Curated OER
Looking Back in Time
Learners construct a timeline that records the birthdates of several scientists. They calculate a relationship for distance and years and then compare their timelines to the use of light years as a measurement unit.
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...
Curated OER
Scale Model of Our Nearest Stars
Sixth graders calculate a light day, light hour, and light minute from the standard of a light year. After establishing the distances, a one meter scale is created to demonstrate the distance between the sun and the planets of our solar...
Cornell University
Resolution—Not Just for the New Year
Experiment with optical resolution using an inquiry-based lesson. Young researchers calculate fellow classmates' optical resolutions. They apply the information to understand the inner workings of optical instruments.
Curated OER
In a Galaxy Far, Far, Far Away
Sixth graders compare distances between objects in the solar system. They investigate how light years are measured and when using them to measure how distances compare with one another. They write an essay exploring the possibility of...
Curated OER
Light
In this light learning exercise, students match 12 terms related to light and the electromagnetic spectrum to their definitions, they order waves by their speed, they analyze the energy and wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum and...
Teach Engineering
Lighting in My Classroom Survey
How much energy does it take to light a room? Class members calculate the total wattage it takes to light the classroom. Through calculations, responsible scientists determine the cost of energy for the year, then figure out...
Curated OER
Cost of My Classroom Lights
Students calculate how expensive it is to use fluorescent lights. In this lights lesson, students get a worksheet with cost per hour to run a fluorescent. Students set up a equation to calculate the the cost of running one...
National Wildlife Federation
Lights, Camera, Action! Conducting an Energy Audit
Thirty percent of energy used by schools is used inefficiently! Part two in the series of 12 has groups perform energy audits of their schools as part of the Cool Schools Challenge. Each group is assigned a specific room, performs the...
Curated OER
Solar System Lab
For this solar system worksheet, 8th graders make a scale model of the solar system, answer 5 questions and write a conclusion.
Curated OER
Parallax
Pupils discover how astronomers used the diameter of the Earth's orbit around the Sun as a baseline for estimating the distance of some stars, and the meaning of "Parsec" and "light year."
Curated OER
Take-Home Midterm Exam #3, Part A
Let your physics learners take this electromagnetic radiation exam home to show what they know. You could also use it in class or assign it as a review. The content covers concepts pertaining to color, wavelength, frequency,...
National Wildlife Federation
Wherefore Art Thou, Albedo?
In the sixth lesson in a series of 21, scholars use NASA data to graph and interpret albedo seasonally and over the course of multiple years. This allows learners to compare albedo trends to changes in sea ice with connections to the...
Curated OER
Saving on Lighting Energy Activity
In this saving energy worksheet, students compare and contrast the effectiveness of compact fluorescent lighting, incandescent light bulbs, and light emitting diodes.
Curated OER
Hoe Long Does it Take to Get to a Star
Students calculate the distance in light years. In this geometry activity, students solve problems involving distance, using the distance formula. They rewrite big numbers using scientific notations and apply their knowledge of everyday...
Curated OER
TE Lesson: Navigating at the Speed of Satellites
Students study the basic concepts of the Global Positioning System and how it increases the accuracy of navigation. They examine trilateration and how the speed of light is used to calculate distances.
Wind Wise Education
What is the Cost of Inefficiency?
What does it cost to keep the lights on? Through a hands-on activity, class members use a watt meter and determine the amount of energy different types of light bulbs use. The class then determines the financial and environmental...
Curated OER
Pecans
In this calculator activity, students complete a task using pecans. Students complete 4 short answer questions and a "challenge" question using reasoning skills and calculating their responses.
Curated OER
The Space Cadet's Laboratory: Using Electromagnetic Energy to Study Astronomy
Young scholars 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.
Curated OER
Shining the Light on Skin
Students investigate the relationships between certain environmental factors and levels of exposure to sunlight. The variables of location, time of year, and day, and the weather which affect the intensity of the sun are explored in this...
Curated OER
How Long is the Day? Counting Day Light Hours
In this daylight hours worksheet, students calculate the number of daylight hours at different locations around the world. This worksheet has 3 fill in the blank questions.
Curated OER
How Long Would It Take To Travel To the Stars?
Students consider the amount of time that it would take to get to the star, Sirius using various modes of transportation, some practical and some whimsical. The practicality of physically going to another star system is explored in this...
Teach Engineering
Quantum Dots and Colors
Introduce teams to quantum dot solutions with an activity that has them expose solutions to a blacklight, observe the colors, and take measurements. Groups graph the data and analyze the dependence between particle size and...
Center Science Education
Plugged In To CO2
Watt is going on here? Middle schoolers are learning about energy use and carbon dioxide emissions! In the first part of this activity, learners measure how much energy different appliances consume and calculate the amount per day....