Did you know that light is a form of energy and always travels in a straight line? Discover some more interesting facts about light.

We all know that plants need sunlight and water to grow big and tall. But did you know that inside seeds are baby plants, and that the fragile baby plant inside the seed needs to be protected? If you've ever had a sunburn, you also know...

Students learn how the sun can be used for energy. They learn about passive solar heating, lighting and cooking, and active solar engineering technologies (such as photovoltaic arrays and concentrating mirrors) that generate electricity....

Our pipes leak, air drafts push through our windows and walls, light bulbs create more heat than light, and every appliance we have stays plugged in all day long. Of course its our parents who pay the bills, so it doesn't matter. This is...

This video segment adapted from FRONTLINE introduces the electromagnetic spectrum and explains how the various types of electromagnetic waves are distinguished by the amount of energy each wave carries.

Demonstrates how principles of kinetic energy, potential energy and energy conservation can be used to determine the speed of a descending object if given its initial height. Further discussion of other topics such as heat and...

What kind of unit conversion would you like to do? This site will allow you to do a multitude of conversions. Just click on the specific measurement you are needing to convert. It also provides a history of measurements and a chart of...

An easy to do activity if you have a Bunsen burner. The activity investigates combustion and heat conductivity. The activity is in lesson plan format that meets NSES standards.

Let this classic family of monsters guide you as you learn about energy. Interactive exercises, experiments, and demonstrations help to build knowledge and raise questions.

Students work in teams to learn about solar panel design, simple circuits, and how solar energy is used to provide power to simple machines such as calculators.

Discover more about the sun when you visit this educational resource. The content of this site includes solar fun facts, experiments, and activities.

Students learn that fossil fuels release energy when they are burned, and this takes the forms of light, heat, gases, etc. In this lesson they explore combustion with a candle and with sugar. The lesson and accompanying PowerPoint can...

Use this site to learn about the scientific work of physicist, Max Planck (1858-1947 CE), whose studies in radiation and light earned him the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics. Read his Nobel Lecture, "The genesis and present state of...

Understand the role of the sun as the source of heat and light for living things on earth.

Compared to incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps last longer, require less energy and produce less heat, advantages resulting from the different way in which they generate light.

During this lesson, students will construct a passive solar house from everyday items then explore how the sun's energy is used to heat and cool it.

This digital textbook covers core physical science concepts and includes interactive features, real world examples, and videos.

A set of four online courses in Physics for elementary and middle school teachers. Each course targets a different topic area - light, electricity & magnetism, temperature & heat, and force, motion, & energy.