+
Interactive
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Mutations Are Changes in Genetic Information

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
A red delicious apple tree with a simple mutation means we now benefit from the existence of golden delicious apples. Learn how simple mutations change genetic information in DNA sequences. Using biographies, videos, and animations,...
+
Lab Resource
Colorado State University

How Does the Earth Cool Itself Off?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Where does all the heat go when the sun goes down? An interesting lesson has learners explore this question by monitoring the infrared radiation emitted over time. They learn that hot spots cool more quickly that cooler spots.
+
Lab Resource
Colorado State University

Why Does it Get Colder on a Clear Night than a Cloudy Night?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Clouds are nature's insulator! A lab investigation asks learners to use an infrared thermometer to measure differences in infrared temperatures. They find that pointing the thermometer at a cloud has a much different result than pointing...
+
Lab Resource
Colorado State University

What Does Color Have to Do with Cooling?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Study the rate of cooling for objects of different colors. Learners focus on the reflection and absorption of infrared light. Your classes may be surprised to learn objects that heat the slowest also cool the slowest.
+
Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Homeostasis of Thermoregulation

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Whether you're battling the flu or trying to warm up on a chilly day, your body's ability to react to temperature change is fascinating! Anatomy scholars discover the fantastic feedback loops that control body temperature in a rigorous...
+
Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Marie Curie's Classroom

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
What makes some elements stable and others radioactive? Scholars adjust the number of protons and neutrons in an element then observe its decay. The simulation includes a graphical representation and the chemical formula, as well as...
+
Lesson Plan
American Physiological Society

Why is Kettle Corn Cooked in Copper Pots?

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The kitchen — it's not just for eating anymore! Specific heat is often a difficult concept to grasp, so give it context by relating it to cooking. Learners gain experience in the principles of thermal energy transfer by designing an...
+
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Global Warming of the Atmosphere

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Scientists know the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today is higher than at any point in the last 800,000 years. Scholars learn about the amount of thermic radiation absorbed by air and what happens to the rest of the...
+
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Climate Zones

For Teachers 5th - 11th Standards
The climate at the equator is hotter than the climate at the poles, but why? The lesson goes in depth, explaining how the angles of illumination relate to the heating rate at different latitudes and seasons. Scholars use a strong lamp,...
+
Unit Plan
Columbus City Schools

Keeping It Hot!

For Teachers 7th Standards
Hot off the presses, this collection of thermal energy activities, lessons, and printables is sure to amaze. Demonstrate how thermal energy moves about in a system using simple materials. Pupils demonstrate their understanding...
+
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

The Thermal Layers of Oceans

For Teachers 7th - 11th Standards
How much does the sun heat up a lake or ocean? Scholars use a cup and a strong lamp to investigate the heat transfer and thermal layers in the ocean to come up with the answer. They collect data and graph it in order to better understand...
+
Interactive
McGraw Hill

Blackbody Radiation Interactive

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
Noting the color of a star is equivalent to taking its temperature! A creative lesson describes the connection between a star's temperature and the color it emits. As pupils interact with a simulation, they learn how to connect the...
+
Interactive
McGraw Hill

Stellar Spectroscopy Interactive

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
Stars seem to be a far away mystery... but it turns out we know much more about stars than one would think! An engaging lesson shows learners how to read a light spectrum to determine the temperature and chemical makeup of a star. They...
+
Assessment
Science Matters

Post-Assessment Energy

For Teachers 6th Standards
After nine lessons and activities about energy, here is the final assessment. The 20-questions include multiple choice, multiple choice with justification, short answer, answer analysis, and labeling diagrams to challenge learners.
+
Handout
National Institute of Open Schooling

Radioactive Pollution

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Radioactive pollutants can enter the body through ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or injection. The last lesson in a series of 36 introduces pupils to radioactive pollution. They study its sources, both natural and man-made, its...
+
Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Dangers of Radiation Exposure

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Gamma radiation, which is harmful, is useful in treating cancers. In the second lesson in a series of four, young scientists take surveys and calculate their yearly exposure to ionizing radiation. Then they read about how harmful their...
+
Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Sensing the Invisible: The Herschel Experiment

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
The electromagnetic spectrum includes everything from very powerful gamma rays (which are used to treat cancer) to much weaker radio waves (which include microwaves). Through a hands-on activity, scholars explore the temperature...
+
Interactive
PHET

Alpha Decay

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
There are different types of radioactive decay, and alpha decay is when there are too many protons in a nucleus. Here is a simulation that shows alpha particles being emitted from a polonium nucleus. Learners see how radioactive decay...
+
PPT
National Energy Education Development Project

Energy Works: Yes, Indeed it Does!

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Moving from its definition to how it moves and its different types, scholars see different examples and then move into its application and use in everyday lives, in an energy-based presentation.   
+
PPT
Urbana School District

Thermodynamics

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed Standards
Entropy, it isn't what it used to be. Presentation includes kinetic-molecular theory, heat and internal energy, thermal equilibrium, temperature scales, laws of thermodynamics, entropy, latent heat of fusion, specific heat, calorimetry,...
+
Lesson Plan
NASA

Cosmic Microwave Background

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Begin your next class with a BANG! Pupils discuss the formation of our universe and its expansion before proceeding with an activity designed to demonstrate what most likely occurred billions of years ago. They conclude with a discussion...
+
Lesson Plan
NASA

What’s the Problem with Isotropy?

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Some patterns are so small, we can't see them without the help of technology. The same is true for cosmic microwave background radiation. During this activity and discussion, scholars examine both anisotropic and isotropic items and...
+
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Heat and Thermal Energy Transfer

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does radiation affect our daily lives? Answer that question and others with a lesson that discusses radiation and its use in thermal energy transfer through electromagnetic waves. Pupils investigate vaporization and evaporation while...
+
Activity
It's About Time

Exploring Energy Resource Concepts

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Please turn off the lights to conserve energy. Or not, after all energy is always conserved. This first lesson in an eight-part series includes three parts. Part A contains one hands-on activity and two inquiry-based experiments on heat...