Center for Learning in Action
Investigating Physical and Chemical Changes
Super scientists visit ten stations to predict, observe, and draw conclusions about the physical and chemical changes that occur when different states of matter—liquid, solid, and gas—are placed under a variety of conditions. To...
It's About Time
Refraction of Light
Don't shine like a diamond, refract light like a diamond. Young scientists use an acrylic block and a laser light to observe refraction. Advanced scholars figure the sine of the angles of reflection and incidence as well as mastering...
It's About Time
Reflected Light
The lesson allows young scientists to use lasers and mirrors to study reflected light. A reading passage and homework question assess learning, while additional material introduces extension activities.
Curated OER
Reflection and Refraction
What is a prism? A place for light waves that commit minor refractions! The thorough resource includes three hands-on investigations covering light reflection and refraction; mirrors, lenses, and images; and optical systems. Subject...
Wind Wise Education
What is the Cost of Inefficiency?
What does it cost to keep the lights on? Through a hands-on activity, class members use a watt meter and determine the amount of energy different types of light bulbs use. The class then determines the financial and environmental...
It's About Time
AC and DC Currents
An informative physics lesson includes two teacher demonstrations, one on AC currents and the other on DC currents, allowing pupils to take notes while watching. The resource includes questions to assign as homework or...
It's About Time
Color
How can a hand puppet's shadow look like a dog? The lesson explains the science behind shadows, combining paint colors and the colors used in old televisions. Scholars use white, red, blue, and green lights to experiment with colors...
National Institute of Open Schooling
Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids
Although their name makes them sound dangerous or toxic, carboxylic acids are found throughout nature in things such as citric acid, vinegar, and even in your DNA. Through detailed readings, discussions, and answering questions...
National Institute of Open Schooling
Hydrogen and s-Block Elements
Lesson 19 in the series of 36 analyzes the element hydrogen and the s-block elements. Through readings, answering questions, and discussion, learners write about and explain their occurrence, physical and chemical properties, and...
Weber State University
The Sun and the Seasons
Why is there more daylight in June than in December if you live above the equator? How does the angle of sunlight shift throughout the year? Answer these questions and more with an interactive article about the sun, its path through the...
American Chemical Society
Isolation of Phytochrome
Why do soybean plants that are planted weeks apart in the spring mature simultaneously in the fall? Four independent activities cover the history of phytochrome research, scientist collaboration, the electromagnetic spectrum, and...
It's About Time
Volcanic History of Your Community
Did you know there are 20 volcanoes erupting at any given time? Pupils look at various igneous rocks, read local geologic maps, and determine if their area has a history of volcanic activity. A reading passage and analysis questions...
Nobel Media AB
The Nobel Prize: The Nobel Prize in Physics 1918: Max Planck
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...
Simon Fraser University
Chem1 Virtual Textbook: The Limits of Classical Physics
Acting as a subtopic of the General Chemistry Virtual Textbook's section on Atoms and the Periodic Table, this site discusses the limits associated with classical physics. Topics covered include light and heat with additional information...
Wolfram Research
Wolfram Science World: Maxwell, James
This ScienceWorld site describes the Scottish mathematician and physicist James Maxwell (1831-1879) who published physical and mathematical theories of the electromagnetic field.
American Association of Physics Teachers
Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: Compton Effect
Simulation demonstrating the Compton Effect; how light is scattered off an electron. Adjust the angle of the scattering to see how Compton's equation can be used to predict the angle of the photon that is scattered.
McGraw Hill
Glencoe Technology Education: Technology: Engineering and Design
Glencoe offers the STEM Handbook which outlines the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math in opening many career pathways.
American Association of Physics Teachers
Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: Multiple Slit Diffraction Model
Simulation that shows the diffraction of light through single or multiple slits. Simulation allows modification of the number of slits, slit width, slit separation, and the wavelength.
Nobel Media AB
The Nobel Prize: Jean Baptiste Perrin Biographical
The Nobel Foundation provides a biography of the scientist who won 1926 Nobel Prize Physics, Jean Baptiste Perrin.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1870 1879
The telephone and first practical incandescent light bulb are invented while the word "electron" enters the scientific lexicon.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1800 1819
Alessandro Volta invents the first primitive battery, discovering that electricity can be generated through chemical processes; scientists quickly seize on the new tool to invent electric lighting. Meanwhile, a profound insight into the...
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1900 1909
Albert Einstein publishes his special theory of relativity and his theory on the quantum nature of light, which he identified as both a particle and a wave. With ever new appliances, electricity begins to transform everyday life.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Henri Poincare
Mathematics and Science often go together in physics and other studies. This site explores a physicist who utilized both fields to advance the ideas of relativity and other concepts.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell was one of the most influential scientists of the nineteenth century. His theoretical work on electromagnetism and light largely determined the direction that physics would take in the early twentieth century. Indeed,...