Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Get Connected with Ohm's Law
Ideal for your electricity unit, especially with middle schoolers, this lesson plan gets engineers using multimeters in electrical circuits to explore the relationships among voltage, current, and resistance. Older learners may even plot...
Curated OER
Voltage Vantage
Students measure the voltage discharge of robots as the motors are used. In this physics lesson, students explain how to use a multimeter to measure voltage. They graph the voltage change over time and present their findings in class.
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #11 - Power Maximum: An Electrical Determination
Collaborative groups connect resistors and solar panels in series and measure electrical resistance, voltage, and current. The objective is to order 16 solar panels from strongest to weakest. They graph current-voltage and power curves...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #13 - Solarize a Toy
Physical science or technology classes will be invigorated by this challenge: to convert a toy, game, or other device to run on solar power. In doing so, they will design the appropriate solar arrays. This is an A+ lesson, complete with...
Carnegie Mellon University
Consumer Preferences in Lighting
What is a watt? This tongue-twisting, mind-bending question and others are answered through this instructional activity on the different lighting options available. With the support of a PowerPoint, teach your physical science class...
Teach Engineering
Can You Resist This?
Some things are hard to resist. Small collaborative groups build circuits and calculate the voltage using Ohm's Law. Budding engineers explore the connection between the voltage across different resistors and linear functions with...
Teach Engineering
Ice, Ice, PV!
Knowing the temperature coefficient allows for the calculation of voltage output at any temperature. Groups conduct an experiment to determine the effects of temperature on the power output of a solar panel. The teams alter the...
Curated OER
Solar Electricity ~ The Colour Sensitivity of a Photovoltaic Cell
Teacher's notes, a materials list, detailed procedure, tips, and extension ideas are all included to make teaching this lesson on photovoltaic cells a sunny spot in your day! After some brief background reading, physical science...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #3 Parts of a Solar Panel - Part I
A solar cell is similar to a rechargeable battery in many ways. Science lab groups connect each in a series circuit to run a mini motor and then compare and contrast them by answering questions and completing a Venn diagram. This is an...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #13 Solarize a Toy
Students work in teams they select a low-power toy, game, or electrical deive to "solarize," or convert to solar power. They determine the operating voltage of their chosen device and design a solar array to provide this level of...
Teach Engineering
Pointing at Maximum Power for PV
Following detailed directions, teams collect the voltage and current outputs of a photovoltaic cell by adjusting the resistance. Using the collected data, they determine the highest power output. Implications for weather and a large...
Teach Engineering
Induced EMF in a Coil Wire
Small groups investigate the interaction between a coil of wire and a magnet to create an electromagnetic field and observe the voltage they create. Through further interactions, they realize a conductor can be charged from the...
Rochester Institute of Technology
Electrical Energy
My friend told me how electricity is measured and I was like Watt! In the hands-on activity, learners explore electricity by building circuits, both parallel and series. They also determine how increasing the number of light bulbs and...
IOP Institute of Physics
Physics in Concert
What do physicists and musicians have in common? A lot more than you might think. After first viewing a slide show presentation and completing a series of skills practice worksheets on the physics of light, sound, and electricity, young...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #11 Power Maximum: An Electrical Determination
Students identify and implement methods to standardize testing stations that measure solar panel output power. After collecting electrical ouptut data from several solar panels, they plot the current-voltage and power curves. Students...
Curated OER
Electrons on the Move
Fourth graders study current electricity while constructing a simple electric circuit. They build a galvanic cell to examine the concepts of voltage, current and resistance.
Curated OER
Adventures in Electrical Engineering
Students explore electricity by conducting a series of experiments. In this physics instructional activity, students discover the relationship between current, voltage and resistance. They calculate voltage and power in a given system.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Series and Parallel Circuits
Students demonstrate simple circuits and find the differences between parallel and serial circuits. In this electronic lesson plan students work in teams to test different designs using a low voltage light bulb.
Curated OER
Electronic Circuit Design
Young scholars design circuits to power 3-9 volt devices such as CD players or flashlights. After measuring the voltage and current requirements for the item, they design a loaded voltage-divided circuit to power it. Students work in...
Exploratorium
Penny Battery
Use pennies to light an LED. Class members follow the provided directions to build a multi-celled battery powered by pennies. Using stacks of pennies of varying heights, pupils control the voltage of the battery to light different colors...
Teach Engineering
Applications of Linear Functions
It's not so straightforward — lines can model a variety of applications. Pupils experience linear relationships within the context of science, including Hooke's and Ohm's Laws. Class members got a taste of motion and speed from the...
Curated OER
Circuit Lab
Pupils explore the properties of electricity. This lab shows students the need for a circuit in order to have a flow of electricity. It demonstrates Ohm's law, which relates voltage, current, and resistance.
Curated OER
From Sunlight to Electric Current
Learners explore concept of current in electrical circuits. They examine how energy from the sun can be used to power everyday items, including vehicles.
Teach Engineering
Circuits
Don't know how to make the initial connection on electric circuits? This lesson provides the background to present the introductory vocabulary to learning about electric circuits. It is organized in a meaningful progression with an...