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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bounce!

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students investigate the relationship between potential and kinetic energy. In this energy lesson plan students investigate the height a ball will bounce when dropped from various heights.
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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Catapults

For Students 4th - 8th
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome. 
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Lesson Plan
DiscoverE

Kicking Machine

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Don't kick the resource to the curb; you'll definitely regret it. Future engineers devise a kicking machine that launches a ping-pong ball toward a target. They can use a pendulum, a rubber band, or both, depending on whether they want...
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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Catapult

For Students 4th - 12th
Studying levers couldn't be more exciting! Learners build their own catapults and test the results as they make adjustments to the fulcrum. They compete against other groups to create the most accurate apparatus.
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Motion Commotion!

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students explore the drawings of Rube Goldberg to design and construct a simple machine. They discuss simple machines, and using various materials and toy parts, design and construct a "Rube Goldberg" style machine to ring a bell.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Falling Water

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students drop water from different heights to demonstrate the conversion of water's potential energy to kinetic energy. They see how varying the height from which water is dropped affects the splash size. In seeing how falling water can...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

DOWNHILL DISCOVERIES

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students studykinetic energy, friction, drag and acceleration by relating it to the Winter Olympics.  In this physical properties lesson students create tracks and determine how the course conditions affect bobsled, luge and downhill ski...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Ultimate Roller Coaster Contest

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explain how conservation of energy applies to roller coasters. In this physics instructional activity, students construct their own coasters according to a specified criteria. They make modifications to their design when...
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Lesson Plan
LABScI

Catapult: Flight of the Marshmallows

For Students 6th - 12th
Watch your marshmallows fly. The engaging STEM activity has groups create a catapult to launch marshmallows. After testing their prototypes, they consider improvements and redesign their catapults.
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Lesson Plan
Tech Museum of Innovation

Balloon Astronaut

For Teachers 2nd - 8th Standards
Design protection from high-speed particles. The STEM lesson plan highlights why astronauts need protection from space debris. Pupils use the design process to design, build, and test a spacesuit that will protect a balloon from a...
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Lesson Plan
University of Texas

Lives of Stars

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Stars exist from a few million years to over 10 billion years, depending on their mass. Scholars perform a play acting as stars to learn about their different life cycles. They develop an understanding of many of the fundamental concepts...
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Lesson Plan
University of Georgia

Freezing and Melting of Water

For Students 9th - 12th
Examine the behavior of energy as water freezes and melts. An engaging activity provides a hands-on experience to learners. Collaborative groups collect data and analyze the graphs of the temperature of water as it freezes and then...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Work and Energy

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students show that energy is conserved in the laboratory. They calculate the work done by a force on an object as the product of the force and a displacement of the object from a reference point.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Roller Coasters Lab

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students study kinetic energy and friction and how it pertains to a roller coaster.  In this roller coaster lesson students complete a lab activity.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Balloon Ball Bounce

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore the rebound of balls. In this energy conversion lesson, students explore the physics behind the rebound of various types of sports balls. Through the experimental design process using balloons, students investigate and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A River Ran Through It

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research how water is used to generate electricity. They investigate water's potential-to-kinetic energy transfer in hands-on activities about falling water and waterwheels. They take measurements, calculate averages and graph...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heat Unit

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students define thermal equilibrium. They distinguish between internal energy and heat. Students describe how the quantity of heat that enters or leaves a substance is measured.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Turned on the Lights?

For Teachers 7th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ramp and Review

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students participate in an activity in which they observe a ball as it rolls down an incline into a cup. They take measurements and use equations that describe the concepts of mechanical energy, work and power, momentum, and friction. ...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physics of Roller Coasters

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students study the physics used to design today's roller coasters.  In this engineering lesson plan students complete several activities including designing their own roller coaster. 
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

How a Hybrid Works

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Work with your class to connect series and parallel circuits to hybrid cars. The lesson introduces basic circuit diagrams before having scholars apply the understanding of the difference between parallel and series circuits to hybrid cars. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Much Energy is a Kilowatt Hour?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the conservation of energy.  In this energy lesson plan students explain the differences between potential and kinetic energy.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Elastic Racquet

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers use this introductory lab using a tennis racquet, however it is very difficult to study because of the strings and the racquet stretch so little and so quickly during a match that students were unable to make simple...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Adding Power to the Car

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students add a gear system to a car they built out of K'NEX parts in a previous lesson. After the gear system is added, a rubber band power system is added to the car in order to propel the car.

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