PHET
Masses and Springs
Have you ever stretched out a Slinkie so much it wouldn't go back to its original shape? Slinkies, like all springs, follow Hooke's Law. A simulation uses springs and masses to demonstrate kinetic, potential, and thermal energy. It...
Teach Engineering
Energy on a Roller Coaster
Roll with your class into the idea of conservation of energy. Pupils use a roller coaster track to collect data to reinforce the concept of conservation of energy and the influence of friction. Class members then create a graph from...
Curated OER
The Nature of Energy
Many important facts about energy are described in this chemistry PowerPoint. There are definitions for different types of energy, and information about certain important calculations and units. The show finishes with a link to a video...
Rice University
College Physics for AP® Courses
Take a look at an organized physics course. The 34-section electronic textbook covers material in AP® Physics 1 and 2. Teachers use the text to supplement lectures and have the class work through the labs. Each section contains multiple...
Curated OER
Kinds of Energy
In this kinds of energy worksheet, students read about potential energy, kinetic energy, and momentum. They answer four multiple choice questions about what they read.
Teach Engineering
Making Moon Craters
Create an egg-citing study of energy. Pupils investigate the effect of height and mass on the overall amount of energy of a falling object. The fourth segment in a six-part series on energy uses a weighted egg falling from different...
Curated OER
The Elastic Racquet
Students use this introductory lab using a tennis racquet, however it is very difficult to study because of the strings and the racquet stretch so little and so quickly during a match that students were unable to make simple...
Curated OER
Universal Gravitation
Learners calculate gravitational potential energy for any situation. They use two scenarios to evaluate gravitational potential energy in relation to conservation of energy. They verify that the gravitational potential energy function...
American Chemical Society
Exploring Energy
When asked to list everyday objects that require energy, most people list technology that use batteries or electricity. Through hands-on exploration, young scientists discover energy is much more than just circuitry. They play with...
Museum of Science
Roller Coaster
Take a marble out for a roll. Using a section of flexible tubing, pupils build a roller coaster that will allow for a marble to act as the car. Learners create a loop, hill, and jump in their coasters by taping the tubing to different...
NASA
On Target
NASA's LCROSS mission is dropping a probe into a lunar crater. Groups design a system to travel down a zip line and drop a marble onto a target in the classroom. The groups then modify their designs based upon testing.
Tech Museum of Innovation
Balloon Astronaut
Design protection from high-speed particles. The STEM lesson plan highlights why astronauts need protection from space debris. Pupils use the design process to design, build, and test a spacesuit that will protect a balloon from a...
PBS
Zip Line
Slide all the way to the bottom. Using the design process, pupils create a carrier for a ping pong ball that will travel down a zip line. Learners test their carriers and determine solutions to issues they encounter to complete the third...
Museum of Science
Egg Bungee
Think bungee jumping looks scary? Knowing the science behind bungee jumping might make it less so. Using an egg and rubber bands, young engineers model bungee jumping. They test the distances that the egg falls for different numbers of...
Curated OER
Elastic Racquet
Students discover the science behind a tennis racket by looking at a simple toy that works in a similar way. After looking at the related mathematical equations, students experiment with the simple toy to find the spring constant k by...
Curated OER
Energy Transformation
In this energy transformation worksheet, students earn extra credit by choosing a energy transforming toy or ride at an amusement park and analyzing the energy transformation involved in its movement. Students draw a diagram to...
Curated OER
Perpetual Motion
High schoolers are introduced to the concept of Energy Conservation with the example of: Tony Hawk seems to defy the conservation of energy as he keeps reaching new heights on each pass on the halk-pipe. Actually, Tony is supplying the...
Curated OER
Black Holes...Hot Stuff!...VIII
In this black holes worksheet, high schoolers solve three problems about black holes using given equations for determining the temperature of the gases in a black hole and the visible light from the black hole at given temperatures.
Curated OER
Jeopardy 8th Grade (Science)
There are so many topics touched upon in this Jeopardy-style science game, that it is difficult to classify! The categories include electricity, matter, ecology, earth and space, and scientific investigation. This would best be used at...
Columbus City Schools
Force Field Physics
Attracted class members to an activity-packed journey through the science behind the invisible forces at work all around us. From jump rope generators to junkyard wars, there's never a dull moment when eighth grade physics scholars...
National Energy Education Development Project
Exploring Hydropower
In 2006, about 20 percent of the world's electricity was generated from hydroelectric power. In the presentation, scholars review the water cycle and gravitational energy to begin to understand how humans harness the power of water. They...
Curated OER
Energy At Play
If you can find Tinker Toys™, then this may be a fun assignment for your physical science class. Using the construction set and a few other toys, they examine the forces involved when it they are being played with. For each, they...
University of California
Work, Energy, Power, Momentum
Planning a physics unit on energy can take a lot of work, luckily this instructional presentation is here to help. Covering everything from work and energy to elastic collisions and the conservation of momentum, this comprehensive...
Urbana School District
Electric Fields
What kind of pears do electricians eat? Amperes! Presentation begins with electric field vectors for various charge configurations and field strengths for both point charges and uniform fields. It continues with various surfaces,...