Curated OER
Let There Be Light
Fifth graders explore electricity. In this electricity lesson, 5th graders experiment with open and closed circuits. Students determine how to properly connect a battery and bulb to illuminate the bulb.
Curated OER
Switcheroo
Students construct a simple switch and determine what objects and what types of materials can be used to close a switch in a circuit and light a light bulb.
Curated OER
Flowing Electrons
Students act out different types of circuits, and create their own circuits using wire, a bulb, a battery and a switch.
Curated OER
Please Turn Up the Lights!
Eighth graders discuss series and parallel circuits and design an investigation to test a hypothesis on total resistance of series and parallel circuits in combination. After discussion, groups design their experiments, run tests, and...
Curated OER
Orienting a Photovoltaic Cell
Students explore the optimum angle for orienting a solar collector relative to the rays of incoming sunlight. They review equinoxes, solstices, and various locational ideas before students investigate using meters, light sources, and...
Curated OER
Is That Icebox Green?
Seventh graders create a timeline of the development of electrical appliances. In this physics lesson, 7th graders explore energy consumption over the past 90 years. They create a poster about their chosen electrical device detailing its...
Curated OER
Build a Simple Ammeter
Students build and work with a simple ammeter to test theories on why solar cells connected in parallel produce more current that in series. Students use the ammeter to indicate the presence, direction, and strength of an electric...
Curated OER
Battery Type and Size
Young scholars identify the different types of batteries available in the market. In this science activity, students discuss how to select the right batteries for a car.
Curated OER
Light Your Way
Young scholars investigate how a simple series circuit functions. They design and construct a working portable flashlight, develop a written plan for the flashlight, test their flashlight for functionality and reliability, and draw the...
Curated OER
Two Kinds of Circuits
Fourth graders examine parallel and series ciruits. They experiment what happens if a bulb is removed from both a parallel and series circuit. They understand the differences between parallel and series ciruits,
Curated OER
How Photocells Work
Give small groups of physical scientists tokens that represent electrons in a photovoltaic cell. They play a dice game in which they move the tokens around, representing the flow of electrons through the p-n junction of a semiconductor...
Curated OER
Electric Circuits
Middle schoolers model the flow of electrons in a circuit, draw diagrams of an electric circuit and build an electric circuit. Students explain how to tell when the path of an electric circuit is complete, and test the conductivity of a...
Curated OER
Circuit Lab
Students explore the properties of electricity. This lab shows students the need for a circuit in order to have a flow of electricity. It demonstrates Ohm's law, which relates voltage, current, and resistance.
Curated OER
Let it Shine
Fifth graders investigate concepts of electricity by watching a video about Ben Franklin, participating in a web activity about simple circuits and experimenting with creating simple circuits. They examine conductors and insulators.
Curated OER
From Sunlight to Electric Current
Students explore concept of current in electrical circuits. They examine how energy from the sun can be used to power everyday items, including vehicles.
Curated OER
Pickle Juice
Students generate experimental questions regarding conductors of electricity, plug cord into pickle, and measure and graph voltage drop across electrodes. Students then compare to variety of other conductors of their choosing.
Curated OER
Steady-State Circuit Analysis & Filter Design
Scholars identify how the TI-89 implements phasors to perform sinusoidal steady-state analysis. The focus is on how to enter and display complex numbers. They also show how a typical steady-state application how to use the Numeric Solver...
Curated OER
Pushes and Pulls
Students recognize different types of movement and causes that my affect the movement. They know that pushes and pulls are types of forces.
Curated OER
Plants and Animals in the Local Environment
Students recognize the different types of plants and animals living in a local environment. They determine how they require different habitats to live, and relate simple life processes to plants and animals found in local environments.
Curated OER
Magnets and Springs
Learners participate in an online lesson making and recording observations of magnets. They determine that magnets attract some metals but not others and that other materials are not attracted to magnets.
Curated OER
Light and Shadows
Students participate in an online lesson to determine how light travels from a source, and to explain that shadows form when light travelling from a source is blocked.
Curated OER
Forces and Movement
Students examine types of forces and movements. They identify different causes that can affect movement and speed. They create their own predictions about they believe to be the outcome of an experiment.
Curated OER
Sorting and Using Materials
Students practice sorting and classifying objects. In groups, they choose a variety of materials and describe how each one looks and feels. They must agree on how to classify each object and share their groupings with the class. They...