Curated OER
Carbon Dioxide Heats It Up
Learners design an investigation to test whether vegetation in an area helps regulate the ambient air temperature. They make comparisons between the investigation and global changes in climate. In groups, they present their findings to...
Curated OER
Cell Energy-Bubbling Plants
Students discuss the process of photosynthesis in plants and that oxygen is produced as a by product. They observe underwater Elodea plants "breathing" in a hands-on activity. After setting up the experiment, they observe the plant for...
Curated OER
Saving Energy Through Ecological Landscape Design
High schoolers are able to transcribe to scale the plant features of a common landscape. They determine true north and south and collect and record data on a table. Students calculate a rating for and describe a definition of...
Cornell University
Atomic Bonding
Explore the connection of surface area to bonding within atoms. Learners complete lab investigations to model changing surface area with different sizes and concentrations of atoms. A flour fireball demonstration follows the labs to...
National Wildlife Federation
The Tide is High, but I’m Holding On… Using ICESat Data to Investigate Sea Level Rise
Based on the rate of melting observed from 2003-2007 in Greenland, it would take less than 10 minutes to fill the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium. The 17th lesson in a series of 21 has scholars use the ICESat data to understand the ice mass...
National Wildlife Federation
Is It Getting Hot in Here, or Is It Just Me?
Currently, only 2.1% of global warming is felt on continents, while over 93% is felt in the oceans. The fourth lesson in the series of 21 on global warming is composed of three activities that build off one another. In the first...
Curated OER
What is Temperature?
Students examine how temperature is the measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules of a substance.
Curated OER
What is Temperature?
Young scholars study the effects of temperature and air expansion. In this temperature lesson, students discuss temperature and participate in a role play of low energy and high energy molecules. Young scholars then discuss their...
Curated OER
Combustion
In this combustion pre-lab instructional activity, students determine the chemical equation for the reaction, define combustion and exothermic, and describe the molar heat of combustion. This instructional activity has 14 short answer...
Curated OER
How Green Are We?
Students identify and interpret the importance of energy efficiency in connection with air pollution. They communicate with families and peers about ways to more effectively contribute to the reduction of air pollution. Finally,...
Curated OER
What The Peanuts Say: Catabolism and Calories
Students investigate the energy released by a peanut and a piece of a walnut. In this catabolism and calories lesson plan, students burn a peanut and a piece of a walnut and measure the temperature of the water before burning and after...
Curated OER
Capturing the Sun's Warmth
Students explore the variety of ways to use solar energy. They investigate the thermal energy storage capacities of different test materials to determine which to use in passive solar building design. They explain how passive solar...
Curated OER
Cooler in the Shadows
Students explore Earth science by creating a scale model in class. In this shadow lesson, students research the impact the sun has on Earth shadows and complete a space science worksheet. Students create models of the Sun and Earth and...
Curated OER
Rising Water!
Young scholars observe water change from a liquid to a gas state when heated and then return to its liquid stage when cooled. They learn that gas molecules move faster than liquid molecules. They discover physical properties that...
Curated OER
Hot Cans and Cold Cans
Learners investigate the physics of heating and cooling through conduction, convection, and radiation. Working in groups, they determine the best way to cool a can of water and warm a can of water. Temperature is taken at five minute...
Curated OER
Calorie Connection
Students calculate the calories in a Brazil nut and the calories needed for daily intake. In this calories lesson plan, students use calorimetry to measure the change in water temperature heated by the burning of a Brazil nut. They also...
Curated OER
Conduction, Convection, Radiation, Oh My!
Students draw a line graph, and use graphing as a tool to discover more about conduction, convection and radiation. They should design their own experiment using heat sensitive paper to show they explain these 3 processes.
Curated OER
Fahrenheit Follies
Second graders analyze the effects of sunlight on a glass of water by using the thermometer to measure its temperature. They predict and measure the difference between water outside in the sun and shade and inside. They role-play a game...
Curated OER
Proportionality: Modeling the Future
Students explore and examine how patterns, measurement, ratios and proportions are utilized in the research development and production of airplanes. They meet a pilot from the Federal Aviation Association who describes the growth of air...
Curated OER
Build a Psychrometer
Young scholars understand that a psychrometer is a weather instrument used to detect humidity. In this psychrometer lesson, students build a psychrometer. Young scholars use their psychrometers to measure humidity activity.
Curated OER
Modeling Hot and Cold Planets
Students, in teams, design and construct models of two planets, one hot and the other cold, using a variety of materials. They attempt to create the models out of substances that will actually show the greatest temperature differences...
Curated OER
2010 Electricity 10
In this electricity worksheet, students answer 17 multiple choice questions about electricity, how it is measured, the types of currents, the types of meters and circuits. Students also answer multiple choice questions about protein...
Curated OER
Water and Ice
Pupils investigate how water changes state. For this water lesson, students observe, measure, and describe water as it changes state. This lesson includes extensions which can be accessed via the provided web links.
Curated OER
Draft-o-Meter
Students conduct an experiment to measure the location and amount of air drafts present in their homes. They discuss the effects of drafts on healing and cooling efficiency in their homes.