Lesson Plan
Rochester Institute of Technology

Electrical Energy

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
My friend told me how electricity is measured and I was like Watt! In the hands-on activity, learners explore electricity by building circuits, both parallel and series. They also determine how increasing the number of light bulbs and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coulomb's Law and Induced Polarization

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Engage your aspiring physicists in a series of lab activities directied at demonstrating the behavior of electric force. In completing these exercises, learners will explore Coulomb's and Gauss's Laws. Well-written directions to four...
Lesson Plan
Trash For Teaching

The Light-House Project

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Radio Reception and Transmission

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
After reading about radio transmission, application, and the difference between AM and FM, small teams of engineers use a kit to construct an FM radio and then send and receive broadcasts. This is an ideal activity for middle school STEM...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

AC Filtering With Capacitors

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students investigate the properties of capacitors and discover that capacitors block DC and filter AC. They discover the function of capacitors. Students differentiate between AC and DC power. They explore the role of resistors.
Lesson Plan
LABScI

Circuits Lab: Lightbulbs

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Electrons flow from negative to positive, but the general consensus is that current flows from positive to negative. Scholars explore current through construction of circuits in both series and parallel. The focus is on voltage,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Leyden Jar: Static Electricity

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students experiment with a Leyden Jar, a device that stores electrical charges. A large voltage can be built up in this jar by adding more and more charge. The modern name for this device is a capacitor.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ionocraft Lifter

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore the different types of lifters through a series of activities. In this physics lesson plan, students explain the mechanics involved in the lifter designs. They compare aluminum versus zinc lifters.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What "Ohm's" You?

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Learners use the CBL and voltage probe to observe electricity. For this algebra lesson, students use the TI calculator with the CBL to explore Ohm's Law. They discuss exponential equations and how it relates to Ohm's Law.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Charging Up, Charging Down

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Learners collect and analyze voltage data. Then, they investigate exponential functions using the TI and a Voltage Probe and graph their data and analyze it using a table.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ohm's Law

For Teachers 9th - 12th
If your future physicists know how to construct simple circuits, include resistors, and use a multi-meter to measure voltage, then you might employ this lesson on Ohm's law. Each lab group investigates the relationships among...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Semiconductors

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students investigate the properites of a semiconductor device known as a diode. They recognize a diode as a one way conducting device. They describe alternating current and the use of a diode to convert it to direct current. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

PHYSICS LESSONS

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the concept of electricity, what an electric current is and its relationship between voltage and resistance.In this electrical lesson students solve problems using Ohm's law, and research alternative sources of electricity.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stepper Motor

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students compare a stepper motor from a traditional motor. In this physics lesson, students summarize how it works. They build their own stepper motor and explore its uses.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Build a Tesla Coil

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore tesla coil through various experiments. In this physics lesson, students build their own tesla coils based on a given procedure. They discuss its real world applications.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Van de Graaff Generator

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore static electricity using the Van de Graaff generator. For this physics lesson, students construct their own Van de Graaff using simple materials. They explain how charges accumulate on this device.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Function Junction

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students identify the internal and external components of computers, robots and fan. In this physics lesson, students draw a circuit diagram of their electronic components. They create a battery tester in the lab.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Electric Current and Circuits

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Compare the drift speed of conduction electrons in a current-carrying wire to the signal speed of changes in current. They also distinguish between DC and AC and describe how AC is converted to DC.