TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Thrown for a Loop
In this lesson plan, students begin to focus on the torque associated with a current carrying loop in a magnetic field. Students are prompted with example problems and use diagrams to visualize the vector product. In addition, students...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Hybrid Vehicle Design Challenge
This module is written for a first-year algebra-based physics class, though it could easily be modified for conceptual physics. It is intended to provide hands-on activities to teach the overarching concept of energy, as it relates to...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: Supplemental Resources: Electromagnetic Fields and Energy
College-level textbook highlighting electromagnetism concepts. Many of the topics are explained in video demonstrations.
Concord Consortium
Concord Consortium: Stem Resources: Heat and Light From Electricity
Understand the energy transformations that happens when you light a bulb with a battery. Activity requires students to build a simple circuit and take temperature and time measurements. Lab includes procedure with questions that can be...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Build Your Own Windmill Generator
Build your own windmill and see how the wind can be converted into energy to produce electricity. This science fair project should help you understand the use of wind as a source of alternative energy. The Science Buddies project ideas...
Science Museum, London
Science Museum: Launchpad Online: Launchball
Use your knowledge of physics concepts like electricity, reflection, magnetism, etc. to complete interactive online puzzles.
Open Ed
Open Ed Sci: 8.3 Forces at a Distance
This unit launches with a slow-motion video of a speaker as it plays music. In the previous unit, students developed a model of sound. This unit allows students to investigate the cause of a speaker's vibration in addition to the effect.
US Energy Information Administration
U.s. Eia Energy Kids: Timelines: Electricity
Timeline of key discoveries and uses of electricity.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Solar Cell Power Output vs. Temperature
Solar cells provide a clean way of making electricity directly from sunlight. In this project you will build a simple circuit and experimental setup to investigate whether the power output of a solar cell changes with ambient temperature.
Climate Literacy
Clean: Going for a Spin Making a Model Steam Turbine
Learners explore how various energy sources can be used to cause a turbine to rotate and then generate electricity with a magnet.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Hydroelectric Power Station 1882
The first hydroelectric power plant, known as the Vulcan Street Plant, was powered by the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Kelvin Water Dropper
The legendary Lord Kelvin made electricity from water with this ingenious electrostatic generator. (Java tutorial)
Oswego City School District
Regents Exam Prep Center: Physics
A good resource offering lessons, animations, slide shows, example exams, and facts covering basic physics topics: mechanics, electricity & magnetism, energy, waves, and modern physics.
Other
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory: Fusion Basics
A wealth of background information on nuclear fusion and its potential use as a commercial energy resource. The advantages of nuclear fusion over other resources, the conditions required for its successful implementation and the future...
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: The Em Spectrum: Waves of Energy
Students are introduced to the electromagnetic spectrum through this group research activity. Each group investigates a different wavelength range within the em spectrum and reports back to class. Discussion ideas also included.
US Energy Information Administration
U.s. Eia Energy Kids: Energy Sources: Electricity
A basic description of electricity and the role it plays in everyday life.
Science Museum, London
Science Museum: Pocket Motor
Teacher directed activity shows students how flowing electrical current produces a magnetic field by building a simple motor.
Other
Space Weather Center: Our Protective Shield
The Earth's magnetosphere helps shield us from cosmic and solar radiation. This segment offers a great explanation of this abstract concept along with numerous images and diagrams. An interactive game is provided as well.
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: Build Your Own Perpetual Motion Machine [Pdf]
A lesson for learners to explore the conversion of energy from electrical energy to kinetic energy by constructing a homopolar motor. Also by constructing the motor, students can investigate magnetism, electricity, and RPM.
Energy for Sustainable Development
Esd Bulgaria: Kids & Energy: Energy Pioneers: Johannes Georg Bednorz
A profile of Johannes Georg Bednorz, who worked with Alexander Muller to make breakthroughs in the field of superconductivity.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Solar House
In this What's Up in the Environment? video segment, an electrical engineer in Virginia and his 13-year-old son explain how they produce electricity in their home. [3:58]
Other
Lancaster University: Particle Physics Package
A collection of experiments, projects, and articles that will help students understand particle collision and mass, kinetic energy, magnetic field, the Large Hadron Collider, and detection of the Higgs particle.
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Band Structure
Explore the origin of energy bands in crystals of atoms. The structure of these bands determines how materials conduct electricity. Java required.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Mystery Mud: Exploring Changes in States of Matter
Join a group of middle-school students on a visit to a laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where they experiment with "mystery mud" and learn about the relationships between magnetism, particle motion, and changes in...