CK-12 Foundation
Electric Motor
How does a direct current run a motor? Pupils control five variables in an electric motor and observe how the force diagram changes. The force, magnetic field, and current vary based on the changes in the design of the magnet and motor....
Exploratorium
Motor Effect
The magnetic wire. Class members create a magnetic field by running electricity through a wire. The video included in the resource provides information on how this effect is used to make electrical motors.
Curated OER
Simple Electric Motor
Students build simple electric motors. In this hands-on science instructional activity, students gather the listed materials and follow the provided directions to make simple electric motors.
Curated OER
Electrical Circuits
Wow! Here is a coherent and cleverly designed tool for teaching physical scientists about electric circuits. Animations help learners to visualize what is happening within the parts of a circuit. Components are displayed to teach them...
Curated OER
Simple Circuits
Fifth graders investigate simple circuits and identify when a circuit is considered opened or closed. In small groups, they experiment with wires, batteries, and light bulbs to identify how to light the bulb. Students also experiment...
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
Electric Motors
Students examine the different types of electric motors including their history and classification. In this motor lesson students complete several experiments with different motors.
Exploratorium
Stripped Down Motor
Mostly for teacher's use, here are instructions for making a traditional electromagnetic motor and a detailed explanation of how it works.
Curated OER
A Simple Motor
Instructions for building a simple electromagnetic motor are provided for the teacher. Aside from some sketchy background information and a list of content standards to be met, that is about all you will find in this resource. The motor...
Curated OER
Ultra-simple Electric Generator
Students read this article to discover the secret to making a generator. They understand that there has been lots of projects for making a simple electric motor, but not for a generator.
Curated OER
Stepper Motor
Students compare a stepper motor from a traditional motor. In this physics lesson, students summarize how it works. They build their own stepper motor and explore its uses.
Curated OER
Build Your Own Simple DC Motor
Students, after brainstorming how we interact with some kind of motor every day in our lives, explore how to build their own DC motor. They collect all the parts needed for their experiment and review all safety precautions. In addition,...
Curated OER
Brown Bag Science
Students discover, through the discovery method, how electricity works. They construct a simple circuit and a parallel circuit, make an electrical motor work and add a switch to turn it on and off.
Curated OER
Two Sides of One Force
Learners learn how simple electric motors and electromagnets work. In this electromagnets lesson plan, students learn about electromagnetics and how magnets and electricity are related. They also learn about hybrid gasoline electric cars...
Bonneville
A Simple Circuit
Heat up a lesson on solar energy by building a circuit for a cooling fan. Given a solar module and a DC motor, scholars develop hypotheses for how to make the fan turn. They test out their hypotheses, and then draw a circuit diagram to...
Bonneville
Simple Solar Tracker
Let the solar cells fight each other for supremacy! Given a functional solar tracker that moves toward light, groups copy the design to build their own devices. They use two sets of solar cells that have reverse polarization, so that the...
Curated OER
Magnets, Electromagnets, and Motors
Students investigate the concepts of magnetism and its properties. They construct a magnet and test foods for iron content. Then students define the use of a motor and make their own electric motor while working in small groups. Then...
Curated OER
Build a Simple Motor?
Young scholars experience how to construct a simple electromagnet based motor. In groups they explore what a component is and construct a circuit that can rotate the orientation of the magnet by turning the switch on and off....
Curated OER
Simple Machines
In this simple machines worksheet, students identify the 6 simple machines. They answer 21 questions about the types of simple machines, the output force of simple machines, the input force and the work involved in using a simple machine.
Curated OER
Green Team
Student explore the relationship of static electricity to current electricity, circuits, electromagnets, electro generators, and public electric utilities. In this Green Team lesson plan, 4th graders participate in hands-on science...
Curated OER
Homopolar Motor Experiments
Young scholars construct a homopolar motor following certain procedures. In this physics lesson, students explain how generators and motors work. They compare and contrast the characteristics of both.
Curated OER
Electrical Generators
Students study what an electric generator does and its history. In this energy lesson students complete several experiments including building their own electric generator.
Curated OER
Energy
Wow! Colorful and simple, these 160 slides introduce the various forms of energy, along with a relevant image. Some of the images are animations, which help beginning physical scientists to visualize the flow of electrons or energy! This...
Curated OER
Energy, Work and Power
In this energy, work and power worksheet, students solve 12 problems about circuits, electric motors, Ohm's Law and electric currents.