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Interactive
PHET

Energy Forms and Changes

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Is the ice cooling down the water or is the water melting the ice? Here is a simulation that explores thermal energy transfer with iron, brick, and water. It demonstrates the flow of energy and what happens when each material is either...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
American Chemical Society

Heat, Temperature, and Conduction

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
How does heat move from one item to another, even when the items are in different states of matter? Pupils experiment with adding washers to hot water and adding hot washers to room temperature water to observe the heat transfer. 
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Unit Plan
Government of South Australia

Don't Waste Your Energy

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Don't lift another finger, this physical and environmental science unit has everything you need to begin teaching your class about energy. Starting with a look at the greenhouse effect, these lessons and activities take young scientists...
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Lesson Plan
Captain Planet Foundation

Solar Cooking Race

For Teachers 3rd
Study heat transfer with activities that focus on how heat energy works. Using a solar cooker, ice cubes, and heat transfer bracelets, kids experiment and record what they find by keeping ice cubes cold and vegetables hot.
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Lesson Plan
Center Science Education

Feeling the Heat

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What is an urban heat island? Middle school meteorologists find out by comparing temperatures at different locations on campus. They relate their findings to what might be happening in a concrete jungle and how it impacts local weather....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heat Energy Released or Absorbed in Chemical Reactions

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Chemistry whizzes test the change in water temperature produced by a burning candle and the change in acid temperature produced by magnesium metal. With these two laboratory activities they explore heat produced during chemical...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The Cold, Hard Truth

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Things are really getting heated in the lab! Science scholars scope out the facts about heat energy transfer using a simple lab from the K20 Center. Groups collaborate to observe temperature changes between hot metal and water, then use...
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Lesson Plan
Beyond Benign

Exothermic and Endothermic Reactions

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How can you tell the difference between endothermic and exothermic reactions? Chemistry scholars perform and observe two chemical reactions, measure the temperature throughout, then draw conclusions about changes in energy from their...
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Lesson Plan
Beyond Benign

What's In a Window?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Take a peek inside a window to heat efficiency. Scholars watch a demonstration to investigate how heat dissipates from several different cups of hot water. Scholars then relate the exchange to how heat escapes from the windows of a...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Bonneville

Where Does Energy Go?

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Convection currents aren't just a bunch of hot air. The second of five lessons in the Solar Updraft Towers unit focuses on energy transfer and convection currents. Young scientists watch six demonstrations that illustrate how warm air...
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Activity
NASA

Feel the Heat

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Heat water up like a NASA engineer. Using the engineering design process, investigators create a system to trap and move heat through a water-filled tube. Designers participate in a post-activity discussion that highlights the role of...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Bonneville

Passive Solar Water Heating

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Put empty milk jugs to good use. Scholars consider the characteristics they might change about a milk jug to improve light absorption. They design a passive solar water heater using the milk jug and then measure the temperature change in...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Bonneville

Making the Standard Solar Heater

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Heat up a lesson on solar energy. The first of three parts in the Experimenting with Solar Heaters unit has scholars construct solar heaters. They then use them to heat up a container of water and calculate the amount of heat energy...
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Instructional Video1:14
PBS

Light Absorption: Effects of Light | UNC-TV Science

For Students 6th - 12th
Beat the summer heat by exploring the properties of color. Scientists view a video explaining the relationship between light absorption and energy transfer using variables including intensity, time, and wavelength. A multiple-choice...
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Activity
PBS

Light Bulb Challenge

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Efficiency equals money where homes are concerned. A comparative lesson asks learners to measure heat output of incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs. They follow their investigation with calculating the cost of using the two...
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Activity
PBS

Insulation Station

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
It's all about the material. Learners experiment with different substances as they try to keep an ice cube from melting. They draw conclusions by answering a set of questions about the types and amount of material that had the best result.
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Activity
1
1
American Chemical Society

Heat Up and Cool Down

For Students K - 5th
Don't be so dense! Using food coloring, pupils conduct two experiments with the difference in densities of hot and cold water. In the first experiment, learners add dyed hot and cold water into room temperature water and observe how the...
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Activity
1
1
American Chemical Society

Heat - Energy on the Move

For Students K - 5th
Turn up the heat. Individuals conduct two experiments to observe the difference between heated water and air versus cold water and air. Using food coloring, pupils observe the movement of the molecules in the two temperatures of water. A...
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Motors

For Teachers 4th
It's time to get moving! The 13th lesson in a 14-part unit on electricity and magnetism explores the relationship between electricity and mechanical energy. Budding scientists build motors and experiment with different components to...
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Hot Wire S’mores

For Teachers 4th
The proof is in the marshmallows. Believing that electric energy can transform into heat energy can be abstract, but a hands-on lesson gives pupils a concrete example. Young scientists cut marshmallows with copper wires before and...
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Activity
1
1
NOAA

The Climate Team: Make a Solar Heat Engine

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Learners investigate how solar energy is converted into heat in part two of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They build and test homemade solar cookers to boil water and cook rice. Pupils consider the impact of heat...
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Activity
1
1
NOAA

The Great, Glowing Orb What You Will Do: Make a Solar Heat Engine

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
How is solar energy able to move wind and water to control the climate? Scholars explore the concept of solar energy in the first of 10 activities in the Discover Your Changing World series. They follow instructions to build homemade...
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eBook
Utah Education Network (UEN)

Utah Open Textbook: 6th Grade Science

For Students 6th Standards
There are many interactions among living things and their surroundings. By completing a reading, scholars learn about the Earth, the moon, and the sun and how they relate to the solar system. They also investigate the basics of physical...
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eBook
Utah Education Network (UEN)

Utah Open Textbook: 3rd Grade Science

For Students 3rd Standards
How do we interact with Earth? Scholars learn about the sun, Earth, moon, forces, gravity, and heat sources by reading a text and performing hands-on demonstrations. They also differentiate between living and non-living things using...