Curated OER
Zoo Poo
Students use Internet research to determine the amount of carbon dioxide produced per unit energy for biomass and coal. In this alternative energy instructional activity, students research to find out how much energy and carbon dioxide...
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Sports Helmets and Impact Testing of Polymers
Students examine the importance of good quality safety gear. In this investigative lesson, students will tests various polymers, collect data, and analyze the data to determine which polymer is best for safety helmets. They will design a...
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Potato Launcher Energy Lab
Pupils investigate conservation laws using a potato launcher. In this physics lesson, students measure angles, time and distance of the potato. They discuss applications of experiments like this.
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Charles’s Law
High schoolers describe the relationship between temperature and volume. In this chemistry instructional activity, students perform an experiment and record their their results. They use Charles' law to explain their observations.
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Balloon Ball Bounce
Students explore the rebound of balls. In this energy conversion lesson, students explore the physics behind the rebound of various types of sports balls. Through the experimental design process using balloons, students investigate and...
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Rockin Roller Coaster
Students discuss gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy, and the relationship between potential and kinetic energy. They create a working roller coaster from provided materials and criteria then evaluate each roller coaster. They...
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Movement of Objects
Ninth graders investigate motion. In this science lesson, 9th graders conduct experiments on objects to analyze motion and speed. They define motion in everyday life.
Teach Engineering
Light Up Your Life
How do lighting types affect energy efficiency? Explore different types of lighting and the energy they use. Pupils learn about types of lights and calculate the energy used during a typical school year. They discover that being...
Teach Engineering
Designing a Sustainable Guest Village in the Saguaro National Park
Brainstorm ideas to design a sustainable guest village in the Sonoran Desert. The first installment of a nine-part unit teaches young environmental scientists about the basics of the Saguaro National Park and about sustainable design....
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Companion to Superfund -- The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Program
High schoolers examine the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. They work together to discover how their local community handles waste disposal. They complete a worksheet to end the lesson.
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Renewable vs. Non-Renewable Resources
Here's a fine instructional activity on renewable and non-renewable sources of energy for your 5th graders. In it, learners list a number of natural resources on the board, then try to sort the resources into appropriate categories. This...
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Work and Power: Waterwheel
Students investigate a waterwheel and the physical properties of energy. In this waterwheel lesson students create a model waterwheel and calculate the amount of power produced.
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Electrostatics
Middle schoolers examine ways positive and negative charges are attracted and repelled by watching teacher demonstrations, and complete activity sheet related to classroom demonstration activities to prove proficiency of knowledge of...
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Investigation of Hooke's Law Lab
Students determine the spring constant by conducting an investigation. In this physics lesson, students collect data and create a graph of force vs. displacement. They compare the results of two different methods to find spring constant.
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Work and Energy
Pupils show that energy is conserved in the laboratory. They calculate the work done by a force on an object as the product of the force and a displacement of the object from a reference point.
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Scale Models and Wind Turbines
Students determine how to use a scale and the importance of a scale model. In this wind turbine lesson students use a method used to determine the visual impact of wind turbines.
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Wind Power for Educators
Students explore wind power as a renewable resource. In this wind power lesson students build models of wind turbines and experiment with different changes to see if it increases efficiency.
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Impulse and Momentum
Students are introduced to the concepts of impulse and momentum and problem solving strategies for these types of problems. In groups, they discover the law of conservation of momentum and share their answers with the class.
Teach Engineering
Designing a Winning Guest Village in the Saguaro National Park
Don't desert a resource on the desert! Scholars work in groups to build on their ideas from the previous lesson to design a sustainable guest village in the Saguaro National Park. Each group produces a PowerPoint presentation to share...
Curated OER
Circuit Lab
Students explore the properties of electricity. This lab shows students the need for a circuit in order to have a flow of electricity. It demonstrates Ohm's law, which relates voltage, current, and resistance.
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A Little Thermo Review
In this thermodynamics worksheet, students define and give examples of state functions. Students review the laws of thermodynamics. Student determine the standard formation reactions for given chemical species. This worksheet has 10...
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Bouncing Balls
Students work together to examine how different types of balls react to colliding with different surfaces. They discover the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions. They practice calculating momentum as well.
Teach Engineering
Solar Water: Heat it Up!
Young engineers are instructed to design and build their own solar water heaters. Then, they calculate the efficiency and cost and compare them to commercially available models. This is a full unit for pupils to apply their knowledge.
Curated OER
Heat Unit
Young scholars define thermal equilibrium. They distinguish between internal energy and heat. Students describe how the quantity of heat that enters or leaves a substance is measured.