Curated OER
Fossil Fuel Sources, Usage and Alternatives: What Are the Options?
Young scholars examine the relationship between energy and the environment. In groups, they participate in experiments to discover the law of thermodynamics and the differences between potential, kinetic and mechanical forms of energy. ...
Curated OER
Energy Conservation Games
Students become acquainted with the first law of thermodynamics, which concerns the conservation of energy as it is transformed from one form to another. They identify forms of energy, and devices or processes that transform energy from...
Curated OER
CONVERTING ENERGY
Students explore energy through the idea of energy transformations and conversions, and to develop students' ideas of what energy is and how it can be measured.
Curated OER
Fossil Fuel Sources, Usage and Alternatives: What are the Options?
Students identify the different sources of fossil fuels. In this environmental science lesson, students research about how these impact our environment. They explore renewable energy sources that could replace fossil fuels.
Curated OER
Energy Transformation
Young scholars identify different kinds of energy such as heat energy, kinetic energy, potential energy, and magnetic energy. They investigate the concept of conservation of energy.
Curated OER
ROLLER COASTERS IN THE CLASSROOM
Students define potential and kinetic energy and explain the relationship of height to potential energy. In this roller coaster lesson students construct a model of a roller coaster which will allow them to see the basic physical...
Curated OER
A River Ran Through It
Students research how water is used to generate electricity. They investigate water's potential-to-kinetic energy transfer in hands-on activities about falling water and waterwheels. They take measurements, calculate averages and graph...
NASA
Dark Matter NASA Conference
Young scholars calculate the escape velocity of planets in our solar system and use that knowledge to calculate the escape velocity for NGC 2300 group. They then suggest reasons for the escape velocity to be higher than possible given...
Curated OER
Perpetual Motion
Pupils are introduced to the concept of Energy Conservation with the example of: Tony Hawk seems to defy the conservation of energy as he keeps reaching new heights on each pass on the halk-pipe. Actually, Tony is supplying the extra...
Curated OER
Recycled Racers
Young scholars research automobile operating systems in relation to racing. They design and construct vehicles from recycled material which they race to study the concept of propulsion.
Curated OER
Converting Energy
Students explore the concepts of energy transformation and conversion. They engage in Internet and hands-on activities. Students visit the Atoms Family Website and complete a Building a Better Pyramid activity by adding insulation to...
Cornell University
Catapult
Studying levers couldn't be more exciting! Learners build their own catapults and test the results as they make adjustments to the fulcrum. They compete against other groups to create the most accurate apparatus.
Curated OER
DOWNHILL DISCOVERIES
Students studykinetic energy, friction, drag and acceleration by relating it to the Winter Olympics. In this physical properties lesson plan students create tracks and determine how the course conditions affect bobsled, luge...
Curated OER
How Hard is Chocolate?
Learners conduct an experiment mimicking a hardness test. They determine the hardness of chocolate bars. Students examine indentations to determine the hardness of chocolate bar and infer reasons for the differences in hardness. They...
Teach Engineering
How a Hybrid Works
Work with your class to connect series and parallel circuits to hybrid cars. The lesson introduces basic circuit diagrams before having scholars apply the understanding of the difference between parallel and series circuits to...
Curated OER
Energy
High schoolers distinguish between kinetic an potential energy. They recognize that energy is conserved when changing from one form to another. Students compare the scientific meaning of work with its everyday meaning.
Curated OER
What is Energy?
Students define energy and identify the different types that exist. They identify places they see, hear or feel energy. They understand the role of engineering in finding and testing sources of energy for the production of electricity.
Curated OER
Ramp and Review
Students participate in an activity in which they observe a ball as it rolls down an incline into a cup. They take measurements and use equations that describe the concepts of mechanical energy, work and power, momentum, and friction. ...
Teach Engineering
It's Tiggerific!
Spring into elastic potential energy with a instructional activity that provides background information on determining the elastic potential energy of springs and other elastic materials. General energy equations emphasize the...
LABScI
Catapult: Flight of the Marshmallows
Watch your marshmallows fly. The engaging STEM activity has groups create a catapult to launch marshmallows. After testing their prototypes, they consider improvements and redesign their catapults.
Tech Museum of Innovation
Balloon Astronaut
Design protection from high-speed particles. The STEM lesson plan highlights why astronauts need protection from space debris. Pupils use the design process to design, build, and test a spacesuit that will protect a balloon from a...
University of Texas
Lives of Stars
Stars exist from a few million years to over 10 billion years, depending on their mass. Scholars perform a play acting as stars to learn about their different life cycles. They develop an understanding of many of the fundamental concepts...
Curated OER
Energy: Light -- Spinning Color Wheel
Second graders make spinning color wheels to determine how energy effects what colors look like. They paint or color a color wheel with the seven colors of the spectrum. Next, the spin the wheel to determine what happens. In order to...
Curated OER
Magnetic Energy
In this magnetic energy worksheet, students are given the formula to calculate the magnetic energy of an object. They use the formula to solve for the magnetic energy of the Earth, a geotail, the Sun, and a solar prominence given their...