Curated OER
IPC Physics Vocabulary Review
In this physics review instructional activity, students review vocabulary words associated with speed, acceleration, Newton's Laws and simple machines, work and energy, magnetism, electricity, and harmonic motion and light. This...
Curated OER
Can You See the Light?
Students investigate the transmission of light energy. In this light energy instructional activity, students observe bubbles using different colored filters and record their observations. They also look at a light source through various...
Curated OER
Measuring Calories
Students investigate what a calorie is and how and why we measure them. They conduct an experiment to compare the calories of a peanut and a mini-marshmallow, and explain and discuss how calories are directly related to the amount of...
Curated OER
Heating
Students develop the idea that heat is a form of energy which moves from hot objects to cold ones.
Discovery Education
Cool It!
Adjust the melting time of ice without varying the temperature! Learners experiment with different materials to decide how the materials affect the rate an ice cube melts. They then connect their findings to the conductivity of each...
Discovery Education
It's Melting!
It's a race to the finish! Which ice cube will melt the fastest? Scholars discover the effect thermal energy has on melting ice. They experiment with melting ice cubes on different materials and learn that even at a consistent...
Discovery Education
It's Getting Hot in Here
Class members engage in a STEM experiment and investigate how materials affect heating in a house by creating models of houses and using different top surface materials. They record the temperature inside the models and consider what the...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Albedo, Reflectivity, and Absorption
What is reflectivity, and what does it have to do with the Earth's climate? As reflectivity is measured by albedo, scientists can gather information on Earth's energy balances that relate to global warming or climate change. Budding...
Messenger Education
My Angle on Cooling—Effect of Distance and Inclination
When exploring Mars, spacecrafts are exposed to 5-11 times more sunlight than when near Earth. Groups of pupils complete a hands-on activity to explore how distance and angle of the sun affect temperature. Through discussions, they then...
Virginia Department of Education
Greenhouse Gas Modeling Activity
Why are greenhouse gases called greenhouse gases? Young Earth scientists learn about greenhouse gases though experimentation in the second installment of a 3-part series. They use lamps to model radiant energy as well...
University of California
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Calories are not tiny creatures that sew your clothes tighter every night, but what are they? A science lesson, presented at multiple levels, has learners experiment with heat, heat transfer, and graph the function over time....
Virginia Department of Education
States of Matter
Scientists have been studying exothermic reactions before they were cool. The lesson begins with a discussion and a demonstration of heat curves. Scholars then determine the heat of fusion of ice and the heat needed to...
Messenger Education
Give Me a Boost—How Gravity Assists Aid Space Exploration
The propellant needed for space explorations runs in the thousands, while paying to get the craft into orbit costs millions! In the second installment of three, two activities explore laws of conservation of energy and momentum. Using...
Curated OER
Energy Transfer
Students investigate the properties of heated air. They make predictions about what they think makes the wind blow on a worksheet, and conduct two experiments to demonstrate the properties of heated air. Students heat a bottle until a...
Curated OER
The Heat is On
Third graders experiment with heat through investigations. They rub objects together and compare the relative differences in the amount of heat given off. They write in their journals about the results they find.
Curated OER
Forces And Energy
Students investigate the atom and how it is formed. They conduct research using a variety of resources and then construct a model of the atom. Then students have class discussion. The instructional activity includes background...
Chemistry Collective
Virtual Lab: Camping Problem I
Hiking chemists have an advantage! Young scholars use a virtual lab to conduct an experiment to create an exothermic reaction. The goal is to create enough heat to warm a meal during a hike in the rain.
Curated OER
Fossil Fuels: Facing the Issues
Students explore energy by researching fuel usage on Earth. In this fossil fuel lesson, students define fossil fuels, the energy created by burning them, and the impact on the environment when using them. Students conduct pollution...
Curated OER
Investigating and Using Biomass Gases
Students examine the definitions of biomas gasification and generate their own biomass gas. In this renewable energy lesson students collect gases and roast a marshmallow.
Curated OER
Survival Still
Students explain how to desalinate water using solar energy. In this solar lesson students complete a lab activity and explain capillary water.
Curated OER
Science: Hurricanes As Heat Engines
Students conduct Internet research to track the path of Hurricane Rita. They record the sea surface temperature of the Gulf of Mexico during and after the hurricane and draw conclusions about how hurricanes extract heat energy from the...
Curated OER
How the Amount of Solar Energy Absorbed by the Earth is Dependent Upon the Earth's Position
Students investigate the angle of light and how it faces the earth. They conduct a series of investigations with the following two objectives. Students determine if the angle of light is a factor in the absorption of heat. They correlate...
Curated OER
Go With the Flow!
Students experiment with heat transfer in a countercurrent system and describe the importance of conduction in heat-energy transfer.
Curated OER
Environmental Studies: The Power of Wind
Investigate the prospect of wind as a renewable resource. Second and third graders make a pinwheel, answer critical thinking questions, and then attempt to use wind power to wind string. I would be more apt to use this lesson in a 1st or...