Concord Consortium
Electrostatics: Maze Game
Ready to have an a-MAZE-ing time teaching electrostatics? Introduce physical science superstars to an engaging resource that tests their knowledge of attractive and repulsive forces. Pupils change the charge of a ball to guide it through...
Concord Consortium
Charge Intensity and Electric Force
Looking for a quick way to supercharge your electricity and magnetism unit? Assign a very responsive interactive designed to illustrate the relationship between charge, electric field, and the resulting forces. Learners experiment with...
Bozeman Science
NGSS Practice Posters
Begin the year with an emphasis on the NGSS practice standards. The resource provides an 8x10 size poster for each standard. When hung in a classroom, learners have a consistent reminder of what it means to be a scientist.
Columbus City Schools
To Measure its Mass or Volume?
Atoms, elements, and molecules, oh my! Teaching the fundamentals of chemistry to curious sixth graders has never been easier to accomplish. Here is a resource that pulls together everything needed to get them off to a good start,...
Science Matters
Solar Energy
The solar energy industry in the United States added more jobs in 2015 than the oil and gas extraction and pipeline industries combined. With the field growing so rapidly, it's essential to understand what solar energy is and how it...
Science Matters
Thermal Energy Flow in Materials
The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth instructional activity in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal...
Science Matters
Forms of Energy
The amount of energy Americans use doubles every 20 years. The first lesson in a 10-part series teaches scholars about different forms of energy. They rotate through five stations with hands-on activities or experiments at each in order...
Intel
Plugging into the Sun
What's cooking? A sizzling STEM unit challenges scholars to build a solar cooker that can successfully cook an egg. The unit opens with a study of Earth's rotation, the sun's energy, and shadows. Pupils use a compass and thermometer to...
Intel
Insects: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
What would the world be like with no insects? Ponder this question using a research-based STEM unit that encourages scholars to investigate insects from both a beneficial and hazardous perspective. They learn about insect behaviors,...
Intel
Forensics: Get a Clue
Although the methods are all scientific, forensic science was started by police officers rather than scientists, who relied on observation and common sense. Young detectives use many tools to solve crimes around the school in a...
Consumers Energy
Conductors and Insulators
Why did the orchestra director use a copper baton? She heard it makes a great conductor. Scholars select six items to test in a circuit to determine if each is a conductor or an insulator. Clear instructions for using electricity allow...
PHET
Projectile Motion
Have you ever wanted to shoot someone out of a canon? This simulation gives you that chance! In addition to a human, you can shoot a car, a piano, a cannon ball, and many other items. Scholars set the angle, initial speed, mass, air...
PHET
Ohm's Law
Why did Mr. Ohm marry Mrs. Ohm? He couldn't resistor. An electrifying simulation allows scholars to control both voltage and resistance in order to see the current change. The formula is displayed and as you increase one variable, it...
PHET
Hooke's Law
Everything from pens to cars use springs — some are just on a larger scale! An interactive simulation encourages pupils to stretch and compress springs while observing the changes to force, displacement, and potential energy. Then they...
PHET
Masses and Springs
Have you ever stretched out a Slinkie so much it wouldn't go back to its original shape? Slinkies, like all springs, follow Hooke's Law. A simulation uses springs and masses to demonstrate kinetic, potential, and thermal energy. It...
PHET
Electric Field of Dreams
What is the largest electric field in the world? The world itself! This explains why you use a magnetic compass to determine direction. During the simulation, scholars add charges to their electric field to see how the field reacts. An...
PHET
Energy Skate Park: Basics
Keep calm and half pipe. An exciting simulation teaches pupils about energy transfer from potential to kinetic and thermal as a skater moves through a half pipe or other track. After a brief introduction, scholars can build their own...
PHET
Energy Skate Park
Apply the concepts of conservation of energy to a skater to introduce a fun way the concepts apply to real life. Scholars build tracks, ramps, and jumps then analyze the various types of energy and friction. For an added challenge,...
PHET
Forces and Motion
The average American will move 12 times, which results in a lot of moving furniture! Class members consider the forces required to move objects with a creative simulation that opens with the forces required to push a filing cabinet....
PHET
Faraday's Electromagnetic Lab
"But still try, for who knows what is possible." - Michael Faraday. Faraday's advice features in a simulation that permits pupils to play with a bar magnet in order to make a light bulb glow connecting electromagnetic induction to...
PHET
The Greenhouse Effect
How do greenhouse gases impact temperature? Have your classes use the interactive software to explore different concentrations of greenhouse gases and their effect on climate. Learners can recreate different atmospheric concentrations...
PhET
Wave on a String
The sound waves of thunder are made when lightning very quickly heats the air surrounding it, expanding faster than the speed of sound. Learners explore waves through their own movement of string or set waves to constantly oscillate....
American Chemical Society
Can Gases Dissolve in Water?
Why does soda fizz when opened? Learners discuss the appearance of bubbles in soda bottles when opened. In groups, they design and complete an experiment comparing the amount of carbon dioxide dissolving in cold versus hot liquids.
American Chemical Society
Natural Resources and Synthetic Materials
All synthetic materials began as natural materials. An engaging lesson begins with a hands-on activity and an example of the type of research that scholars perform independently. Then pupils receive a topic and begin researching the...