Teach Engineering
Maximum Power Point
Investigate the maximum power output of a photovoltaic panel with a lesson that introduces the class to the maximum power point. Individuals learn how to determine the maximum power point of a solar panel by using Ohm's law and the power...
Messenger Education
Mission: Possible—How Can We Plan an Exploration of Another World?
An astronaut's spacesuit weighs 280 pounds and takes 45 minutes to put on — that's a serious suit! The second activity of a three-part series allows pupils to see all that goes into space exploration. Through simulations, groups analyze...
NASA
Developing an Investigation
Watch as your class makes the transition from pupils to researchers! A well-designed lesson has scholars pick a solar wind characteristic to research. They then collect and analyze official data from the LANL website. This is the third...
Star Date
Shadow Play
Three activities make up a solar system lesson that features the sun, its light, and the shadows it produces. Scholars step outside to discover the changes shadows make at different times of day, take part in a demonstration of how Earth...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #7 Positioning Solar Panels I: Explorations with Tracking
Students track and record data on the Sun's position in the sky and on the output of a solar panel tracking the Sun. On a second day, students graph and analyze the data to identify relationships between (1) the time of day, (2) the...
Curated OER
Flying Through the Solar System
Students create a model of the solar system out of candy. They write a book about their travels through the Solar System, beginning at age ten and reaching Pluto at age seventy.
Curated OER
Everybody Needs a Little Sunshine
Three activities introduce upper elementary ecologists to photosynthesis and food webs. In the first, an experiment is set up to determine how plants respond to different types of light. In the second, they connect organism cards with...
Teach Engineering
Concentrating on the Sun with PVs
Concentrate to determine the best reflector design. Pairs use the engineering design process to build a reflector to increase the current output of a photovotaic panel. Teams arrive at a final design and present it to the class along...
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...
Wild BC
The Greenhouse Effect: Warming the Earth Experiment
First in a two-part lesson on the greenhouse effect, this lesson involves a classroom demonstration of the phenomenon, and a lab group experiment with color and absorption. Although there are easier ways to demonstrate the greenhouse...
NASA
Weightless Wonder
A video of the weightless wonder provides a setting for the math to follow. Groups analyze the graph of a quadratic function that models the path of the C-9 as it gives astronauts the experience of weightlessness. Using a graphing...
Baylor College
Needs of Plants
What better way to learn about plant life than by creating a class garden? Young botanists start with a brief discussion about radishes before planting seeds and watching them grow. To determine the importance of water, sunlight, and...
Curated OER
Aerosol Lesson: Science - Graphing SAGE II Data
Students examine and plot atmospheric data on bar graphs.
PHET
Soda Bottle Magnetometer
Introduce learners to set of complete instructions that describe how to build a magnetometer that works just like the ones professional photographers use to predict auroras. The diagrams are wonderfully descriptive, and the written...
Teach Engineering
Quantum Dots and Colors
Introduce teams to quantum dot solutions with an activity that has them expose solutions to a blacklight, observe the colors, and take measurements. Groups graph the data and analyze the dependence between particle size and color...
Curated OER
Solar Race Cars
Pupils explore the relationship between time traveled, distance and speed. In this solar race car lesson students wire solar batteries using series and parallel circuitry.
Polar Trec
Who Will Melt First?
If the Greenland ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by about 20 ft; if the Antarctic ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by 200 ft. Scholars explore ice melting through the analysis of different ice samples, clean and dirty ice....
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center
Global Warming in a Jar
This well-organized lab activity introduces earth science pupils to the greenhouse effect. They will set up two experiments to monitor temperatures in an open jar, a closed jar, and a closed jar containing water. Ideally, you would have...
National Wildlife Federation
Wherefore Art Thou, Albedo?
In the sixth lesson in a series of 21, scholars use NASA data to graph and interpret albedo seasonally and over the course of multiple years. This allows learners to compare albedo trends to changes in sea ice with connections to the...
Curated OER
Solar Speed
Students perform unit conversion. In this algebra lesson, students calculate the distance and speed of a solar car. They graph their result as speed versus distance and analyze it.
Curated OER
Heating Up: Direct and Indirect Sunlight
Students, by conducting simulations, explore the effects of direct and indirect sunlight on heating of the Earth.
Curated OER
Using GLOBE Data to Study the Earth System (College Level)
Students use the GLOBE Website to locate and study environmental data. They use the GLOBE Graphing Tool to display data. Students describe the role of solar energy in the annual fluctuations of soil moisture. They describe reservoirs and...
Curated OER
Earth Energy Budget Pre Lab
Learners explore energy by conducting an in class experiment. In this climate change lesson, students conduct a water vapor experiment in a soda bottle. Learners utilize graphs and charts to analyze the results of the experiment and help...
Curated OER
The International Space Station-Follow that Graph!
In this altitude change of the International Space Station worksheet, students observe a graph of the change in altitude of the space station over time due to the Earth's drag. Students solve 3 problems using the data in the graph.