Curated OER
Science Crossword Puzzle
Class members read 25 clues about all areas of science, including biology, chemistry, weather, physical science, and insert their answers into a crossword puzzle. There is no word bank and the students would need experience with tough...
It's About Time
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
Emerging biochemists more fully understand the flow of energy in ecosystems as they explore the laws of thermodynamics and relate them to energy transfer in food chains. They also investigate heat loss from the human body and how...
Messenger Education
Design Challenge: How to Keep Gelatin from Melting
The inside of the spacecraft Messenger, which explores Mercury, will experience temperatures from 32 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit. In the final installment of a series of four space-related activities, groups spend time discussing and...
Teach Engineering
All Fats Are Not Created Equal
Apply robotics to connect physical properties to chemical properties. Future engineers use robots to determine the melting points of various fats and oils. The robots can do this by measuring the translucency of the fats as they heat up.
NOAA
Wooly Magma
Model the earth's core with a neat activity that uses science as an inquiry and step-by-step procedures. The activity acquires a lot of assistance from the teacher or volunteer helpers.
Space Awareness
Seasons Around the World
Why does Earth experience summer, fall, winter, and spring? Using an informative demonstration, learners see how the angle of the sun on Earth and the rotation of Earth determine the seasons. Scholars work in pairs to learn that the...
Teach Engineering
Efficiency of a Water Heating System
Tired of waiting for hot water? Groups of three determine the efficiency of an electric water-heating device. They calculate the amount of energy it takes to heat the water and the theoretical amount of energy required to heat the water....
Mascil Project
House Insulation
Make sure your house is warm in the winter. Pupils analyze graphs of heating costs for two similar houses and make hypotheses for why the costs differ. They then build models of houses with appropriate insulation to reduce heating costs.
American Chemical Society
Energy Changes in Chemical Reactions
Some chemical reactions produce heat, but what is really going on? Lesson focuses on the concept of energy changes, both exothermic and endothermic. Scholars perform multiple experiments, hands-on activities, and view videos of the...
Colorado State University
Can Boiling Make Something Freeze?
Use boiling as an avenue for freezing. Young scholars watch as liquid nitrogen removes heat from the ingredients for ice cream. As this happens, the nitrogen boils and the ice cream freezes—all in the same container. A little science magic!
S2tem Centers SC
Seasons
Winter, spring, summer, and fall—take the learning of the seasons beyond the elementary level to the middle school classroom. Curious learners begin by watching videos about the seasons and the rotation of planet Earth. Then,...
Concord Consortium
Hydrogen Bonds: A Special Type of Attraction
How does hydrogen bonding explain ice crystals? An engaging interactive answers just that. Scholars explore how polar molecules interact and observe the changes as temperature fluctuates as well as the hydrogen bond attraction.
Space Awareness
The Big Meltdown
Explore the world (our world) of melting ice caps. Why are these caps melting? What is the effect of melting ice caps? Dive into the ever-present issue of global warming with a resource that has learners looking at data and participating...
Curated OER
How Hot Is It?
Discuss the difference between conduction, convection and radiation of thermal energy, and complete activities with your class by investigating the difference between temperature, thermal energy and the heat capacity of different materials.
Curated OER
Phase Changes of Water
A micro-unit on the phase changes of water includes three laboratory activities. Junior scientists compare the densities of ice and water, and then they do the same for cold and warm water. They examine freezing and boiling temperatures....
NASA
Earth's Global Energy Budget
Introduce your earth science enthusiasts to the earth's energy budget. Teach them using an informative set of slides that include illuminating lecturer's notes, relevant vocabulary, embedded animations, colorful satellite maps, and a...
Science Matters
Thermal Energy Flow in Materials
The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth instructional activity in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal...
Curated OER
Solids and Liquids
Students complete activities to study the properties of solids and liquids. In this states of matter lesson, students investigate the melting and freezing of a range of materials in a virtual experiment. Students melt the substances and...
Curated OER
Specific Heat
In this specific heat learning exercise, students are given examples to find the specific heats of substances and to use the specific heats to find the changes in temperatures of substances. Students solve eighteen problems using what...
Curated OER
Specific Heat of Air and Soil
Students are introduced to the concept of specific heat. In groups, they are given a set of data showing the temperatures of air and soil samples in which they calculate the ranges of the data. They identify whether the air or soil...
Curated OER
Managing Heat
Third graders perform various experiments to show the flow of energy that causes heat. For this heat lesson, 3rd graders understand how heat is transferred or trapped. Students use the scientific method and critical thinking skills to...
Curated OER
Heat Loss and Cool Gains
Fifth graders predict what happens when cold and hot water are mixed together. In this physics instructional activity, 5th graders discuss how heat transfer takes place. They record temperature readings and compare it with their prediction.
Curated OER
The Energy Debate - Energy of Peanut
Students articulate the difference between the terms heat and temperature. They calculate the amount of energy associated with a given temperature rise and design an experiment to measure the energy of a fuel.
Curated OER
Changing State
Students examine the changing states of water. In this solid, liquid, gas lesson, students discover that water changes when heated or cooled. Students make predictions and then use the interactive whiteboard to "heat and...