NOAA
I Didn’t Do It…Did I?: Make Your Own Greenhouse Effect
How do greenhouse gases affect the climate on Earth? Pupils explore the concept by first building their own apparatuses to model the greenhouse effect. Then, they record data to measure temperature change and determine...
American Chemical Society
Exothermic, Endothermic, and Chemical Change
Scientists can't observe bonds breaking or forming, so how do they distinguish between exothermic and endothermic reactions? Young scholars complete two experiments to do just that. They monitor temperature change and calculate the...
National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
Alphas, Betas and Gammas Oh, My!
Referring to the periodic table of elements, nuclear physics learners determine the resulting elements of alpha and beta decay. Answers are given in atomic notation, showing the atomic symbol, mass, atomic number, and emission particles....
Bonneville
Compost Bioreactor Design
Organic waste is a hot topic. The second of three installments in the Bioreactor Water Heating unit challenges pupils to create bioreactors that collect energy released from compost. After watching videos on the properties of water and...
Curated OER
Solar Hot Dog Cooker
Students create a solar hot dog cooker. In this solar energy lesson plan, students use various materials such as tin foil and cardboard to build a hot dog cooker. Students cook their own hot dogs.
Curated OER
Go With the Flow!
Students experiment with heat transfer in a countercurrent system and describe the importance of conduction in heat-energy transfer.
Curated OER
How Hot Is It?
Sixth graders use paper cups, black and white lining, thermometers and plastic wrap to conduct an experiment that measures the energy-collecting capacity of various colors. They graph the results.
Curated OER
Cool Times with Heat
Students work with thermometers to complete problems about temperature. They investigate cooling patterns, how location affects temperature, and what happens when water having different temperature is mixed. They measure temperature in...
Curated OER
Conserving Energy Resources
Seventh graders research on energy conversion. After they have researched several types of energy resources, teams of two to four create posters which depict how these resources can be conserved.
Curated OER
Ammonium Nitrate - Heat of Solution
Young scholars quantify the relationship between temperature, energy and heat
and define an endothermic reaction. They measure the energy change caused by dissolving one mole of ammonium nitrate in water.
Curated OER
Hot Time in the Classroom
Fourth graders, in groups, examine how temperature is a measure of the average translational kinetic energy.
Curated OER
Ice Melting
Students design investigations to test various materials to prevent heat gain in frozen water. The task assess students' knowledge of scientific inquiry including the following skills: observation, data collection, measurement,...
Curated OER
Heat Misconceptions
Third graders determine that gloves do not provide heat, but rather, they insulate or hold in any heat that is in their hand. They discuss the different temperatures found in ecosystems around the world. What do animals that live in...
Curated OER
Driving Currents
Students conduct a variety of investigations to see how water, heat, and salinity affect the flow of the world's ocean currents,as well as, explore many factors that affect the flow of the world's ocean currents. They also describe in...
Curated OER
Thermodynamics
In this thermodynamics learning exercise, learners review the first law of thermodynamics and define enthalpy, state functions, and heat capacity. Students use Hess' law and heats of formation to solve reactions. This learning exercise...
Curated OER
Solar Box Cooker
Students explore solar power. In this solar power instructional activity, students build simple solar cookers after they study convection, conduction, and radiation. Students transfer their knowledge of how the solar cooker works to...
Curated OER
Hot Stuff
Students investigate mechanical and electrical machines in the classroom and school, and identify which produce heat while operating.
Curated OER
Earth's Atmosphere and Temperature
Students explore the layers of earth's atmosphere and conduct an experiment to identify carbon dioxide. They construct models using styrofoam to represent molecules in the atmosphere's layers. To discover how sunlight efffects...
Curated OER
Keep It Cool
Learners complete a science experiment to study insulation, heat transfer, and permafrost. In this permafrost study lesson plan, students design and test a soda insulator. Learners graph their class data and discuss the results. Students...
Curated OER
How Much Energy is a Kilowatt Hour?
Students study the conservation of energy. For this energy lesson students explain the differences between potential and kinetic energy.
Curated OER
Sun Friendly Homes
Students design and build a model solar energy home. In this technology lesson, students test the efficiency of their model houses by measuring temperature at regular intervals. They analyze data and share results with the class.
Curated OER
Bouncing Superball Physics
Ninth graders experiment with bouncing balls to investigate the elasticity coefficient of different sizes and types of balls. In this superball physics lesson plan, 9th graders bounce various types of balls from differing heights. They...
Curated OER
Waterwheel Work
Students investigate the history of the waterwheel and common uses for water turbines today. They construct an experimental waterwheel using a two-liter plastic bottle, measure the rate of revolution of a waterwheel, and complete a...
Curated OER
Proportionality: The X-Plane Generation
Learners meet NASA researchers who describe the relationship between force, energy and motion. They discuss how NASA's experimental X-plane is being tested to make space travel more reliable and show how proportionality and ratios are...