Utah Education Network
Uen: Our Friend, the Sun
Understand the role of the sun as the source of heat and light for living things on earth.
NASA
Nasa: From Stargazers to Starships: Energy
Demonstrates how principles of kinetic energy, potential energy and energy conservation can be used to determine the speed of a descending object if given its initial height. Further discussion of other topics such as heat and...
McREL International
Mc Rel: Whelmer #42 Learning Activity: Fire Sandwich
An easy to do activity if you have a Bunsen burner. The activity investigates combustion and heat conductivity. The activity is in lesson plan format that meets NSES standards.
Museum of Science
The Atoms Family
Let this classic family of monsters guide you as you learn about energy. Interactive exercises, experiments, and demonstrations help to build knowledge and raise questions.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Let the Sun Shine!
Students learn how the sun can be used for energy. They learn about passive solar heating, lighting and cooking, and active solar engineering technologies (such as photovoltaic arrays and concentrating mirrors) that generate electricity....
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Here Comes the Sun
Students work in teams to learn about solar panel design, simple circuits, and how solar energy is used to provide power to simple machines such as calculators.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Radiant Radish Seeds
We all know that plants need sunlight and water to grow big and tall. But did you know that inside seeds are baby plants, and that the fragile baby plant inside the seed needs to be protected? If you've ever had a sunburn, you also know...
Nobel Media AB
The Nobel Prize: The Nobel Prize in Physics 1918: Max Planck
Use this site to learn about the scientific work of physicist, Max Planck (1858-1947 CE), whose studies in radiation and light earned him the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics. Read his Nobel Lecture, "The genesis and present state of...
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: Finding the Carbon in Sugar
Students learn that fossil fuels release energy when they are burned, and this takes the forms of light, heat, gases, etc. In this instructional activity they explore combustion with a candle and with sugar. The instructional activity...
Science is Fun
Science Is Fun: The Fireproof Balloon
In this experiment, two balloons are each placed over a lighted match, but the one that has had water placed inside it does not burst. Includes an explanation of why that is so.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Fluorescent Lamp 1934
Compared to incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps last longer, require less energy and produce less heat, advantages resulting from the different way in which they generate light.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Flame Test
In this physical science experiment, students investigate the release of energy by observing the color of light produced when salts are heated in the flame of a burner. Students will identify the metal ion of the substance by the color...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Solar Structures
During this lesson, learners will construct a passive solar house from everyday items then explore how the sun's energy is used to heat and cool it.
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Give and Take
An activity for students to explore how dark-colored materials absorb and emit more energy vs. light-colored material.
Scholastic
Scholastic Instructor: Sun Sational Science
Discover more about the sun when you visit this educational resource. The content of this site includes solar fun facts, experiments, and activities.
University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky: Online Physics for Teachers
A set of four online courses in Physics for elementary and middle school teachers. Each course targets a different topic area - light, electricity & magnetism, temperature & heat, and force, motion, & energy.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley Lab: University of California: Electromagnetic Radiation
This page defines electromagnetic radiation. Included are links to more information.
Other
Ask Numbers: Measurement Conversion Calculators and Charts
What kind of unit conversion would you like to do? This site will allow you to do a multitude of conversions. Just click on the specific measurement you are needing to convert. It also provides a history of measurements and a chart of...
Other
Unit conversion.org: Online Unit Converter
Need a unit converter? Links to the most common converters provide access to the answers you need quickly.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Physical Science for Middle School
This digital textbook covers core physical science concepts and includes interactive features, real world examples, and videos.