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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Greenewables

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students form expert engineering teams working for the (fictional) alternative energy consulting firm, Greenewables, Inc. Each team specializes in a form of renewable energy used to generate electrical power: passive solar, solar...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Wind Power

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this activity, students develop an understanding of how engineers use wind to generate electricity. They will build a model anemometer to better understand and measure wind speed.
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: The Fundamental Building Blocks of Matter

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This lesson plan explores the fundamentals of atoms and their structure. The building blocks of matter (protons, electrons, neutrons) are covered in detail. Students think about how atoms and molecules can influence new technologies...
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Handout
PBS

Pbs Kids: Design Squad Challenge: Dance Pad Mania (Pdf) [Pdf]

For Students 3rd - 8th
Hands-on challenge to build a dance pad that lets you use your feet to either flash a light or to sound a buzzer. Provides full list of materials with ideas on how to design, build, test, and redesign the pad if necessary. Activity...
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Interactive
Concord Consortium

Concord Consortium: Stem Resources: Wind Generator

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Using a voltage sensor, students will measure how much "electricity" is produced by the wind turbine that they design and build. Students will experiment with blade designs to see which one collects energy from the wind the most...
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Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Spare a Watt, Save a Lot

For Students 3rd - 8th
In this science fair project, you will investigate the different uses of electricity in your home. By identifying appliances, and determining how much energy they use, as well as which are phantom loaders, you can determine if there are...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: The Path of Electrons

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students engage in an interactive "hot potato" demonstration to gain an appreciation for the flow of electrons through a circuit. Students role play the different parts of a simple circuit and send small items representing electrons...
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Circuits

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students are introduced to several key concepts of electronic circuits. They learn about some of the physics behind circuits, the key components in a circuit and their pervasiveness in our homes and everyday lives. Students learn about...
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Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Try Engineering: Flashlights and Batteries

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students work in teams to explore how a flashlight works. This activity examines the topics of batteries, electron flow, circuit systems, switches, and bulbs.
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Handout
National Academy of Engineering

Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century: Electrification

For Students 9th - 10th
Learners explore electrification in the 20th century. Some topics investigated are rural electrification, power generators, and direct current (DC). The resource consists of historical information, a timeline, and a personal essay by a...
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Handout
Science4Fun

Science4 Fun: Nikola Tesla

For Students K - 1st
Brief biographical sketch of Nikola Tesla, famous electrical engineer who invented the alternating current transmission system.
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Laser Types and Uses

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Through two classroom demos, students are introduced to the basic properties of lasers through various mediums. In the Making an Electric Pickle demonstration, students see how cellular tissue is able to conduct electricity, and how this...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Efficiency of a Water Heating System

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students use a watt meter to measure energy input into a hot plate or hot pot used to heat water. The theoretical amount of energy required to raise the water by the measure temperature change is calculated and compared to the electrical...
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Household Energy Conservation and Efficiency

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students complete three different activities to evaluate the energy consumption in a household and explore potential ways to reduce that consumption. The focus is on conservation and energy efficient electrical devices and appliances.The...
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Electromagnets

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this activity, the learners will complete the grand challenge and design an electromagnet to separate steel from aluminum for the recycler. In order to do this, students compare the induced magnetic field of an electric current with...
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: May the Magnetic Force Be With You

For Teachers 11th - 12th
This lesson begins with a demonstration of the deflection of an electron beam. Students then review their knowledge of the cross product and the right hand rule with sample problems. After which, students study the magnetic force on a...
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Handout
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Magnet Academy: James Watt

For Students 9th - 10th
The Scottish instrument maker and inventor James Watt had a tremendous impact on the shape of modern society. His improvements to the steam engine were a significant factor in the Industrial Revolution, and when the Watt engine was...
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Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Bonus Points

For Students 9th - 10th
A place to share and see others' ideas for improving a lego robotics project, light guitar.
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eBook
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Application of the Fundamental Laws

For Students 9th - 10th
We solve a circuit by direct application of the fundamental laws: Apply element laws (Ohm's Law and the like) plus Kirchhoff's Laws to solve for the currents and voltages of a circuit.
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Handout
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Magnet Academy: Werner Von Siemens

For Students 9th - 10th
In 1866, the research of Werner von Siemens would lead to his discovery of the dynamo electric principle that paved the way for the large-scale generation of electricity through mechanical means.
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Online Course
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Open Course Ware: Supplemental Resources: Continuum Electromechanics

For Teachers 9th - 10th
College-level electrical engineering and computer science textbook highlighting the applications of continuum electromechanics.
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Ohm's Law 2

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This extension to the Ohm's Law I activity, students will observe just how much time it takes to use up the "juice" in a battery, and if it is better to use batteries in series or parallel.
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Article
Other

Tesla Memorial Society of New York: Nikola Tesla

For Students 9th - 10th
This article provides information regarding Nikola Tesla, inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply...
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Handout
Energy for Sustainable Development

Esd Bulgaria: Kids & Energy: Energy Pioneers: Sebastian Ziani De Ferranti

For Students 3rd - 5th
A profile of Sebastian Pietro Innocenzo Adhemar Ziani de Ferranti, who was an electrical engineer and an inventor. He lived from 1864 to 1930, and designed the first modern power plant using a system that is still in use today.