Curated OER
Heating Up: Direct and Indirect Sunlight
Students, by conducting simulations, explore the effects of direct and indirect sunlight on heating of the Earth.
Curated OER
Weather and Oceans: Uneven Heating of the Earth
Learners investigate what causes the heat on Earth. In this Earth heating lesson, students experiment with different heat sources and determine where the Earth gathers the most heat. Learners explore vocabulary words...
Curated OER
Biomass: The Energy of the Future
Students research renewable fuels. In this alternative energy lesson, students compile information and create a comparison chart on renewable resources. This lesson includes additional suggested readings, vocabulary, and a Biomass...
Curated OER
Star Power! Discovering the Power of Sunlight
Students estimate the energy output of the sun. They estimate how much power sunlight the sunlight provides to the earth. They build a simple device to measure the amount of solar radiation the earth receives from the sun.
Curated OER
Cooking with the Sun!
Students access prior knowledge of solar energy and understand that solar energy produces heat. In this solar cooker lesson, students complete grade appropriate experiments using the heat of the sun. Students complete a worksheet on...
Curated OER
Conduction, Convection and Radiation
Sixth graders listen to descriptions of types of heat to gain background knowledge For this heat lesson, 6th graders perform experiments to understand various types of heat transfer (convection, conduction and radiation.) Students assess...
Curated OER
Warming by Freezing
Ninth graders discover the reasoning behind spraying water on fruit and seedlings in preparation for hard freezes. In this conceptual physics activity, 9th graders conduct an experiment to measure the heat released when water goes from a...
Curated OER
Solar Cooking
Students experiment with a virtual solar cooker to discover the mathematical relationship among reflection, transmission and absorption. Then they actually build and test a solar cooker of their own invention.
Curated OER
IPC Physics Vocabulary Review
In this physics review instructional activity, students review vocabulary words associated with speed, acceleration, Newton's Laws and simple machines, work and energy, magnetism, electricity, and harmonic motion and light. This...
Curated OER
A Day In My Life
Students brainstorm how they can conserve energy in their daily lives. In this energy lesson plan, students discuss how they use energy and ways to conserve it.
Curated OER
Can You See the Light?
Students investigate the transmission of light energy. In this light energy lesson plan, students observe bubbles using different colored filters and record their observations. They also look at a light source through various materials...
Curated OER
What is the Best Insulator: Air, Styrofoam, Foil, or Cotton?
Students investigate the properties of insulators by attempting to keep a cup of water from freezing, and once it is frozen, to keep it from melting. They conduct the experiment, record and analyze the results, and answer discussion...
Curated OER
Potato Power
Students light a LED clock or light bulb using potatoes. They examine how a battery works in a simple circuit. They determine how chemical energy changes to electrical energy while experimenting with potato powered circuits.
Curated OER
Kinetics Review Sheet
In this kinetics worksheet, students define 7 terms related to the energy of reactions, they find the average reaction rate in a reaction, they sketch an energy diagram for an endothermic reaction and they compare exothermic and...
Curated OER
Measuring Calories
Students investigate what a calorie is and how and why we measure them. They conduct an experiment to compare the calories of a peanut and a mini-marshmallow, and explain and discuss how calories are directly related to the amount of...
Curated OER
Things That Glow: From Fireflies to Quantum Dots
Third graders observe light energy. In this heat and energy lesson plan, 3rd graders will study the concept of light as a form of energy. Students will examine the different forms of light and the type of energy it produces.
Curated OER
Cost Effective Buying
Students complete a worksheet that asks them to calculate the true energy cost of various appliances. They compare appliances with energy saving features, rebates and other economical incentives.
Curated OER
Heating
Students develop the idea that heat is a form of energy which moves from hot objects to cold ones.
Curated OER
Harnessing Solar Energy
Middle schoolers identify the properties of light from the sun. In groups, they participate in experiments with solar collectors, cookers and calculators to determine which one harnesses the most energy. They record their observations...
Curated OER
Solar Energy
Students investigate solar energy. They explore ways that energy from the sun can be turned into energy that humans can use in our everyday lives. In various experiments, they explore the effect of clouds and dust on photovoltaic energy...
Colorado State University
How Can Clouds Keep the Air Warmer?
Condensing water warms the air around it. Young scholars consider this concept as they experiment with air temperature around evaporating and condensing water vapor. They simulate the formation of clouds to experience the associated...
Discovery Education
It's Getting Hot in Here
Class members engage in a STEM experiment and investigate how materials affect heating in a house by creating models of houses and using different top surface materials. They record the temperature inside the models and consider what the...
Messenger Education
My Angle on Cooling—Effect of Distance and Inclination
When exploring Mars, spacecrafts are exposed to 5-11 times more sunlight than when near Earth. Groups of pupils complete a hands-on activity to explore how distance and angle of the sun affect temperature. Through discussions, they then...
Discovery Education
It's Melting!
It's a race to the finish! Which ice cube will melt the fastest? Scholars discover the effect thermal energy has on melting ice. They experiment with melting ice cubes on different materials and learn that even at a consistent...