Does a tennis ball have energy? What about a bowling ball? Demonstrate concepts of different forms of energy forms and states with a variety of objects. Using the equations for potential and kinetic energy,...

Does the angle of a solar panel change the output? Emerging engineers find out! Demonstrate for your class how they can angle a straw to match the angle of light rays coming from a source. Then turn them loose to experiment with the...

Every muscle movement requires energy, but where does that energy come from? Scholars answer this question and more as they complete a worksheet. By following the directions, completing research, and discussing it as a class, they begin...

Teams of electrical engineers work together to develop plans for increasing electricity to a fictitious, but growing community. They consider different sources of electricity, both renewable and nonrenewable, the cost of building and...

These twenty various types of questions related to the cycling of matter and energy require learners to match each definition in column 1 with the correct vocabulary term from column 2. Then, students explain what is being demonstrated...

Every living thing requires a food source, thus the interconnections in ecosystems become complex. Scholars learn about these interconnections in a presentation on energy flow. It starts with the sun and moves through many different...

Pairs simulate the energy usage of different countries by drawing beads from a bag, which contain different beginning ratios of non-renewable and renewable energy resources. The activity concludes with a series of questions to tie...

Does the amount of a roller coaster's energy change as it goes along the track? Scholars investigate when a roller coaster has potential and kinetic energy. They observe the changes as it goes up the initial hill follows it throughout...

School budgets don't have a lot of extra money, so when students propose saving the district money, everyone jumps on board. The first lesson in the series of 21 introduces the concept of an energy audit. Scholars form an eco-action team...

Ninth graders investigate ionic bonding through energy level diagrams. In this ion bonding lesson plan, 9th graders observe demonstrations to show energy level diagrams using magnets to represent the subatomic particles. Students fill...

If you can find Tinker Toys™, then this may be a fun assignment for your physical science class. Using the construction set and a few other toys, they examine the forces involved when it they are being played with. For each, they...

Examine how heat can be transferred between systems by reconstructing a diagram on energy flow and solving problems on heat flow and work done.

The bulk of this lesson involves the construction of both an aquatic and a terrestrial ecosystem in which to observe trophic relationships. Detailed directions are provided, as well as discussion questions, and assessment activities....

If you need a few basic activities for teaching food chains to your emerging ecologists, here they are. Three sheets of organism cards are included for learners to cut out and arrange according to trophic relationships. To make the most...

How can you tell what an owl has eaten? Study the food chain and flow of energy in an ecosystem by dissecting an owl pellet and noting the bones found inside. Additionally, the lesson includes a game about consumers and producers with a...

There's more to that glowing ball of light in sky than most children realize. From the overall structure of the solar system, to the changing of the seasons, these hands-on lessons open the eyes of young scientists to...

There are so many topics touched upon in this Jeopardy-style science game, that it is difficult to classify! The categories include electricity, matter, ecology, earth and space, and scientific investigation. This would best be used at...

Raise the energy level of your physical science class with this exciting hands-on activity. Applying their knowledge of kinetic and potential energy and Newton's laws of motion, young engineers use foam tubing and marbles to create...

Middle schoolers examine a variety of information for New York State including insolation data, and economic or political data, thus incorporating both science and social studies. Encouraging learners to become concerned citizens as they...

Middle school physicsl science explorers play a game using dominoes that you have photocopied onto cardstock. Through the game, they familiarize themselves with the conservation of energy and the transformatin from one form to another....

Future energy engineers visit several stations, each one dedicated to a different alternative source of energy. They describe how solar energy is converted into other forms of energy, the patterns of distribution of energy resources in...

By creating an energy brochure, teams of science learners inform others about the advantages of using alternative energy sources. An instructions page for your class and a grading rubric are provided. The lesson focuses on photovoltaics,...

What did the windmill say about renewable energy? I'm a BIG fan! Lesson three in the series of 12 has classes discuss potential and kinetic energy and then, in pairs, they complete a web quest over the different types of energy...

Is one type of energy inherently good or bad? Young scientists explore energy resources in a week-long unit. After extensive research, groups create powerful position statements and presentations supporting their energy resource of choice.