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Activity
DiscoverE

Aviary Architect

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Groups of two to four work collaboratively to engineer a birdhouse that will stay cool in the summer heat. Teams examine several different-colored roofs, testing the efficiency of each with a heat lamp. Then, groups sketch their ideas,...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Adobe

For Students 5th - 8th
In this adobe worksheet, students read about adobe soil and how it was used for building because of its insulating properties. Students complete 3 short answer questions.
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Lesson Plan
Rochester Institute of Technology

Electrical Energy

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
My friend told me how electricity is measured and I was like Watt! In the hands-on activity, learners explore electricity by building circuits, both parallel and series. They also determine how increasing the number of light bulbs and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heat of Vaporization of Liquid Nitrogen

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students determine the heat energy needed to vaporize (boil) one gram of liquid nitrogen.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Energy: Become a Sun Chef!

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students design and construct a solar cooker. They use the Internet to research solar collectors and the process of changing light energy into heat energy.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Keep It Cool

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students complete a science experiment to study insulation, heat transfer, and permafrost. In this permafrost study lesson, students design and test a soda insulator. Students graph their class data and discuss the results. Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sustainable Choices

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine energy use and the different construction materials used in their home.  In this sustainable choices lesson students study different materials and what a sound environmental choice would be. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What’s That, I Can’t Hear You?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars investigate forms of energy as well as light and sound. In this science lesson, students participate in hands-on activities that require them to evaluate how sound affects astronauts in flight. A video of this lesson being...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sun Friendly Homes

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students design and build a model solar energy home. In this technology instructional activity, students test the efficiency of their model houses by measuring temperature at regular intervals. They analyze data and share results with...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Saving Energy Through Ecological Landscape Design

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are able to transcribe to scale the plant features of a common landscape. They determine true north and south and collect and record data on a table. Students calculate a rating for and describe a definition of insulation and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heat And Heat Transfer

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students role play molecules in a container as the container is heated to develop a definition of heat and temperature. They also observe demonstrations of conduction, convection, radiation, and phase transfer. Using these observations...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Power

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners discover how engineers use solar energy to heat buildings. They investigate the thermal properties of different materials. They evaluate the usefulness of each material.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Solar Water Heater Kit

For Students 5th - 8th
In this earth science worksheet, students identify and experiment how hot water gets in a solar water heater. Then they respond to four short answer questions that follow related to the experiment.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Heat Capacity Problem Set

For Students 10th - Higher Ed
In this heat capacity worksheet, students calculate the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a certain mass a determined amount of degrees. This worksheet has 4 problems to solve.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Capturing the Sun's Warmth

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Make a Refrigerator

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders explore the concept of heat transfer as experienced in wearing winter clothing and analyzing the refrigerator.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Melt Away

For Teachers K - 4th
Students explore objects before and after heating using their senses.  In this matter and energy lesson, students experiment with a variety of objects and use their senses (except taste) to make predictions and record observations about...
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Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Staying Warm in Antarctica!

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Capturing the Sun's Warmth

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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...
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Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Greening Your Middle School

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Middle schoolers redesign their school to make it more energy efficient, and create a model of their design. Learners get together in groups of 5, and they take on the task of making their school more energy efficient. To do this, they...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Inquiry into Heat Loss and Insulation

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students design an experiment to test the problem of the porridge in Baby Bear's bowl as being just right while the other porridge was either too hot or too cold. They explain the steps of their experiment and record their observations...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Cooking

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students experiment with a virtual solar cooker to discover the mathematical relationship among reflection, transmission and absorption. Then they actually build and test a solar cooker of their own invention.
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Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

How Hot is Hot?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

South Pole Ice Cream!

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
How can you turn an ice cream activity into a scientific investigation? It's easy if you know ionic compounds, heat transfer, and the exothermic and endothermic process. Learners will explore the science behind freezing, insulation, and...