Lesson Plan
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Newton Must have Been a Sports Fan

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students examine Newton's Laws. For this law of motion lesson, students observe Newton's three laws of physics demonstrated by the teacher. They apply other examples to Newton's first law of inertia.
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A Cut Above the Rest Administration Procedures

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze how the Law of Conservation of Energy applies to the design and use of scissors. Working in groups, they determine the output work for a standard pair of scissors.
Lesson Plan
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Line Dance is a Pattern!

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders apply the pattern of a line dance to different music tempos.
Lesson Plan
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Satellite Tracking

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students apply satellite tagging data to investigate questions related to open-ocean animals, their habitats, and their migratory behaviors. They determine how physical or biological factors determine organism behavior using a data...
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Matter and Energy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students participate in a small group read aloud of the short story, "Cerium" by Primo Levi. They answer several questions about the story and then relate the reading to a lecture on Kinetic theory. After the lecture they apply the...
Worksheet
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Torque Play

For Students 12th - Higher Ed
In this physics activity, students use torque to explain several very odd phenomena. They write the definition of torque and the relation between torque and change in angular momentum.
Lesson Plan
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Exploring Magnetism in Solar Flares

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students apply concepts of magnetism to help them understand the production of solar flares. In this solar flare lesson, students complete activities and graphic organizers to help them learn about magnetic fields on the surface of the...
Lesson Plan
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Hawaiian Monk Seal Jeopardy

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students explore the Hawaiian monk seal. In this science lesson, students read about the monk seal and participate in a game in which they answer questions about the Hawaiian monk seal.
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Acid Rain

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use real-time weather maps to determine the likelihood of acid rainfall in a region. Students apply their understanding of interaction between weather systems, land and air pollution, to address acid rain and the effects on...
Lesson Plan
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What Is Engineering Design

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the concepts related to the practice of designing and building large scale buildings. They conduct research using the internet and other resources in order to apply mathematics and architectural design principals in...
Lesson Plan
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The Invention of Faraday Cage

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students demonstrate how Faraday's cage work by building their own electroscope. In this physics lesson, students explain how Faraday's cage work. They cite several applications of this principle in the real world.
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What is Cultural Evolution?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students comprehend what is meant by Cultural Evolution and that it primarily applies at Human Evolution, but that there are examples in higher mammals such as a killer whales, dolphins and great apes of particular groups by exploring...
Lesson Plan
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Our Solar System

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students analyze the theories of the formation of the universe and solar system. Students analyze planetary motion and the physical laws that explain that motion: Rotation, Revolution, Apparent diurnal motions of the stars, sun, and...
Lesson Plan
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Gravity Lesson

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders study the effects of mass on gravity. In this gravity instructional activity, 5th graders make model parachutes and helicopters in order to apply the scientific process and find out the effects of mass on drops of the 2...
Lesson Plan
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Shipwreck Alley

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the different types of vessels used in commercial shipping.  In this commercial shipping lesson students apply force and motion to problems of marine safety. 
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Jell-O-Shakin

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students design a tower made of jell-o. In this science lesson, students investigate what it takes to build a jell-o building that will not fall when shaken. They discuss what causes earthquakes and how it is controlled.
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Engineering in Sports

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore physical education by completing a quiz in class. In this engineering instructional activity, students identify different ways engineering has made sports safer such as stronger padding and helmets, stronger equipment...
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Soda Straw Rocket Activity

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students construct a rocket using soda straw. In this physics lesson, students determine the nose cone length that produces the best rocket. They explain the importance of using a control in an experiment.
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Hot Stuff

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate if heat can change the form of matter. In this physics lesson, students use heat sources to observe the changes in an ice cube. Students graph which heat source changed the matter the fastest.
Lesson Plan
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Geometry of Radio Meteor Reflections

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders investigate and describe ways that human understanding of Earth and space has depended on technological development. They describe and interpret the science of optical and radio telescopes, space probes and remote sensing...
Lesson Plan
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Shine On, Moon

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore space science by conducting an experiment in class. In this Moon lesson, students define a list of space science vocabulary and read the book The Moon. Students utilize shoeboxes and string to conduct a sunlight...
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Order, Order All Electrons

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students read the periodic table and apply their knowledge of the construction of atoms. They demonstrate reading the electron configuration of an element on the periodic file.
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A Colorful Rainforest

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers are introduced to the various types of birds that make their home in the tropical rainforest. In groups, they use a template of a tropical bird and use color to identify each physical feature. They use the internet to...
Lesson Plan
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Photocells II: The Photoelectric Effect in Photocells

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners discuss the principles of atomic structure that underlie the operation of a photovoltaic cell and explains how they apply to a photovoltaic cell's operation. An area of the classroom is staked off to represent a photovoltaic...