Adjust the melting time of ice without varying the temperature! Learners experiment with different materials to decide how the materials affect the rate an ice cube melts. They then connect their findings to the conductivity of each...

Liquid or not, here comes the electricity. Scholars test the conductivity of various substances using a circuit that includes a light bulb. If the light bulb lights up, then the liquid is a conductor. What a bright idea!

In this electronics worksheet, students explore the properties of semiconductors to complete 17 short answer and problem solving questions.

Students experiment with transition metals.  In this transition metals lesson students find the common properties of transition metals and conduct an experiment using one of them.  Students then answer questions regarding what...

Put those old holiday lights to good use. Individuals use a section of ornamental lights to create electric circuits. If the lights glow, it's a success; otherwise, it's time to try again!

Orange you glad you can make circuits using fruit? Young electricians learn about electric circuits and electricity. As part of the instructional activity, they build a circuit with an orange and then with a banana.

Let the true colors shine through. Pupils conduct a flame test to identify an unknown element. Class members calculate and prepare specific molarity solutions of three chemicals. Using their observations of the colors emitted, they...

Your pupils can build their own electromagnet — awesome! The culminating activity in an eight-part series challenges groups to design and build their own electromagnet. The goal of the activity is to build a magnet capable of picking up...

Introduce emerging engineers to the process of metal plating. This resource provides background reading on chemical engineering, plating, and corrosion. It concludes with a copper plating activity. The standards alignment list includes...

I need something to test. The three sessions in this lesson plan have individuals build and test a prototype of their design. The first two sessions are devoted to prepping for the prototype by drawing up specifications and materials....

Contemplate the causes of corrosion. An interesting lesson has learners first conduct an experiment where they place nails in different types of water. Based on the results, they consider how corrosion occurs and how engineers need to...

It might not be easy, but it is worth recycling electronics. Small groups determine the percentage of the materials that make up an iPad 2 and display the information in a circle graph. They then research the recycling process for...

It is just magnetic. This resource presents the concept of Earth's and another planet's magnetic field and how spacecrafts detect them. Learners study a problem using magnetometers and participate in three experiments to come up with a...

It's a race to the finish! Which ice cube will melt the fastest? Scholars discover the effect thermal energy has on melting ice. They experiment with melting ice cubes on different materials and learn that even at a consistent...

This is what all of the excitement has been building up to! Young engineers create engineering drawings, use machines to manufacture their products, test, and evaluate their designs in the last step in the engineering design...

What constitutes a good soap bubble? In the second installment of a nine-part series, scholars apply their understanding of surface tension to soap bubbles. They experiment to determine the best solutions to use for the...

Give small groups of physical scientists tokens that represent electrons in a photovoltaic cell. They play a dice game in which they move the tokens around, representing the flow of electrons through the p-n junction of a semiconductor...

Young scholars investigate energy consumption by researching wattage.  In this electricity lesson, students discuss how electricity works and gets transferred to our electronic devices through generators and circuits.  Young...

Middle schoolers explore multiple types of energy. In this energy lesson plan, students prepare a science fair project through completing a WebQuest. Middle schoolers investigate radiant, thermal, and biochemical energy.

Students explore how rechargeable batteries work by conducting a series of experiments. In this physics lesson plan, students discuss the benefits of using rechargeable batteries over disposable ones. They build their own battery charger...

Students discuss the needs for robots in space discovery, and take turns simulating a robot and controller to demonstrate the difficulties of programming a robot to successfully complete simple tasks.

Students examine how electrical force takes place between two objects by building an electroscope. They apply the electroscope to determine an objects' charge intensity and to see what factors influence electric force.

As students learn more about the manufacturing process, they use what they learned from testing their designs in the previous activity to continue to improve and redesign. Students also have the opportunity to manufacture their final...