How do the changing seasons affect the homes where we live? This question is at the forefront of engineering and design projects. Challenge your physical science class to step into the role of an architect to build a model home...

Let's heat things up! This simple experiment demonstrates for young scholars the important role the sun plays in providing the earth with energy. Place one cup of water in direct sunlight and one in shade, then take measurements in order...

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...

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. 

The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth lesson in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal energy. Scholars build...

Two sequential parts to this lesson introduce your class to the electromagnetic spectrum, the ability to absorb radiant energy, and the pigments in leaves that are responsible for collecting sunlight to be used in the photosynthetic...

Introduce your earth science enthusiasts to the earth's energy budget. Teach them using an informative set of slides that include illuminating lecturer's notes, relevant vocabulary, embedded animations, colorful satellite maps, and a...

Heat things up in your physical science class with this interactive lesson series on thermodynamics. Through a series of class demonstrations and experiments, young scientists learn how heat is transferred through conduction,...

One of the key objectives of Europe's Copernicus Earth program is to monitor the temperatures of the oceans and seas on Earth. Young scholars learn the effects of different heat capacities through two experiments. These experiments...

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...

Engage young scientists in the upper-elementary and middle school grades with this collection of simple experiments. Whether you're teaching about heat transfer, density, or potential energy this resource has a lab for you.

Some chemical reactions produce heat, but what is really going on? Lesson focuses on the concept of energy changes, both exothermic and endothermic. Scholars perform multiple experiments, hands-on activities, and view videos of the...

Warm up to the idea of solar energy. A lesson includes three activities that challenge scholars to apply knowledge in new ways. First, they learn to run an alarm clock without a battery by using solar energy. Next, they complete an...

Why do athletes load up on carbohydrates the evening before a competition? The lesson helps answer this question as it relates the type of food to the amount of energy it contains. After a discussion, scholars perform an experiment...

It is impossible to cool down a glass of water by adding ice. Young scientists explore heat transfer through videos, experiments, and interactive games. They quickly catch on that the water melts the ice and things aren't always as they...

Middle school physicsl science explorers play a game using dominoes that you have photocopied onto cardstock. Through the game, they familiarize themselves with the conservation of energy and the transformatin from one form to another....

Oceans absorb half of the carbon dioxide and 80 percent of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Scholars learn how and why the oceans store heat more effectively than land and how they help mitigate global warming. Pupils...

If objects have no heat, how do they can gain and lose it? Scholars experiment with heat, temperature, and specific heat of various substances. They create definitions for these terms based on their own conclusions to complete the fourth...

In the study of wind energy, scholars build a small windmill and observe how it transfers wind into mechanical energy. Learners will make connections to the previous instructional activity with concepts such as the...

The heat of solution measures how much thermal energy a dissolving substance consumes or gives off. The experiment demonstrates both endothermic and exothermic reactions. Scholars dissolve several substances, measure the temperature...

It's time to soak up the sun! Youngsters read about active and passive solar heating systems, then they collaborate to create a miniature solar-heated building. Provide a variety of materials for them to incorporate and watch their...

Don't waste any more energy trying to find a great resource on energy. The third installment of a 25-part Energy Systems and Solutions unit focuses on energy use in pupils' lives. They consider how their daily routines consume energy and...

The United States is the world's largest producer of biofuel. During an in-class investigation, young scientists produce their own biodiesel. They burn a sample of it to determine the heat of combustion. Then they discuss the...

During a unit on density, pupils ponder whether or not temperature affects this property. By carefully inserting blue cold water and yellow hot water into a room-temperature sample, they will see the answer. Make sure to have done the...