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Move It!
Students observe a demonstration presented by the teacher covering different types of energy. They participate in an experiment where they study numerous physics vocabulary words and visit websites that demonstrate examples of these...
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Wasting Energy at Home
Students act as energy conservation engineers and identify the ways energy is conserved or wasted. They also discover many ways to personally conserve energy everyday. Students discover how engineers perform home energy audits to...
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What Is Energy? Short Demos
Young scholars engage in three short, hands-on, in-class demos which expand students' understand of energy. First, using peanuts and heat, young scholars see how the human body burns food to make energy. Then, they create paper snake...
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Energy Detectives at Work
Students are "Energy Detectives" working for an engineering firm that does energy evaluations at schools. In teams, they locate energy sources around the school, and record their findings on an Energy Detective Worksheet.
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Energetic Musical Instruments
Young scholars apply the principles and concepts associated with energy and the transfer of energy in an engineering context through the designing and making of a musical instrument. After the accomplishment of the design, students must...
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TE Activity: Hot Cans and Cold Cans
Students work on problems in which they investigate conduction, convection, and radiation. They attempt to maintain the warmth in one can of soda while cooling the other as much as possible in a thirty minute period. They examine how...
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Bombs Away!
Students design and build a device to protect and accurately deliver a dropped egg. They review and study a number of vocabulary words that are associated with this lesson. They work in a small group in order to develop a successful...
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TE Lesson: Energy Transfer in Musical Instruments
Young scholars study concepts of energy and energy transfer. They look at how these concepts apply to musical instruments. They study the law of conservation of energy. They use the concepts studied in the activity to design a musical...
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TE Lesson: Using Heat from the Sun
Students examine fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable fuels. They study investigate types of heat transfer such as convection, conduction, and radiation. They complete crossword puzzles based on the vocabulary. They design, construct and...
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TE Lesson: Renewable Energy
Students examine renewable energy sources such as solar, water, and wind. They experiment to determine how renewable energy is transformed into electricity. They investigate the role of engineers who work in the field of renewable energy.
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TE Activity: You're in Hot Water
Students study different ways of using solar energy. They design a solar water heater and determine how much water it can heat in a set amount of time. They examine how the heaters work by solar radiation and convection.
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Collisions and Momentum: Bouncing Balls
Middle schoolers explore the concepts of potential and kinetic energy by bouncing assorted balls on different surfaces and calculating the momentum for each ball. They give examples of collisions and momentum in sports and understand...
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What a Drag
Students learn examples of friction and drag, and suggest ways to reduce the impact of these forces. The equation that governs common frictional forces is introduced, and during a hands-on activity, students experimentally measure a...
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Electric Blues
Students brainstorm a list of electrical devices used in their home. They read an article about electricity usage in a heat wave. In groups, they create public service announcements promoting energy conservation. They share their ideas...
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As the Sun Burns
Students investigate the sun's energy. They explore various websites, demonstrate proper solar protection, conduct experiments using special UV beads, and complete worksheets.
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Environmental Education
Second graders discuss the different forms of energy and their sources. They work with a partner to answer a variety of questions revolving around energy. They develop a scientific attitude about renewable energy.
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Blackout!
Students read news reports and first-person accounts of a blackout in a large city and keep weblogs or journals. They take on different roles of people who live in the city or commute there to work and then use their journal accounts to...
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Wind Energy
Learners explore wind energy by making a pinwheel to model a wind turbine. They experiment with their turbine by placing it in different locations for optimal energy.
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What is the Best Insulator: Air, Styrofoam, Foil, or Cotton?
Students investigate the properties of insulators by attempting to keep a cup of water from freezing, and once it is frozen, to keep it from melting. They conduct the experiment, record and analyze the results, and answer discussion...
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Science: Motion Commotion
Students examine Newton's three laws of motion to discover what causes it and how it changes. They conduct motion experiments by building catapults and constructing balloon rockets. Finally, they conduct peer studies correlating...
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Newton Gets Me Moving
Young scholars discuss Newton's laws of motion. The conduct motion experiments by building "Newton Rocket Cars" from assorted materials. They propel the cars with rubber bands and wooden blocks and record the distance traveled on data...
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Let the Sun Shine!
Students investigate how the sun can be used for energy. They read a handout, discuss the pros and cons of passive solar building design, develop flashcard questions, and identify jobs that can be helped by solar energy.
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Solar Racing
Students design and construct a solar-powered model car. They watch a PowerPoint presentation, construct the car in small groups, and participate in a car race.
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Energy Conservation
Students explore the topic of energy conservation. They identify energy sources, complete a chart and a questionnaire, and write two paragraphs summarizing the lesson information and ways to conserve energy.