Pingry School
Flame Tests
Light a fire in your pupils! Scholars conduct a flame test and observe the emission spectra of several different salts in an enlightening hands-on investigation. They use their observations to make comparisons and conclusions about the...
Colorado State University
What Is Energy?
Don't let the energy of your classroom falter! Explore the scientific definition of energy through play. A hands-on lesson focuses on the change of energy from one form to another.
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 3
Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble! Find out what drives a turbine to generate electricity and whether or not it has an impact on the environment. A discussion and lecture is divided by a hands-on activity in...
American Chemical Society
Temperature Affects Dissolving
Stir chocolate drink mix into hot and cold water to see if there is a difference in how quickly it dissolves. Number three in a six-lesson plan unit on dissolving, this installment investigates the effect of temperature. If you consult...
Curated OER
Heat and Electrical Resistance
Students discover electrical resistance and how it is directly related to thermal energy through a hands-on activity. Working in groups, they wrap a wire around a thermometer and the positive and negative poles of a D cell battery and...
Curated OER
Space Shuttle's Heat Shield Problem
Students participate in a role-play activity to determine how to replace heat shields on the space shuttle using polar coordinates.
National Park Service
The Secret of Life
Dead trees provide nutrients for the soil, food for animals, protection and a home for organisms, a seed-bed for new trees, and a place for nitrogen-fixing bacteria to live. In the activity, pupils collect decaying logs, expose them to a...
PBS
House Warming
Things should heat up during a hands-on lesson exploring solar energy. An enlightening activity challenges young scientists to design a structure that collects solar energy efficiently. They keep track of temperature data over time and...
Space Awareness
The Intertropical Convergence Zone
Young scientists know it is hotter along the equator, but why is it also rainier? Through the process of completing two experiments and a worksheet, scholars discover the answer is the intertropical convergence zone. First, they...
Polar Trec
Staying Warm in Antarctica!
Has your class ever wondered how animals and scientists stay warm in the Polar Regions? Kids will investigate to understand the three types of heat transfer and how heat transfer affects those trying to stay toasty in sub-zero...
Curated OER
Exploring How Rocks Are Formed
These lessons produced by the Illinois State Museum are quite good. In this one, third and fourth graders are introduced to the three basic types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. They perform activities which help them...
Chemistry Teacher
Metals, Nonmetals, and Metalloids Lab
What an exciting way to introduce your blossoming chemists to the world of metals, nonmetals, metalloids, and polymers! Here is a lab activity that is designed to allow pupils the opportunity to visualize the reaction of metals,...
Curated OER
The Absorption of Solar Energy
Two sequential parts to this lesson introduce your class to the electromagnetic spectrum, the ability to absorb radiant energy, and the pigments in leaves that are responsible for collecting sunlight to be used in the photosynthetic...
Curated OER
Spinning into Space
Students, through hands-on activities, teacher demonstrations, pictures, and informational books, complete a unit on the Earth and its place in the Universe. They make mobiles of the Milky Way and watch demonstrations of lunar and solar...
Curated OER
What a Drag
Students learn examples of friction and drag, and suggest ways to reduce the impact of these forces. The equation that governs common frictional forces is introduced, and during a hands-on activity, students experimentally measure a...
Curated OER
Caloric Burning Activities
Fourth graders use problem solving, decision making and basic math skills to calculate calories used during different activities. They determine the relation between food intake and activity. Students also figure out the activity,...
Curated OER
Heat Transfer
Learners examine heat transfer using energy efficient houses. In this heat transfer lesson students calculate the heat that is transferred between a system and its surroundings.
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 2
In this second of three lessons on power plants, future engineers find out how we generate electricity and how coal-powered plants operate. They work in small groups to make electromagnet generators to light LED bulbs. A set of...
Will Steger Foundation
The Carbon Cycle - What are its Implications for Climate Policy?
The carbon cycle isn't a bike which produces carbon and this lesson explains why. Through reading and discussion, groups of pupils create visual explanations of the four parts of the carbon dioxide oxygen cycle. Activities...
Teach Engineering
Package Those Foods!
Designing the right package — it's more than a pretty picture. Challenge small groups to design a food package. They must consider the type of food they are packaging and the package's ability to control the physical and...
Virginia Department of Education
Weathering of Limestone
We all know limestone weathers, but what affects the rate of weathering? Young scientists investigate the physical and chemical weathering of limestone (chalk) through experimentation. First, they conduct trials with different-size...
Curated OER
Heat Retention
Students test 4 materials to see which would be best for use as a heat mass. They then graph the temperature verus the time of the substances and decide which material would make the best heat mass.
US Department of Energy
Thermodynamics—Teacher Guide
I'm so cool! No, you're exothermic. This thermodynamics lab unit includes an introduction, teacher demonstrations, six labs that students rotate through each class day, homework assignments, application of knowledge, and...
Curated OER
Aluminum Adventure
Chemistry aces use an electrochemical cell to anodize a strip of aluminum. They apply an organic dye to it. In a practical application, they design a piece of jewelry out of the anodized metal and describe the process. Thorough notes...