Mike and Kellie, a team of electrical engineers, demonstrate how to to design a contraption that accurately drops a marble onto a target. The materials needed and general instructions are provided on the website or via a downloadable...

How cool would it be to build a trebuchet 1/40th the size of one that would have been used to knock down a castle wall? Build this project with middle or high schoolers at any level (varying the information provided for each), and have a...

While science Jeopardy games are a dime-a-dozen, this one has some pretty unique categories that are still relevant to a middle school physical science curriculum. The topics include: leading nations, famous Americans (who invented...

Here is a nifty worksheet on energy transfer. Physics fanatics analyze a diagram and state whether or not friction is involved. They sketch bar graphs and draw energy flow diagrams for each system as well. Circular motion, movement up...

Teacher's notes, a materials list, detailed procedure, tips, and extension ideas are all included to make teaching this instructional activity on photovoltaic cells a sunny spot in your day! After some brief background reading, physical...

Emerging ecologists need a full understanding of life, from the inner workings of a cell to the complex relationships among organisms. This examination is meant to assess high schoolers after an entire year course on the living...

Environmental science enthusiasts show what they know at the end of the year by taking this full-fledged final exam. They answer multiple choice, graph interpretation, and essay analysys questions, 73 of them in all. Topics range from...

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...

Start this series of lessons with a bang! Five exothermic reactions are outlined in this resource, including a demonstration that produces both light and sound. In the lab, chemistry apprentices record temperature changes, make hand...

Instructions for series of six activites, a reading of scientific literature, and a choice of six assessments await you in this physics resource. Well-written plans guide you in guiding your pupils to experiment with levers, pulleys,...

What happens when two worlds collide? In the first of several activities, future physicists experiment with colliding ball bearings or Newton's cradle. Another activity requires the use of an air track with cars to examine collision....

Sal's series on the Law of Thermodynamics continues with this video on how heat and work are added to, or taken away from, a system. As a result of the heat and work energy, the system that is being worked on will transform into another...

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.

Heat-sensitive liquid crystal sheets are available in a variety of sizes and temperature ranges. Purchase a class set of hand-held sheets and color half of each with a silver permanent marking pen. Learners of light can hold them under a...

After viewing images of energy resources used for generating electricity, the class discusses the process of transformation. In pairs, they work on describing what they see in a diagram of a power plant and in graphing its energy data. 

If you can find Tinker Toys™, then this may be a fun assignment for your physical science class. Using the construction set and a few other toys, they examine the forces involved when it they are being played with. For each, they...

Students research the type of chemical reaction that occurs when metal rusts. They conduct an experiment looking at the rate of corrosion in steel wool. This is instructional activity three in a three instructional activity unit on the...

Budding chemists achieve a basic understanding of the role of heat in chemical reactions. An online worksheet gives learners instructions and questions to answer as they investigate the Chem4Kids website and perform a hands-on lab...

The laws of thermodynamics raise the temperature in your classroom when physics pupils complete this learning exercise! They demonstrate their understanding by calculating specific heat capacity, final temperature, amount of work done,...

This worksheet would make a nifty quiz on the laws of thermodynamics. Nine multiple choice questions assess high schoolers' understanding of energy transfer, specific heat capacity, phase change, fusion, and vaporization. It is short but...

These are four classic activities used for instructing upper elementary electricians. The first involves experimenting with the Van de Graaff generator. The second is a series of hands-on experiences with static. In the third activity,...

Activate middle schoolers' minds with this physical science activity. Learners vary the diameter of gears and the number of teeth on them to find how energy output is affected. This writeup features well-developed background information...

Upper elementary or middle school scientists determine what types of energy are involved in six different pictures. Then they produce examples of three different energy transformations. This worksheet has colorful graphics and is neatly...

Students study thermal energy and energy transfer to sea ice processes. In this energy transfer lesson, students make their own ice cream and discuss energy transfer and thermal energy. Students view a radiation overhead and its role in...