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Physical Science: Solar Energy
Students review and discuss how Solar energy and electricity produce light and heat. They create a photo/picture journal and include pictures taken during solar energy activities to a PowerPoint slide presentation.
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What is the Underlying Causality of a Simple Circuit?
Students explore simple circuitry. They compare four models of circuits and explain how each works. Students contrast the cyclic cequential and cyclic simultaneous models using a shower curtain illustration and software simulation.
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TE Activity: Build a Charge Detector
Students examine how electrical force takes place between two objects by building an electroscope. They apply the electroscope to determine an objects' charge intensity and to see what factors influence electric force.
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Bulbs & Batteries Side by Side
Young scholars build parallel circuits, exploring how they function and looking at their unique features. They describe how current changes when batteries are added in parallel or removed from a parallel arrangement, demonstrate the...
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Wire Maze
Middle schoolers investigate what causes electrical circuits to work. They construct a wire circuit and pass a paperclip through the maze, trying not to touch the wire, and answer discussion questions.
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Conserving Electricity: Turn It Off
Second graders explore causes of air pollution and relate them to energy conservation.
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Switcheroo
Students construct a simple switch and determine what objects and what types of materials can be used to close a switch in a circuit and light a light bulb.
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Electrifying the World
Students explore the fundamental concepts of electricity. They examine different circuit diagrams to study how electricity flows. They finish by creating their own simple circuit.
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Using and Paying for Electricity: Understanding Your Bill
Students define key terms found on a sample electric bill. They review the past, present and future tenses of the verbs "pay," "owe," "receive" and "call." They conjugate the past, present and future tenses of the verbs "return,"...
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Basic Circuits
Middle schoolers explain the difference between a closed circuit and an open circuit. They construct simple to more complicated series and parallel circuits. They explain the difference between a series and parallel circuit.
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Nuclear Waste
Students identify pros and cons of nuclear power, and analyze problems surrounding nuclear waste and how to make decisions regarding its disposal.
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Introduction to Electricity
Students experiment with static electricity and make their own electrical circuits. Students experiment with their circuits to explore conductors and insulators. Students identify Thomas Edison as the person who invented the electric bulb.
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Let it Shine
Fifth graders investigate concepts of electricity by watching a video about Ben Franklin, participating in a web activity about simple circuits and experimenting with creating simple circuits. They examine conductors and insulators.
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Electricity: A Friend, a Foe
Students study what electricity can do and what some of the associated dangers are.
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How is Lightning Formed
Pupils research lightning paying particular attention to how it is formed, where it is most likely to occur, and how most people struck by lightning survive.
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Alexander Graham Bell's Patent for the Telephone and Thomas Edison's Patent for the Electric Lamp
Students read a short biographical account about Bell and student B about Edison. Ask each pair to exchange information and determine what qualities these inventors shared. Ask students if they think all inventors share these qualities.
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Thunderstorms
Fourth graders investigate the attraction between two different charges to explain the concept of lightning in a thunderstorm.
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Opposites Attract
Learners examine the properties of magnets and static electricity. They participate in experiments that demonstrate the behaviors of charged particles, and record their data on a worksheet.
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Static Electricity Game
Fifth graders explore further the importance of static electricity by playing a game which reinforces and reviews static electricity concepts.
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Circuits
Fifth graders discover the differences between parallel and series circuits. They draw and construct the two types of circuits using wires, bulbs, batteries, sockets, and switches.
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Electricity
First graders become aware of the presence of static electricity. They create static electricity using friction.
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A Bright Idea
Students establish an understanding of electricity and then demonstate that understanding by creating a basic experiment involving a lemon battery. They reflect on the importance of electricity.
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Electricity
Students examine basic electrical components. They build a simple electrical circuit which rings a buzzer. They experiment with conducting and nonconducting materials.
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Inventions 1: Edison and the Light Bulb
Students are introduced to the realm and power of inventions, and help them to better recognize their impact on people and society.