Following this procedure, eager engineers construct a working model of a piston system, similar to that in an internal combustion engine. Perfect for STEM or automotive technology classes, the activity comes complete with analysis and...

Teach your environmental studies, life science, or engineering class how an internal combustion engine works using the first few slides of the accompanying presentation. Then, focus in on the resulting carbon emissions. Finally, take a...

Math and science meet in this lesson on hybrid electric automobiles. This 24-page resource provides everything you need for teaching a lesson that compares the use of internal combustion engines to hybrid electric engines. Participants...

Students design parts for a scale-model, internal combustion engine using software.  In this engine instructional activity students work in groups to assemble an internal combustion engine. 

Students perform an experiment which simulates what happens inside an internal combustion engine. They explain how the chemical reaction they witnessed is similar to what happens inside the car engine.

Young scholars explain the four stroke process in internal combustion engines. For this physics lesson, students role play this process and present their reenactment in class. They draw and label the diagram of an internal combustion...

A sequence of slides that show the apparatus set up for varying practices of distillation. The equipment pieces in each diagram are labeled and their purpose noted. Your class can use these pictures to help set up their own equipment, or...

High schoolers summarize the steps in the four stroke internal combustion engine. In this physics lesson plan, students act out the process while being videotaped. They simulate energy conversion using potato gun.

Students study how an electric car operates.  In this electric car lesson students assemble an electric car motor from parts from an internal combustion engine.

Did you know horsepower is actually based on the power of a horse? 60 horse power is the equivalent of being pulled by a team of 60 horses! Viewers will learn other interesting facts like this from a presentation that begins with the...

In this scientific inventions instructional activity, students research the German inventor (Rudolf Diesel) who developed the internal-combustion engine. Students write a short description of the inventor and his invention, and draw a...

Students develop their understanding of the effects of invisible air pollutants. In this invisible air activity, students complete experiments with a rubber band air test, a bean plant experiment and by exploring engineering roles...

The color School Bus Yellow was created in 1939 because science had proven peripheral vision detects yellow 1.24 times faster than other colors. Young scientists explore modern school bus transportation options and then discuss the...

Fourth graders explore how engineers transform wind energy into electrical energy by building their own miniature wind turbines and measuring the electrical current it produces. They see how design and position affect the electrical...

Students create piston systems and explore the conversion of linear to rotary motion that propels a car. In this motion lesson, students build and test a model piston/crankshift system and discover why there is a maximum limit to how...

Students explain the basic principles of gasoline engines as propulsion for vehicles. They cite reasons why alternatives for gasoline engines are being considered and explain differences between a motor and an engine.

Getting kids thinking about climate change now, will hopefully push them into action when they become adults. Young environmentalists discuss the evidence and causes of climate change seen in the state of California. They brainstorm ways...

Extra! Extra! Read all about past and present energy use in a classroom-made historical newspaper. Useful as a cross-curricular assignment between science, history, and language arts, the project is sure to get young journalists...

Seventeen pages of material leave you well-prepared to carry out this lesson on levers and pulleys. Photos and diagrams make the instructions clear; resource links provide additional information. The missing aspects of this teacher's...

If only we could harness the energy of fifth graders, our energy problems would be over! The class discusses where different forms of energy come from and how we use them. They complete a chart of the activities that they do daily...

Students identify the different sources of fossil fuels. In this environmental science lesson, students research about how these impact our environment. They explore renewable energy sources that could replace fossil fuels.

Students explore the advances that are being made in alternative fuels.In this biodiesel instructional activity students evaluate different petroleum and alternative fuels.

Students examine how wind energy is transformed into electrical energy. In pairs, they build miniature wind turbines and measure how much electrical current they produce. They asses the importance of design and position in energy...

Students study the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the inventions of Thomas Alva Edison. They design an infomercial to sell a product or a service for an invention. They create an invention that improves the world and write an...