Activity
American Chemical Society

Soda Can Steam Engine

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Steam engines have been around since the late 1600s, yet most pupils don't know how they work. Using an soda can, the instructor builds a simple steam engine for scholars to observe. Through a discussion, young scientists learn about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Leaves: All-Natural Solar Collectors

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Take a good look at tree leaves and notice the adaptations for collecting solar energy. Pupils trace the margins of five different leaves onto graph paper and count the number of squares covered. They then relate this infomation to the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cooking With Solar

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Identify how solar energy generates thermal energy by constructing solar cookers with your students. They will evaluate the factors that affect efficiency and the lesson can be adapted to capture data in a variety of ways.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Schools Going Solar

For Teachers 9th - 12th
If your school has a photovoltaic system, you can use this lesson plan to guide learners through an investigation of the factors affecting performance. Familiarize yourself with the data acquisition system, and then provide data for your...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Chemistry of Refining Crude Oil

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Consider our energy sources: wood, coal, oil, uranium. Learners compare the pollution to energy produced for each. They practice fractional distillation of an alcohol/water mixture to simulate the process of refining crude oil....
Worksheet
Curated OER

Module 7 Revision Guide - Chemistry

For Students 9th - 12th
Two versions of this handout are provided, the second with more detailed information on the same topics. Chemistry aces survey chemical reactions, heat energy transferred, and the action of enzymes by reading this resource. You can...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Filling Up-Gasoline

For Teachers 7th - 9th
In this fuel sources worksheet, students calculate the E85 alternative fuel costs per gallon compared to the cost of gasoline. Students complete a table to show the comparison prices. They create a triple line graph to show the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Solar Cells Work

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students create electricity. In this solar energy lesson, students role play how photovoltaic cells change sunlight into electricity.  Students discuss the experiment and create their own diagram of the model. 
Worksheet
Curated OER

Unit 2 ~ Atomic Structure

For Students 9th - 12th
As an atomic structure reference and review tool, this handout fits the bill. The first page provides definitions and tables of orbitals, electrons, and energy levels. The second page is an opportunity to practice determining numbers of...
Interactive
Physics Classroom

What's Up (and Down) with KE and PE

For Students 9th - 12th
Physics class has its ups and downs ... especially when it involves energy concepts! Scholars analyze information to determine changes in kinetic and potential energy using an interactive resource. Realistic scenarios make connecting...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Kit Lesson #13 - Solarize a Toy

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Physical science or technology classes will be invigorated by this challenge: to convert a toy, game, or other device to run on solar power. In doing so, they will design the appropriate solar arrays. This is an A+ activity,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Make a Solar Oven

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars build a solar oven. In this Science lesson, students construct a functional solar oven. Young scholars design the oven and explain the energy concepts involved.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Be "Sun-sible" about Heating Water

For Teachers K - 4th
Students create a solar water heater. In this solar energy lesson plan, students conduct an experiment to determine which colors absorb more radiant heat. Students investigate the relationship of heat loss to insulation. Students then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Junior Solar Sprint Series: Gears and Drive Belts

For Teachers 5th - 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Car Series: during What Part of the Day Can the Most Sun Power Be Collected?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
In preparation for solar car races, middle schoolers attempt to discover what time of day the most solar energy can be collected. Begin by demonstrating the use of a voltmeter for measuring solar cell output. Take them outdoors to take...
PPT
Curated OER

Elements, Atoms, Ions, and the Periodic Table

For Teachers 9th - 11th
This PowerPoint provides a complete recap of all the information needed for a unit on elements and the periodic table. The seventy slides cover the basic notation of elements, energy levels and ionization energies. The trends in the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Note-Taking: K.I.S.S. "Keep It Short and Simple"

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Note-taking is an essential study skill, and it needs to be taught! In the context of a research project on energy sources, learners find multiple sources, evaluating, paraphrasing, and citing them correctly. Two lists with note-taking...
Lesson Plan
Carnegie Mellon University

Transportation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shrinky Dinks® Palettes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here is a fun and clever lesson for teaching physics classes how to calculate wavelength if given the energy and frequency data. On a worksheet, they compute wavelengths using a table of information that you provide. On a paper palette,...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Typical Conceptual Questions for Physics I - Heat

For Students 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gyroscopes in Motion

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Physics stars will enjoy learning about the conservation of energy as you demonstrate gyroscope precession. The lecture is broken into five subtopics: cross product, rotating vectors, angular momentum, rotating rigid bodies, and torque...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Biofuel Project: Creating Biodiesel

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers research about the processing of biodiesel fuels. In this energy lesson, students produce their own biodiesel using used and new vegetable oil. They discuss the environmental and economic benefits of using biodiesel.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Ecosystems 4: Metabolism of Urban Ecosystems

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers discover that material and energy uses by a city come from outside the city boundaries. They realize that the pathway of these material is linear instead of cyclical as they are in natural ecosystems.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Orienting a Photovoltaic Cell

For Teachers 9th - 12th
By mounting a light bulb on a stand and a PV cell on another, physics apprentices experiment with the angle of incidence. Their goal is to determine the optimum angle for collecting solar energy. The use of a scientific calculator...

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