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...
LABScI
Projectiles: Target Practice
Angry Birds prepared them, but now pupils must prove their skills with projectiles! Scholars test different variables to determine which ones impact the distance the projectile flies. The experiment provides connections to kinetic and...
Curated OER
Gas Pressure, Volume, and Temperature
Physical science learners conduct a simple experiment using the heat of their hands to affect the fluid pressure. They place a balloon atop a freezing cold bottle and observe what occurs as it warms up. Both activities demonstrate how...
NASA
Things Are Not Always What They Seem
Science is magic that works. Magical color-changing beads and a coffee can that follows voice commands are just two examples of magic tricks that rely on science. After completing a hands-on activity and an experiment investigating the...
Kenan Fellows
Sensors in Chemistry
The Environmental Protection Agency monitors sensors to track air pollution and set clean air standards. Enthusiastic young scientists use similar sensors to gather data in their area and then apply the gas laws and conservation of...
Curated OER
Energy Transformation
Students 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
The Sum of All Thrills
Learners make a bungee cord. In this potential and kinetic energy instructional activity, students work in groups to create a bungee cord for an egg. Learners evaluate and test their cord. After performing the experiment the students...
Curated OER
Bounce Back - The Long and Short of It
Upper elementary scientists test basketballs with differing amounts of air to find if inflation affects bounce height. The lesson introduction poses the question of whether or not the composition of a ball determines bounce height, but...
Curated OER
How Hard is Chocolate?
Students 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...
Curated OER
DOWNHILL DISCOVERIES
Learners studykinetic energy, friction, drag and acceleration by relating it to the Winter Olympics. In this physical properties lesson students create tracks and determine how the course conditions affect bobsled, luge and downhill ski...
Curated OER
Breaking Energy
Pupils experiment with the amount of work required to break a piece of wood by hanging masses from a string attached to a thin dowel of wood. At the completion of activity, students calculate if a fast moving hand could break the dowel.
Curated OER
Bombs Away!
Students design and build a device to protect and accurately deliver a dropped egg. They review and study a number of vocabulary words that are associated with this instructional activity. They work in a small group in order to develop...
Curated OER
Kinetic and Potential Energy
Students calculate kinetic and potential energy in the lab. In this physics lesson, students demonstrate how energy can be transformed from one form to another. They collect data from the experiment and write a detailed lab report.
Curated OER
Energy Conversion
Students describe how energy can be transformed from one form to another. In this physics lesson, students calculate kinetic and potential energy using mathematical equations. They give real life applications of this lesson.
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
Can Races
Students participate in an experiment dealing with kinetic energy. They predict which cans they believe will win the can race and why. They answer questions based on the experiment.
Science 4 Inquiry
Investigating How Heat Flows
It is impossible to cool down a glass of water by adding ice. Young scientists explore heat transfer through videos, experiments, and interactive games. They quickly catch on that the water melts the ice and things aren't always as they...
Curated OER
Rockin Roller Coaster
Pupils discuss gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy, and the relationship between potential and kinetic energy. They create a working roller coaster from provided materials and criteria then evaluate each roller coaster. They...
Curated OER
Work-Kinetic Energy Theorem
Young scholars prove the validity of the Work-Kinetic Energy Theorem by analyzing the Car and Driver website which lists qualitative and quantitative data about an assigned car. They decide whether or not they would purchase the car...
University of Georgia
Freezing and Melting of Water
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...
Virginia Department of Education
The Rate of a Chemical Reaction
If your pupils think a catalyst is a list of their cats, then this might be the lesson for you! Young chemists study the effect of temperature, catalysts, concentration, and particle size on reaction rates during four different...
Curated OER
Mechanical Energy
Middle schoolers discover the difference between kinetic and potential energy in an experiment using toy cars and tracks. In small groups, they set up the experiment to determine the distance milk cartons will travel when hit by toy car....
Curated OER
Design Your Own Rube Goldberg Machine
Students participate in a culminating activity for a unit on Energy and Simple Machines. They are challenged to incorporate simple machines in to a complex mechanical system. While designing and testing their machine they will also...
Curated OER
A Hilly Ride
Fifth graders investigate situations that show how kinetic and potential energy are exchanged. They determine how friction is a source of energy transfer from kinetic to thermal energy by experimenting with a car and track. They answer...