Curated OER
Urban Heat Islands: An Introduction to Energy Transfer and Transformation
Elementary school physical scientists explore kinetic mechanical energy by dropping a golf ball on different surfaces. They discuss how human made materials might react to light differently from nature made materials. This lesson plan...
Curated OER
The Science of Shadow Puppets
Learners explore the art of shadow puppetry. In this performing arts lesson plan, students study the functions of lighting in the puppet theater as they examine the transmission, absorption, and reflection of light. As a culminating...
Center Science Education
Looking Into Surface Albedo
How does the color of a surface affect the heating of the earth? Middle school science classes experiment with color and surface albedo to determine the relationship. The website has tabs for an overview, teacher's instructions,...
Curated OER
Wave Actions
In this waves activity, learners read about the ways waves react depending on the boundary they encounter. They read about natural frequency, resonance, phases and interference in waves. They match 13 terms with their definitions, they...
Curated OER
Iron in Foods
Students determine the amount of iron in a sample of cereal. In this iron lesson plan, students use a computer colorimeter to measure the amount of light absorbed by the solutions. They create a calibration curve using standard solutions...
Curated OER
How Does Light Interact With Matter?
In this light worksheet, students will brainstorm problems associated with the interaction of light with matter. Then students will write in possible solutions to those problems in this graphic organizer.
Curated OER
Albedo and Irradiation of Surfaces
Here is a physical science activity where pupils place thermometers inside of a white and a black paper pocket and place them under a lamp. They record and compare the temperature increase over a ten-minute period. Have your class...
Curated OER
Obtain a visible spectra of chlorophyll a
Students become familiar with the concept of spectroscopy or the study of the interaction of matter with electromagnetic radiation. They prepare solutions and measure absorbance at different wavelengths. Pupils comprehend that mater and...
Curated OER
Colorimetric Determination of the Concentration of Blue Food Coloring in Sport Drinks
Seventh graders determine the amount of blue food coloring in sports drinks and plot the concentration and absorbance data. They summarize the data and determine why companies need to know the amount of chemicals in their products.
Curated OER
Physical Principles in Living Systems
Seventh graders experiment with white light, plane mirrors, and curved mirrors in order to demonstrate the physical principles of living systems. In this physical principles lesson plan, 7th graders take 3 days to discover what happens...
Curated OER
Wave Action
In this wave worksheet, students compare the different ways a wave can react: absorption, reflection, refraction, and diffraction. Students also read about constructive and destructive interference. This worksheet has 13 matching, 10...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Black Carbon - a Dusty Situation
Introduce your young meteorologists to black carbon produced by the burning of fossil fuels by showing the video, "Changing Planet: Black Carbon." Viewers discover that deposition of this carbon on polar ice impacts the absorption of...
Curated OER
Frozen Film
Students discover how light reflects off surfaces. In this hands-on demonstration, students examine how variations in color are produced by light interference.
Curated OER
Frozen Film
Students are introduced to the topic of light interference through this hands-on activity. They observe how light reflects off two surfaces and then meets to form an interesting variation of color on a film surface.
Colorado State University
What Does Color Have to Do with Cooling?
Study the rate of cooling for objects of different colors. Learners focus on the reflection and absorption of infrared light. Your classes may be surprised to learn objects that heat the slowest also cool the slowest.
Wild BC
The Greenhouse Effect: Warming the Earth Experiment
First in a two-part lesson on the greenhouse effect, this lesson involves a classroom demonstration of the phenomenon, and a lab group experiment with color and absorption. Although there are easier ways to demonstrate the greenhouse...
Curated OER
How Far Does Light Go?
Students engage in research from the internet to search for facts concerning the scientific properties of light. The information is collected in order to gather evidence for a classroom debate. The debate includes a question and answer...
Curated OER
The Earth's Energy Budget
Students study the Earth's energy budget. In this investigative lesson students observe a lab that shows all aspects of heat transfer and light processes.
Curated OER
Light And Shadows
Fourth graders explore the properties of shadows. In pairs they trace each other's shadows in chalk and re-draw their shadow outlines every three hours, design their own shadow investigation, and complete various worksheets related to...
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...
Curated OER
Canned Heat
Learners demonstrate that light and dark colored objects absorb the sun's radiation at different rates. They experiment with the temperature change of water in two locations and discuss the results.
Curated OER
Online Exploration: Telescopes From the Ground Up
Students explore a web-based illustrated text and interactive graphics to determine the relationship between the operation of telescopes and light. optics. They work in small groups to become an expert on one of the ten eras of telescope...
Curated OER
The Space Cadet's Laboratory: Using Electromagnetic Energy to Study Astronomy
Students build their own spectrophotometer to study light. In this physics lesson, students explain the dual nature of light. They calculate the angle of incidence and refraction using Snell's law equation.
Teach Engineering
Thirsty for Gold
In the last portion of the six-part unit, teams perform an experiment with gold nanoparticles to determine which sport drink has the most electrolytes. The nanoparticles are used as chemical sensors and fluoresce in different wavelengths...