Curated OER
Temperature and Pressure
Students conduct an experiment to determine the relationship between pressure and temperature. For this physical science lesson, students collect data and graph them. They compare the results of Celsius and Fahrenheit data sheets.
Curated OER
Physical and Chemical Changes in Matter
Students investigate chemical and physical changes. For this chemical and physical changes lesson plan, students distinguish between a chemical and physical change when observing baking bread and hot dogs and bagels cooking on a grill....
Curated OER
Calibrating a Thermometer
Students calibrate an alcohol thermometer using the boiling and freezing point of water. In this physical science instructional activity, students explain what happens to boiling point of water as altitude increases. They calculate their...
Curated OER
Matter and Energy
Learners investigate the effects of air pressure on humans by utilizing the Internet. In this physical science lesson, students research the Internet to discover altitude sickness and air pressure. Learners prepare against...
Curated OER
What Makes Thing Fly?
Second graders study lift, drag and thrust from a real flight instructor. In this physical science lesson students build and fly paper airplanes and experiment with variations and design.
Curated OER
Power in the Tubes
Eighth graders investigate the relationship between force, distance and time. In this physical science activity students compute the work done, graph and find the relationship between work and power.
Curated OER
Let's Get Physical
Explore the benefits of physical activity and how it will affect your students' health. Students track their physical activities for one week and then compare their results. Collaboration with a math teacher woould be useful as it...
Curated OER
Science in baseball
Sixth graders examine how science is used in everyday activities, such as baseball.
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 3
Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble! Find out what drives a turbine to generate electricity and whether or not it has an impact on the environment. A discussion and lecture is divided by a hands-on activity in...
Curated OER
Lesson 2 - Design Process-Measuring Wind Speed
A terrific lesson focused on the design process. It begins with a presentation, "Design: Solve a Problem," which lists the steps of the process and then introduces the specific challenge: to build a device that measures wind speed....
Curated OER
Investigating the Relationship of Mass to Volume
Third graders explore the relationship of mass to volume. In this physical science lesson, 3rd graders participate in an investigation with a several materials and measure the mass and volume using scientific tools. Students discuss and...
Curated OER
Density Challenge
Students calculate the densities of several liquids that appear similar. In this physical science lesson, students go beyond understanding the way liquids of different densities behave to researching how this knowledge applies in...
Curated OER
String Telephones and Musical Straws
Fourth graders investigate pitches of sound. In this physical science lesson, 4th graders participate in two activities that help them explore pitch--one activity has them working with string telephones and the amount of tension...
Curated OER
Earth's Ecology
Students investigate the three states of water. In this physical science lesson, students watch the video "Earth's Ecology" and observe water in its' three states. Students record observations.
Curated OER
The Energy of Decay
Students explore the decaying of organic matter. In this physical science lesson plan, students view a video of how organic material is harvested as an energy source. Students find uses for an old piece of fruit.
Curated OER
Simply Circuitry and Series Circuit
Young scholars investigate a series circuit. In this physical science activity, students use a battery, switch, and light bulbs to build an electrical circuit. Young scholars identify the standard symbols being used in electric circuitry.
Curated OER
Sports and Science
Using footballs, basketballs, tennis balls, and more, learners conduct experiments to illustrate Newton's Laws of Motion. The experiments are conducted outside, and require them to throw, kick, and hit a variety of balls. Your...
University of Minnesota
Neurotransmission Model
Don't lose your marbles — you'll need them for a instructional activity on neurotransmission. Young scholars build a neurotransmission model using marbles, beads, rubber bands, string, and other elements. After studying specific...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
How does climate change affect you? First in a three-part series, the activity focuses on how individuals living around the world are affected by climate change. Individuals take on the role of a given character and share their...
Science Matters
Energy from Water Wheels
Historians believe the first vertical water wheel was invented in Rome during the Augustan Age. The sixth lesson in the series of 10 has scholars experiment with designing their own water wheels. Through testing various pastas and...
NOAA
Tides
Low tides, high tides, spring tides, neap tides, diurnal tides, semidiurnal tides, mixed tides ... just how many types of tides are there? The 10th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO)...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Separating Mixtures: How We Concentrate Natural Materials
Have your class look at a granite specimen and describe what they see. They should note three distinct components. Discuss mixtures with them and how they might be separated, then send them to the lab to figure out how to take apart five...
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Brain Inspiration
"Neuroscientists consider Cajal as important to their discipline as Einstein is to physics." The first of four lessons has scholars view Santiago Ramon y Cajal's drawings of neurons. They reflect and respond to the art through writing...
Curated OER
Activity: Leaning Tower of Pasta
A well-laid-out lesson plan, this can be used in an engineering, STEM, or physical science course. Laboratory groups design a structure using pasta and marshmallows, measure its height and weight, and then discover the load that it can...