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.

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...

Falling objects can be brutal if you don't protect your noodle! Scholars explore the motion of falling objects through measuring short intervals to determine if the distance traveled varies with time. Building off of this, scholars...

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...

Examine the behavior of energy as water freezes and melts. An engaging activity provides a hands-on experience to learners. Collaborative groups collect data and analyze the graphs of the temperature of water as it freezes and then...

Seamounts in the Coral and Tasman Seas are home to more than 850 different species. Groups explore hydrothermal vents, researching the organisms found there and their energy source. They also learn about seamounts, exploring their unique...

In this energy worksheet, students determine the enthalpy of exothermic and endothermic reactions. This worksheet has 1 fill in the blank and 4 short answer questions.

Ninth graders identify problems and research potential solutions regarding the efficiency of energy use. They examine the potential problems associated with the use of electrical appliances. They brainstorm about practical problems...

Students show that energy is conserved in the laboratory. They calculate the work done by a force on an object as the product of the force and a displacement of the object from a reference point.

Students explore the rebound of balls. In this energy conversion lesson, students explore the physics behind the rebound of various types of sports balls. Through the experimental design process using balloons, students investigate and...

Students study kinetic energy and friction and how it pertains to a roller coaster.  In this roller coaster lesson students complete a lab activity.

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...

Seventh graders discuss how energy is transformed from one form to another. For this physics lesson, 7th graders design and build their own hydro generator. They identify the factors that affect its energy production.

For this alternative energy worksheet, 6th graders read and study the varying types of fuel.  Students read examples and ways that alternative fuel can be used.

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. ...

Students define thermal equilibrium. They distinguish between internal energy and heat. Students describe how the quantity of heat that enters or leaves a substance is measured.

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...

A two-hour final exam covers a range of physics topics related to electricity and magnetism. It employs a variety of methodologies for assessing your physics learners' understanding and mastery of these concepts. You will need to review...

Students study the conservation of energy.  In this energy lesson students explain the differences between potential and kinetic energy.

Twelfth graders explore the usage of alcohol fuel. In this Current Events instructional activity, 12th graders research the issue of using this type of energy.  Students complete a worksheet on their research. 

Students review what they know about energy safety, identify potential safety hazards associated with use of electricity and natural gas, and recognize that scientific information can be communicated in various ways by creating comic...

Learners use this introductory lab using a tennis racquet, however it is very difficult to study because of the strings and the racquet stretch so little and so quickly during a match that students were unable to make simple...

Students add a gear system to a car they built out of K'NEX parts in a previous lesson plan. After the gear system is added, a rubber band power system is added to the car in order to propel the car.

Take a marble out for a roll. Using a section of flexible tubing, pupils build a roller coaster that will allow for a marble to act as the car. Learners create a loop, hill, and jump in their coasters by taping the tubing to different...