+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Transfer of Energy 1: Thermochemistry

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Budding chemists achieve a basic understanding of the role of heat in chemical reactions. An online worksheet gives learners instructions and questions to answer as they investigate the Chem4Kids website and perform a hands-on lab...
+
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Energy Transfer and Transformation

For Teachers 6th Standards
When you take a simple task and create an exceptionally difficult way to complete it, it is known as a Rube Goldberg machine. These machines are filled with many types of energy transfers and energy transformations. Here, pupils watch...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Transfer of Energy 2: Electrochemistry

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study about electrochemistry by increasing their understanding of electron transfer and its role in chemical changes. They explain that energy appears in different forms. Heat energy is in the disorderly motion of molecules.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Electricity ~ The Colour Sensitivity of a Photovoltaic Cell

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Teacher's notes, a materials list, detailed procedure, tips, and extension ideas are all included to make teaching this lesson on photovoltaic cells a sunny spot in your day! After some brief background reading, physical science...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Heat Islands: An Introduction to Energy Transfer and Transformation

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Elementary school physical scientists explore kinetic mechanical energy by dropping a golf ball on different surfaces. They discuss how human made materials might react to light differently from nature made materials. This lesson plan...
+
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...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Chemistry of Refining Crude Oil

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Consider our energy sources: wood, coal, oil, uranium. Learners compare the pollution to energy produced for each. They practice fractional distillation of an alcohol/water mixture to simulate the process of refining crude oil....
+
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Peanut Energy

For Teachers 6th Standards
How do humans get energy since they aren't mechanical and can't photosynthesize? Learners explore this question by relating potential energy in food to human energy levels. Scholars measure the change in mass and a change in temperature...
+
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Potential and Kinetic Energy

For Teachers 6th Standards
Everything has potential energy; learning to use it is the key to understanding all types of energy. Scholars learn the difference between kinetic and potential energy. They then apply the concept to drawing examples of both types of...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Simplified Vertical Rebound Testing

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students participate in a lab activity in which they examine a simple energy transformation system. Students test the rebound of elastomers, produce rebound data, and determine the kinetic energy transformed by the impact of a free...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making a Battery and Energy Transformation

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders determine what makes a battery work. In this battery lesson, 7th graders brainstorm ideas about how they think batteries provide energy. They perform an experiment in which they work as a team to assemble a battery. They...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Energy Debate - Energy of Peanut

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students articulate the difference between the terms heat and temperature. They calculate the amount of energy associated with a given temperature rise and design an experiment to measure the energy of a fuel.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Applied Science - Technology (3A) Post Lab

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders discuss how energy is created. In this energy lesson, 3rd graders look at how a city receives energy and how it is made. They create their own generator using a pin wheel and pipe cleaners. 
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shrinky Dinks® Palettes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here is a fun and clever lesson plan for teaching physics classes how to calculate wavelength if given the energy and frequency data. On a worksheet, they compute wavelengths using a table of information that you provide. On a paper...
+
Lesson Plan
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Biomass: Biogas Generator

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
It's a gas. Middle schoolers build a biogas generator following the directions in this resource. After a few days of observation, they demonstrate that the gas given off by the decomposing manure is flammable. The activity concludes as...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Transformers

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine how a transformer works and its practical applications.  In this electricity lesson students complete several experiments using transformers and generators.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Power: Work and Energy

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students explore how work and energy create power. They complete activities involving simple machines, energy, energy conversion, and the role of conductors and insulators. They choose from a menu of options the activities they would...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Chicago Botanic Garden

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
The greenhouse effect is important, for without it, life on Earth would not exist. An activity that includes modeling the greenhouse effect and acting out the Earth's energy balance makes up the first part in a series of seven lessons....
+
Lesson Plan
University of California

Marble Rollercoasters

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Don't let your classes coast through school! Engage them in their learning as they build their own roller coasters to study potential and kinetic energy. Young scholars complete several challenges that require them to consider the...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Thermal Energy and Heat Unit

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explain that heat energy in a material consists of the disordered motions of its atoms or molecules. They know and explain that transformations of energy usually transform some energy into the form of heat, which dissipates by...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kinetic and Potential Energy

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students calculate kinetic and potential energy in the lab. In this physics lesson, students demonstrate how energy can be transformed from one form to another. They collect data from the experiment and write a detailed lab report.
+
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...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Purdue University

Can You Design a Hot or Cold Pack?

For Teachers 6th
You're getting warmer. Groups conduct an experiment to determine which of four chemicals are in hot/cold packs. They learn about exothermic and endothermic reactions and use this knowledge to design a hot/cold pack that is small enough...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

2D Motion

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the motion of objects in two dimensions. In this dimensional lesson students view several demonstrations, complete a worksheet and a lab activity.