Students study electricity. In this physics lesson, students review electrical energy by discussing three ways of generating it. Students explore various energy sources used for creating electricity and examine how different states...

Students build electrical circuits. In this lesson teaching pre-service teachers how to use the 5E instructional model, students use materials to explore how to create an electrical circuit.

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,...

Students study the basic principles of electric motors and explore everyday uses. They build a working model of an electric motor for classroom use, using an inexpensive kit. Then, they work as an "engineering" team to determine the...

There is a specific zone, or distance from a star, that a planet must be in order to have water in a liquid form. The activity demonstrates how flux density depends on its distance from the source. A photovoltaic cell gets power to...

An MRI uses both a magnetic and electricity, so how do the two interact with each other? Class members observe the effects on a charged particle when it is subject to both an electrical and magnetic field. The teacher background...

Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...

Provide a comprehensive exploration of bridges and civil engineering. First, learners discuss the different types of bridges. Then, they identify the characteristics of a suspension, beam, and arch type of bridge. In addition, they learn...

Students study what an electric generator does and its history.  In this energy instructional activity students complete several experiments including building their own electric generator.

In this online electricity worksheet, students are asked 10 questions about electric current and battery energy, an online answer key provided.

Don't know how to make the initial connection on electric circuits? This instructional activity provides the background to present the introductory vocabulary to learning about electric circuits. It is organized in a meaningful...

Every time a bell rings ... there is lightning in the area. The activity provides directions to build a model of a lightning detection system. Similar to a system designed by Benjamin Franklin, the system uses static...

It's time to wake up! Young engineers build an electric circuit that will activate an alarm. The use of switches in the circuit is a must—because you don't want the alarm to keep beeping forever!

Engineers team up to design and construct an 18-inch-long robotic arm that can successfully pick up a paper cup. Each group is given the exact same set of materials, but it is up to them to decide what to use and how to use it. It is a...

In this reading and glossary usage activity, learners read a passage about electric cars, determine meanings of vocabulary using a glossary, and identify the true comprehensive statements. Students answer 8 questions.

In this solar electricity and satellites worksheet, students calculate the perimeter of a satellite, they find the area of the surface of the satellite and they determine if there is sufficient space for enough solar panels to supply the...

Students explore electricity in daily life by examining everyday appliances. In this electrical current lesson, students identify the differences between watts, volts and amps and how they relate to the devices we depend upon. Students...

Second graders explore different engineering careers. In this math lesson, 2nd graders create a winning cooking recipe. They role play a mock cookie sale during the culminating event.

Students perform an experiment which simulates what happens inside an internal combustion engine. They explain how the chemical reaction they witnessed is similar to what happens inside the car engine.

In this ion rocket engines worksheet, students read about how heavy atoms are used to create the thrust in rocket engines. They solve 5 problems including determining the speed of atoms in a satellite, finding the average acceleration of...

In this physics worksheet, students use Ohm's law to solve for voltage, current and resistance. They answer 13 problem solving questions using Ohm's law.

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!

Small groups use the engineering design process to build and test a vehicle capable of carrying 250 grams a distance of five meters. The design must allow for the storage of potential energy and turn it into motion,...

Concentrate to determine the best reflector design. Pairs use the engineering design process to build a reflector to increase the current output of a photovotaic panel. Teams arrive at a final design and present it to the class along...