Curated OER
Sand or Rock? Finding Out From 1,000 km
Middle schoolers observe how measurements are made with different instruments. In this remote sensing lesson students investigate the physical state of surfaces including the surfaces of the solar system.
Colorado State University
Do Cities Affect the Weather? (Making a Cloud in a Bottle)
The dynamics of a city can have a drastic effect on the weather. A hands-on lesson asks learners to build a model to illustrate how city pollution provides a nucleus for condensation. The greater the pollution, the greater chance for...
Space Awareness
Global Warming of the Atmosphere
Scientists know the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today is higher than at any point in the last 800,000 years. Scholars learn about the amount of thermic radiation absorbed by air and what happens to the rest of the...
Colorado State University
What Makes a Gas, a Greenhouse Gas?—The Carbon Dioxide Dance
Investigate a heated topic in environmental science. Scholars team up to play the parts of gas molecules in the atmosphere. As the teacher moves about, acting as the electromagnetic wave, learners react as their molecules would to the...
International Technology Education Association
Pixel This!
Did the image I drew match the image you saw? By simulating a satellite and a ground station, teams of two transmit data in the form of pixels in order to recreate an image. They use four different levels of brightness, creating slightly...
Curated OER
What's Cooking
Students complete a solar radiation activity. In this solar radiation lesson plan, students complete an experiment to learn about solar radiation. Students make solar tea by using the energy of the Sun to brew tea.
Curated OER
Movement of Air
In this movement of air worksheet, students identify and describe the purpose for convection and how it effects Earth. Then they describe what thermals are and why they occur in hot and cold air movements. Students also explain why...
Curated OER
Thermodynamics
In this thermodynamics worksheet, high schoolers learn about insulators and conductors. Students compare the three ways thermal energy is transferred: conduction, convection, and radiation. This worksheet has 22 matching, 1 multiple...
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
Who Turned on the Lights?
Seventh graders discuss how energy is transformed from one form to another. In this physics lesson, 7th graders design and build their own hydro generator. They identify the factors that affect its energy production.
Curated OER
Heat Up the Floating Plates
Eighth graders research the connection between the convection currents within the mantle of the earth and the moving of Earth's plates. A connection to lessons at previous grade levels on the rock cycle and important background...
Curated OER
Evaporation and Condensation
Students explore how temperature affects the processes of evaporation and condensation.
Polar Trec
Staying Warm in Antarctica!
Has your class ever wondered how animals and scientists stay warm in the Polar Regions? Kids will investigate to understand the three types of heat transfer and how heat transfer affects those trying to stay toasty in sub-zero...
Teach Engineering
Capturing the Sun's Warmth
Passive solar heating is a technology that's been in use for thousands of years. Here, elementary schoolers are exposed to this type of heating, the materials that are used in passive solar heating, and they study how engineers design...
Curated OER
The Urban Heat Island Effect - Lesson 2 (Grades 8-9)
Young scholars use the scientific process to show that when various surfaces are exposed to similar environmental conditions, surface temperatures may vary. They examine the "urban heat island" phenomenon and analyze why it increases...
Curated OER
Effects and Applications of Nuclear Chemistry
In this nuclear chemistry worksheet, students determine the biological effects and the applications of nuclear chemistry. Then students use Einstein's theory of special relativity to complete 3 problems.
Curated OER
Science Word Search
In this science worksheet, students locate and identify various vocabulary terms related to earth science. There are 44 words/phrases located in the puzzle.
Teach Engineering
How Hot is Hot?
Elementary schoolers identify the three methods of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation. The lesson is mostly lecture-based. When the teacher has finished the presentation, groups of pupils get into teams and they must...
Curated OER
The Great Ocean Conveyor
Students investigate water density. In this water density lesson, students conduct an experiment with food coloring, water and salt to see how the salt effects bodies of water.
Curated OER
Solar
Students study solar energy. In this renewable energy instructional activity students complete several lab activities using different controls and variables.
Colorado State University
What Is a "Model"?
Model the transfer of energy during a typical 24-hour period. Young scholars use a game-like approach to learning the patterns of heat transfer through the day and night. Groups of four exchange different tokens as the energy...
Curated OER
Greenhouse Gas Lab
Pupils compare the ability of a sample of carbon dioxide gas to
absorb thermal energy compared to a sample of air. They build a visual representation of the greenhouse effect to illustrate the heat-absorption of
atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Curated OER
Spectral Lines
Slides and slides of emission spectra bring this topic to light for your physics class! Exited electrons returning to lower energy levels is offered as the cause of emission spectra. In summary, viewers learn that we can determine the...