Students examine Newton's three laws of motion to discover what causes it and how it changes. They conduct motion experiments by building catapults and constructing balloon rockets. Finally, they conduct peer studies correlating...

Learners become acquainted with the first law of thermodynamics, which concerns the conservation of energy as it is transformed from one form to another. They identify forms of energy, and devices or processes that transform energy from...

Young scholars identify the different sources of fossil fuels. In this environmental science lesson, students research about how these impact our environment. They explore renewable energy sources that could replace fossil fuels.

Use these slides to review the concepts involved with work. If the students have had practical experience and a basic understanding of physics, then these pages will help outline the basics and reinforce newer applications. There is one...

Students identify different kinds of energy such as heat energy, kinetic energy, potential energy, and magnetic energy. They investigate the concept of conservation of energy.

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...

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...

Bottle up pupils' energy to complete a great resource. Scholars design toy cars out of plastic water bottles. They consider different sources of energy to power the cars, such as rubber bands, balloons, and chemical reactions.

Students explore the concepts of potential and kinetic energy by bouncing assorted balls on different surfaces and calculating the momentum for each ball. They give examples of collisions and momentum in sports and understand that...

Fifth graders investigate energy. For this biology lesson plan, 5th graders will learn about energy, fossil fuels, and renewable and nonrenewable resources. Students will be participating in three lab activities which are described in...

Students conduct a webquest on an energy source they chose. In this physics lesson, students design an experiment to determine the factors affecting potential and kinetic energy. They calculate speed and create distance vs. time graphs.

Students explore ten different stations that demonstrate either chemical, kinetic, or mechanical energy. They examine the way energy is transferred during each station's hands-on activity. Stations include vinegar and baking soda,...

In this energy worksheet, students compare and contrast how potential energy and kinetic energy change form. This worksheet is a graphic organizer.

Students study the friction of a particular sport.  In this weight and energy lesson students choose a sport and us the Internet to research it then present their findings to the class. 

In this thermochemistry worksheet, students answer twenty multiple choice questions about heat, enthalpy changes, thermal, mechanical and electrical energy and the laws of thermodynamics.

Does a trampoline use mostly potential or kinetic energy? Pupils adjust the mass of the jumper, stiffness of the trampoline, and initial jump height in order to answer that question. The simulation displays graphs of the various types of...

Studying levers couldn't be more exciting! Learners build their own catapults and test the results as they make adjustments to the fulcrum. They compete against other groups to create the most accurate apparatus.

Students explore the drawings of Rube Goldberg to design and construct a simple machine. They discuss simple machines, and using various materials and toy parts, design and construct a "Rube Goldberg" style machine to ring a bell.

Watch your marshmallows fly. The engaging STEM activity has groups create a catapult to launch marshmallows. After testing their prototypes, they consider improvements and redesign their catapults.

Students understand the need for carefully defining the problem before searching for a solution. They understand the need for carefully defining the problem before searching for a solution. Students compare a variety of catapults and the...

Young scholars 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...

Students explore energy through the idea of energy transformations and conversions, and to develop students' ideas of what energy is and how it can be measured.

Eighth graders distinguish between and apply Newton's Laws. They take a quiz reviewing Kinetic and Potential Energy. Students explain that they have just demonstrated Newton's three laws of motion. They also explain what forces are...