changing the mass carried by a balloon rocket affects its acceleration. Using a taut string track, a straw, a balloon, and removable mass clips, students run repeated launches to measure travel time and calculate average speed. Thro

6th - 11th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-1, MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1+2

Also included in: Artemis Missions, Moon Bases, and Future Space Colonization Unit Bundle

Newton's Third Law of Motion STEM Investigation | Thrust vs Nozzle Size, 3rd Law

Created by
TWFScience

Students will investigate Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion by testing how changing the nozzle opening of a water-powered bottle jet affects the distance it travels. Using a plastic bottle, interchangeable bottle-cap nozzles with different hole diameters, and a simple launch cradle, students observe how th

6th - 11th Basic Principles, Physical Science, Physics

NGSS MS-PS2-1, MS-PS2-2, MS-ETS1-1+2

Also included in: Newton's Three Laws of Motion STEM Investigations Bundle — Scientific Method