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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Energy from Water Wheels

For Teachers 6th Standards
Historians believe the first vertical water wheel was invented in Rome during the Augustan Age. The sixth lesson in the series of 10 has scholars experiment with designing their own water wheels. Through testing various pastas and...
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Lesson Plan
University of California

Energy and Biomass Pyramids

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
Young scientists play tag as they act out the food pyramid in the ocean ecosystem. Energy circles pass from the smaller prey to the predators and at the end of the activity, a data chart and analysis questions allow pupils to apply their...
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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
It's About Time

Exploring Energy Resource Concepts

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Please turn off the lights to conserve energy. Or not, after all energy is always conserved. This first lesson in an eight-part series includes three parts. Part A contains one hands-on activity and two inquiry-based experiments on heat...
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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
American Physiological Society

Feeling the Heat

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How do the changing seasons affect the homes where we live? This question is at the forefront of engineering and design projects. Challenge your physical science class to step into the role of an architect to build a model home capable...
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Lesson Plan
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Science 4 Inquiry

Investigating How Heat Flows

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Hurricanes as Heat Engines

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Hurricanes are a destructive yet fascinating phenomenon. Individuals examine evidence that hurricanes use thermal energy from the ocean as they approach land. Learners use images, charts, and graphs to collect data and then draw...
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

The Grid

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Upper graders form a "Presidential Task Force," and attempt to make recommendations concerning the future of the national power grid. After a teacher-led discussion which proves that our nation's energy consumption will soon outpace our...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heat and Thermodynamics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
This is actually a 10-day mini unit on thermal energy for your high school chemists. Every avenue is taken to get learners absorbed in heat: a pretest, a PowerPoint presentation, Internet exploration, demonstrations, lab activities, and...
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Lesson Plan
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Bonneville

Making the Standard Solar Heater

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Heat up a lesson on solar energy. The first of three parts in the Experimenting with Solar Heaters unit has scholars construct solar heaters. They then use them to heat up a container of water and calculate the amount of heat energy...
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Lesson Plan
American Physiological Society

Why is Kettle Corn Cooked in Copper Pots?

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The kitchen — it's not just for eating anymore! Specific heat is often a difficult concept to grasp, so give it context by relating it to cooking. Learners gain experience in the principles of thermal energy transfer by designing an...
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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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Unit Plan
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PBS

Blow the Roof Off!

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics from making...
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Lesson Plan
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NASA

Feel the Heat

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Pupils examine how solar energy can supply power and heat on the lunar surface. As groups design and build a solar-powered water heating system, they test their system to determine the change in temperature of the water and redesign it...
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Activity
Teach Engineering

Swinging Pendulum

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Get into the swing of things. Pupils use a pendulum to demonstrate the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy and back. After measuring the speed of a pendulum and compare it to the calculated theoretical speed, they determine...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Go with the Flow

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does nature's hierarchy relate to our local human environment? Answer this question, along with others, as the class visually depicts the natural hierarchy provided by nature. Pupils discuss each piece of the pyramid and its energy...
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Activity
Serendip

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does energy from the sun make plants grow? Scholars move step by step through the processes that promote plant propagation during a detailed lesson. The resource illustrates ADP production and hydrolysis, then allows learners to...
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Unit Plan
Indiana Department of Education

Amusement of the Future

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Take your class on the ride of their lives! Physical science scholars get an in-depth look at potential and kinetic energies in an amusement park-themed unit. Students research, design, and promote their own amusement parks, complete...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gallery Walk Questions on Earth's Radiation Balance

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Questions that can be used in a lesson on Earth's radiation balance are suggested in this resource. It is not a lesson plan, per se, but it is a list of questions for stations within a "Gallery Walk" lesson. The link to how Gallery Walks...
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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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Unit Plan
Essential Energy

Being a Safety Star (Stage 3)

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
A spark of static electricity contains up to 3,000 volts, while a lightning strike contains around 3,000,000 volts. To understand electricity, its power, and the safety considerations relating to it learners engage in a comprehensive...
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Unit Plan
Columbus City Schools

It’s Electric!

For Teachers 7th Standards
Shocking! Who knew so many great ideas existed for teaching middle schoolers about electricity? Find them all within this energetic framework. You'll light up at the variety of printable and web-based resources within! After building...

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