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Lesson Plan
American Physiological Society

Thermal Insulators: Keep it Hot!

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
There's nothing like a cup of hot chocolate on a chilly winter's day. Except for when that hot chocolate quickly becomes lukewarm chocolate ... or even cold chocolate. What material provides the best insulation to keep the chocolate from...
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Activity
US Environmental Protection Agency

Types of Radiation

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Learn about radiation, and what everyday items produce radiation, with a series of activities about heat transfer. Kids go over basic information about electromagnetic waves and ionizing radiation before performing several experiments...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
American Chemical Society

Changing State: Melting

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Dry ice is extremely cold — it is -109.3°F or -78.5°C. Scholars observe and explain the molecular motion associated with melting. Then they design their own experiments to speed up the melting process. Finally, a teacher presents a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Absorption of Solar Energy

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Two sequential parts to this lesson introduce your class to the electromagnetic spectrum, the ability to absorb radiant energy, and the pigments in leaves that are responsible for collecting sunlight to be used in the photosynthetic...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Science 4 Inquiry

Introducing the Types of Energy

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Young scientists explore many different types of energy including light, heat, nuclear, sound, potential, and more. They match the types of energy and identify when energy transfers from one type to another.
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Unit Plan
Intel

Plugging into the Sun

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
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...
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Activity
DiscoverE

Keep-a-Cube

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Waxed paper, newspaper, or aluminum foil? Keeping an ice cube from melting may require one or more of these materials. Learners design a box that will provide insulation so an ice cube stays intact for at least 90 minutes.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Electricity - Four Activities

For Teachers 4th - 6th
These are four classic activities used for instructing upper elementary electricians. The first involves experimenting with the Van de Graaff generator. The second is a series of hands-on experiences with static. In the third activity,...
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Worksheet
Texas State Energy Conservation Office

Investigation: Building a Parabolic-Trough Collector

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Amateurs of alternative energy build a mini parabolic-trough solar energy collector and use it to heat water. Temperature is recorded over a three-minute period and the data is graphed and analyzed. Note that in order to paint aquarium...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Bonneville

Manipulating Design Variables on Solar Heaters

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Always strive to make things better. The second of three activities in the Experimenting with Solar Heaters unit has learners design new solar heaters that are more effective compared to the simple models they used in the previous...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

The Intertropical Convergence Zone

For Teachers 3rd - 11th Standards
Young scientists know it is hotter along the equator, but why is it also rainier? Through the process of completing two experiments and a worksheet, scholars discover the answer is the intertropical convergence zone. First, they...
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Activity
Texas State Energy Conservation Office

Investigation: Conservation of Energy

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
By rolling marbles down a six-foot length of track, physical scientists determine how much energy is lost to heat. It is recommended that you opt for the foam pipe insulation track because more friction slows the marble, allowing...
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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Energy Changes in Chemical Reactions

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The heat of solution measures how much thermal energy a dissolving substance consumes or gives off. The experiment demonstrates both endothermic and exothermic reactions. Scholars dissolve several substances, measure the temperature...
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Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Get Your Techno On

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Desert regions are hotter for multiple reasons; the lack of vegetation causes the sun's heat to go straight into the surface and the lack of moisture means none of the heat is being transferred into evaporation. This concept, and other...
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Energy and Winds

For Teachers 6th Standards
In the study of wind energy, scholars build a small windmill and observe how it transfers wind into mechanical energy. Learners will make connections to the previous lesson with concepts such as the creation of wind through convection.
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Activity
American Chemical Society

Entropy and Enthalpy Changes

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
My room isn't messy — it's a scientific experiment in entropy! Scholars investigate entropy, enthalpy, and spontaneity through a guided procedure and set of questions. The lesson connects the Second Law of Thermodynamics, energy transfer...
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Peanut Energy

For Teachers 6th Standards
How do humans get energy since they aren't mechanical and can't photosynthesize? Learners explore this question by relating potential energy in food to human energy levels. Scholars measure the change in mass and a change in temperature...
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Activity
Serendip

How Do Biological Organisms Use Energy?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
When an organism eats, how does food become energy? Young biologists follow glucose through the process of cellular respiration to the creation of ADP using a discussion-based activity. The resource also highlights conservation of mass...
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Lesson Plan
US Environmental Protection Agency

Carbon Through the Seasons

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Meteorologists view an animated video by the Environmental Protection Agency to learn how the carbon cycle works, and then move into groups to analyze and graph actual data of the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration from Hawaii's...
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Lesson Plan
1
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National Science Teacher Association

Middle School Sampler: Science

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis and...
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Lesson Plan
Rochester Institute of Technology

Solar Energy

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Warm up to the idea of solar energy. A lesson includes three activities that challenge scholars to apply knowledge in new ways. First, they learn to run an alarm clock without a battery by using solar energy. Next, they complete an...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

More on Conduction and Convection

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Why do some items feel colder when they are the same temperature? How should you keep your soda cold? What makes the wind blow? These are just some of the things middle schoolers discover when completing a lesson on conduction and...
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Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Penny Perfect Properties (Solid-Liquid Interations)

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
I can get more water to stay on a penny than you can! Collaborative pairs determine the volume of liquids that can be contained on the surface of copper pennies and plastic coins. The pairs analyze their results using graphs and go on to...
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Activity
Curated OER

The BEAM Project: Building Efficient Architectural Models

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Technology or engineering teams are given a task to design, construct, and test the efficiency of a structure that will foster an even temperature throughout an entire sunny day. Intended as a long-term project, pupils research, plan,...

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