How Does Your Garden Grow Virtual Lab (Flash)

Virtual Labs

Update: December 2019

Major browsers, like Chrome, Edge, and Safari, block the use of Flash and Adobe has planned to completely kill the platform in 2020. There are few alternatives to the large amount of Flash games and science simulations. The ones listed below will no longer work. I have left this page as a placeholder, hoping that someday there will be alternatives.

Life Science

How do animal and plant cells work? - labeling exercise
What is the role of DNA and RNA in protein synthesis? - match bases on DNA and RNA
What is the life cycle of a simple plant? - label a chart/model showing a fern life cycle
How can microscopic protists and fungi be characterized? - observe and classify protists
Under what conditions do cells gain or lose water? - watch how cells react in different solutions
How are traits passed from parents to offspring? - punnet square practice showing traits of a strange (imaginary) primate
How are living things classified into groups? - 6 kingdoms, classification exercise
What are the functions of the parts of a flower? - labeling exercise
How is the flower color variation of Hydrangea related to the pH ? - change pH by mixing substances, observe color change
How do sponges, cnidarians, flatworms, and roundworms obtain food? - explore a reef, watch videos of feeding
How can natural selection be modeled? - models how prey species adapt to a changing environment
What kills germs? - innoculate petri dishes, observe zones of inhibition around substances such as bleach and antibiotics
Which colors of the light spectrum are most important for plant growth? - compare plant growth under different colored lights (
How are mollusks, worms, arthropods, and echinoderms classified? - classification exercise, group organisms
How are fish adapted to their environment? - examine the 7 main body forms of fish (flat, eel, bottom...)
How are birds adapted to their habitat? - examine beaks, wings, and feet of birds that live in different habitats
What are the major bones in the human body? - mainly a labeling exercise, putting together a skeleton
How can you design a healthful diet? - select food for a meal based on recommended calories
How do the parts of the respiratory system work together? - graphic of the respiratory system to label
How does human hearing compare with that of other animals? - observe how different animals respond to sound frequencies
How does the body protect itself against foreign substances? - focuses on blood types and antigens
How is energy transferred through a community of organisms? - examine a food chain, identify consumers
How do organisms react to changes in abiotic factors? - test respiration rate of fish in response to temperature
What are the different types of land environments? - investigation of the world's biomes
When is water safe to drink? - test water samples for bacteria, metals, nitrates, pH
How can you simulate the radioactive half-life of an element? - collect data for isotopes for a 20,000 year period
How is a controlled experiment performed? - determine how color affects heat absorption using different coats
What are the stages of development before birth? - click through images of a fetus
Modeling Ecosystems - create an energy pyramid and a pyramid of numbers
Ecosystems, Organisms, and Trophic Levels - click through biomes, make predictions about organisms, earn points
Communities and Biomes - create and maintain a virtual marine biome, adjust pH and other factors
Population Biology- compare P. caudatum to P. aurelia; competitive exclusion principle
Assessing Water Quality - study the effects of acid rain on different populations
Enzyme-Controlled Reactions - change the pH and amount of substrate, gather data on reaction rates
Cellular Pursuit (Game)
Cell Respiration - slide puzzle game
Cellular Reproduction - view virtual slides of normal and cancerous cells
Punnett Squares - choose fruit fly parents and show crosses
Sex-Linked Traits - using drosophila and eye color; P, F1 and F2 generations examined
Gene Regulation and Mutation - mRNA is used to determine amino acid sequences
Gene Splicing - use restriction enzymes to splice genes into new organisms
Tracking Grizzlies - sequence the DNA of hair samples of grizzlies
Biotechnology: Knocking Out Genes - determine what happens when a gene is missing
Plant Transpiration - different plants, variables are heat, fan and light (A)
Natural Selection - Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, showing organisms on different backgrounds
Classifying Using Biotechnology - using Gram stains and RNA/DNA sequencing
Earthworm Dissection - label the external and internal structures of the earthworm
Frog Dissection - examine internal and external structures of the frog
Dinosaur Dig- estimate the age and identify dinosaur fossils
Classification of Arthropods - compare five classes of arthropods
Mammals - compare mammalian skulls
Learned Behavior - observe how mealworms react to different stimuli
Muscle Stimulation - theshold stimulus is examined using weights and voltage
Blood Pressure - test blood pressure, factors such as age and gender examined
The Digestive and Endocrine System - read nutrition facts on labels, compare types of foods
Virtual Pathology - examine blood smeers, determine the pathogen
How does the European Corn Borer affect the yield of corn - model a controlled experiment by manipulating variables

Earth Science

What strategies are involved in solving a science problem? - test the efficiency of a compost pile
How can minerals be defined by their properties? - determine the identify of minerals based on different tests
How are rocks classified? - classify rocks by perfoming different tests
What are the advantages of alternative energy sources? - explore wind, solar and other energy sources
How can locations in the United States be identified by their geographic features? - identify locations in the U.S.
How are materials from the Earth broken down? - observe how weathering effects earth
How do glaciers shape the land? - identify landforms produced by glaciers
How do certain factors affect the erosion of soil by water? - show how vegetation can affect erosion
Where do most earthquake epicenters and volcanoes occur? - plot locations using longitude and latitude
How do seismograph stations help determine an earthquakes epicenter? - read a seismograph, find the epicenter
How does magma's composition affect a volcano's eruption? - look at different types of volcanoes
How can fossil and rock data determine when an organism lived? - look for fossils in sediment layers
What geologic evidence supports the existence of Pangaea?- reconstruct pangaea by examining fossils and glaciers
What is the structure of Earth's atmosphere?- investigate temperatur, density and pressure at different layers
How do meteorologists predict the weather? - weather stations are used to make predictions
How can locations be identified by their climate and topography? - longitude and lattitude, topography
How are tides affected by phases of the moon? - measure high and low tieds
What are some characteristics of the ocean and the ocean floor? - label ocean features
How much landfill space can be saved in a year by recycling? - categories of recyclable materials, landfill structure
How can we conserve water? - explore water use in a typical house
How does an artificial satellite stay in orbit? - relationships between orbital speed, period and altitude
How do Earth and the moon interact to cause the moon's phases? - exmaine phases of the moon
What are the dimensions of the solar system? - compare spectra of unknown stars to known substances
How does the chemical composition of stars determine their classification?
What is the Structure of the Earth's Atmosphere? - investigate the atmosphere by launching rockets

Physical Science

How does thermal energy affect the state of a substance? - temperature and changing states, analzying graphs
How can a molecular model be built? - build stick models
How can you tell which elements form chemical bonds? - arrange electrons in energy levels to predict how bonds will form
How is an atom's structure related to its position on the periodic table? compare elements, explore families
How are graphs used to represent data? - collect data on energy consumption and time of day and season (C)
How are physical and chemical changes distinguished? - watch videos, make observations about changes of state
What properties do elements have? - test mystery substances, use their properties to determine what they are
What is the pH of common solutions? - test the pH of orange juice, tomatoes and other substances
How can models of carbon molecules be built? - build carbon based molecules; organic chemistry
How does horizontal motion affect vertical motion? - launch balls vertically and horizontally
What is Newton's second law of motion? - drop different objects, choose a planet, compare acceleration
Why do things float? - use Archimedes principle to predict bouyancy
What are the relationships between kinetic energy and potential energy? - use a pendulum to compare KE to PE
What is the relationship between work, force, and distance - use the equation: W=fd
What are some characteristics of waves? - discover the relationship between wavelength and frequency
How is an oscilloscope used to tune a musical instrument? - match waveforms to tune a trombone
What is the electromagnetic spectrum? - identify and describe parts of the electromagnetic spectrum
How are lenses used to correct vision? - concave and convex lenses are used to correct vision in 6 patients
How are voltage, current, and resistance related? - use a schematic diagram to apply Ohm's Law
How does a transformer work? - calculate the correct ratio of turns of a wire to determine the correct voltage
How can a decision tree be used to generate binary numbers? - computer science simulation