Wind Wise Education
What is the Cost of Inefficiency?
What does it cost to keep the lights on? Through a hands-on activity, class members use a watt meter and determine the amount of energy different types of light bulbs use. The class then determines the financial and environmental...
Science Matters
Motors
It's time to get moving! The 13th instructional activity in a 14-part unit on electricity and magnetism explores the relationship between electricity and mechanical energy. Budding scientists build motors and experiment with...
Teach Engineering
Consult for the Conductive Circuit Card Company
Light up someone's day with conductive greeting cards. Scholars design and create greeting cards that include LED lights. Rather than use copper tape, they apply conductive paint or copper paint to create the necessary electric circuits.
Physics Classroom
Know Your Potential
Never underestimate potential—electric or your own. Scholars apply a color scheme based on the changes in electric potential as part of a series on electric circuits. They consider splitting wires, light bulb placement, and voltage as...
Bonneville
Introduction to Circuits
Light up the class's knowledge. Pupils build a simple circuit using a battery, wire, and a light bulb and create a diagram of their circuit. The teacher provides a short lecture on a complete circuit, calling attention to the direction...
Bonneville
Illuminate Me: Merging Conductive Sewing, Technology, and Solar Power
Sew up a unit on solar energy with a hands-on project. Groups sew LED lights on clothing using conductive thread. Solar modules attached to a helmet provide the energy for the lights. A final presentation gives learners the opportunity...
Exploratorium
Touch the Spring
Concave mirrors and the images they produce are traditional topics in the physics classroom. This resource explains how to set up an investigation of them, and it provides you with the explanation of concepts.
PBS
Dough Creatures
Knead a resource on electric circuits? A fun activity teaches future scientists about conductors and insulators. They prepare conducting and insulating dough and use them to make creatures that light up.
PBS
High Tech Fashion
Creatively combine clothes and conductors. Pupils learn how to use conductive thread to make electric circuits. They apply the thread to design and build an accessory item with LEDs.
PHET
Band Structure
Electricity travels at the speed of light, 186,000 miles per second. Through a simulation, classes see how the structure of energy bands in crystals of atoms determines how materials conduct electricity. Participants can change the...
Bonneville
Introduction to the Photovoltaic Effect
Let a video light the way to a better understanding of solar energy. Scholars first learn vocabulary terms related to the photovoltaic effect, solar cells, and electricity. They then watch a video to learn why silicon is often used as a...
Curated OER
Types of Energy
In this examples of energy learning exercise, students complete the definitions to 9 different types of energy. Students write out an example of each type next to each definition.
Bonneville
Simple Solar Tracker
Let the solar cells fight each other for supremacy! Given a functional solar tracker that moves toward light, groups copy the design to build their own devices. They use two sets of solar cells that have reverse polarization, so that the...
WindWise Education
How Does a Generator Work?
I get a charge out of this. In order to learn how a generator works, groups build and test one in this ninth instructional activity of the series. The generators are tested at low speed and high speed to determine the watt output and...
Science 4 Inquiry
Introducing the Types of Energy
Young scientists explore many different types of energy including light, heat, nuclear, sound, potential, and more. They match the types of energy and identify when energy transfers from one type to another.
Science Matters
Series Circuit and Switches
Lights out! Scholars build on their understanding of a simple circuit by adding a switch and creating schematic drawings. The eighth lesson in a series of 14 has pupils use everyday materials to create circuits and make observations as...
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 2
For this second of three lessons on power plants, future engineers find out how we generate electricity and how coal-powered plants operate. They work in small groups to make electromagnet generators to light LED bulbs. A set of...
Curated OER
What is Energy?
Youngsters take a look at the foods they eat, and how they provide energy for them to do things. They look at how body uses the food energy to create movement. Pupils also look at toys/devices in the room that need electrical energy...
Curated OER
Simple Circuit
In this circuits worksheet, learners follow directions on how to make a light bulb light and answer questions about it. Students answer 1 question about an insulator and 1 about a conductor.
Curated OER
Lightning Rod
In this lightning rod activity, students make a lightning rod out of batteries, breadboard, light bulbs, wires, and more. Students also answer 2 questions.
Curated OER
Series Circuit
In this series circuit worksheet, students observe what happens when they make a simple circuit light more than one light bulb. Students follow 3 directions and answer 3 questions.
Curated OER
Switched Circuit Experiment
In this switched circuit experiment worksheet, students follow the procedures to build a simple circuit with batteries, light bulbs and paper clips.
Curated OER
Parallel circuit
In this parallel circuit worksheet, learners use batteries, a breadboard, light bulbs and more to make a parallel circuit and answer short answer questions. Students answer 2 questions.
Curated OER
Signaling
In this signaling worksheet, students follow directions to make a circuit involving batteries, light bulbs, wires and more. Students then try to make morse code signals with their circuit.