Curated OER
Earth Forces
High schoolers use geological techniques such as plate tectonics, mountain building, earthquakes, and volcanoes, in order to explain the earth.
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The Earth's Atmosphere and Temperature
Students describe and compare the layers of the atmosphere. They explain how to measure the temperature of the atmosphere and discover what causes the atmosphere to heat up in some places more than in others.
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Three Methods of Heat Transfer
Students participate in a variety of experiments designed to illustrate types of heat transfer including conduction, convection and radiation. They complete worksheets as an assessment of the experiments.
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Climate And the Greenhouse Effect
Students demonstrate the greenhouse effect. They recognize that relatively small changes to our environment can stimulate significant climate changes. They determine that the "scientific method" is a process of testing hypotheses and...
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Energy from the Sun
In this energy from the sun instructional activity, students are given 20 terms to complete sentences about the sun, the energy of the sun, the radiation of the sun, the transfer of energy from the sun and the currents created by the...
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Rock My World
Students conduct a hands-on experiment designed to demonstrate how continents and oceans formed and why the manner of formation is relevant to a study of volcanoes.
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What's it Like Inside the Sun?
Learners perform experiment in which they model convection as it occurs in our Sun. They also explain that convection acts where the effect of gravity and heat are present (low density fluids can rise and cool, and high density fluids...
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Volcano! Is That a Volcano on Your Plate?
Students investigate where volcanos come from. For this volcano lesson, students watch videos do Internet research and participate in experiments to discover the cause of volcanos.
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Heat Absorption and Radiation
Middle schoolers experiment with the concepts of absorption and reflection of radiant energy.
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Modeling the Rock Cycle
In this modeling the rock cycle worksheet, students use a sugar cube to show the phases and changes in the rock cycle as represented by the changes in the sugar cube. For each step of the experiment students indicate the part of the rock...
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Melts in Your Bag, Not in Your Hands
Students study how the sun transfers heat to the earth through radiation. They examine how animals absorb energy from the sun to warm their bodies by experiment with chocolate melting. They examine sun safety.
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Energy/Light/Heat/Sound
Fourth graders study the properties of heat in this series of lessons. They discuss sources of heat and experiment to determine its properties. They identify insulators and conductors by measuring temperatures, and graphing their data....
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Sunlight and Warm Air
Students discuss radiant energy from the sun, performing a simple experiment with sun glasses and bright light to demonstrate the concept. Students further participate in simple in-class experiments to demonstrate: air density as it...
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Current Interactions
Students design an experiment to see how wind, temperature, and salinity work together to influence ocean currents and present it in a report format. They explain to their classmates how experiment findings relate to ocean currents.
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Perpetual Motion
Students discuss movement of air currents and then experiment to create visible models of air currents. Students connect the model to weather patterns.
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Create a Cloud in a Bottle
Students observe an experiment showing the formation of a cloud. They write a paragraph summarizing the condition that are necessary for a cloud to form and explain the weather situations cause cloud formation.
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Wind Dynamics and Forests
Students perform experiments to explore differences in wind speed and forest density. Through experimentation and observation, students realize that changes in vegetation affect the atmosphere and wind conditions. They create a model...
National Energy Education Development Project
Introduction to Wind Energy
The U.S. produced enough wind energy in 2015 to power all of the homes in Alaska, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and...
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Building for the Big One
Students build and test structures that can best withstand earthquakes. They create their structures from playdough, cornstarch, grape-nuts and popsicle sticks and place their structures on a "shake table."
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Atmospheric Processes - Radiation
Students investigate how different surfaces absorb heat, and how the physical characteristics of a surface have a powerful effect on the way a surface absorbs and releases heat from the sun.
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Introduction to Scientific Method
Students investigate safe laboratory procedures, classroom management guidelines, and group roles and procedures. They study a set of safety guidelines with their parents, and to sign a contract stating that they understand the...
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It's Rainin', It's Pouring
Learners take a quick examine part of the water cycle, and the combined gas laws. The lesson plan lead them through the conditions necessary for cloud formation and allow them to create clouds in three different hands-on activities.
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Graphical Determination of Density
Students determine the density of metal shot by a graphical method using significant digits in making measurements and calculations. Students graph a seris of laboratory measurements and determine density from a mass verses volume graph.
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Scientific Images & Animations
Students view a variety of scientific images and animations. They explore the world of science and visual art. Students enrich their knowledge through animation examinations of thoughts and feelings and awesome color rainbows of...