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Article
NASA

Taking a Cold, Clear Look at the Universe

For Students 9th - 12th
Take a look with another perspective. Pupils read to find out what portion of the electromagnetic spectrum a space telescope sees and the difficulties of viewing infrared radiation from other objects in space. Individuals discover how...
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PPT
Science Geek

Earth's Atmosphere

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Ozone gas absorbs the harmful UV-B rays and helps protect humans. An informative presentation begins with the layers of the earth's atmosphere, the pressure and temperature in each of the layers, the ozone layer, the ozone cycle, and the...
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Lesson Plan
Carnegie Mellon University

Renewables Workshop

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Youngsters examine resource maps to find out which states are using solar and wind power and discuss as a class various other renewable energy sources. They use a provided data table to record pros and cons to each technology, build and...
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Interactive
PHET

Band Structure

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Electricity travels at the speed of light, 186,000 miles per second. Through a simulation, classes see how the structure of energy bands in crystals of atoms determines how materials conduct electricity. Participants can change the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Solar Beads

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Learners discover solar energy beads and learn about ultraviolet light. In this solar energy lesson, students learn about solar energy beads, ultraviolet light, and UV radiation dangers. Learners experiment with the beads to identify.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ears and Hearing

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore vibrations and sound waves. In this lesson about hearing, students use experiments to determine how sound waves travel. Students use a saucepan, rice, and a plastic cover for one experiment and a tube, plastic wrap, a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy Defined

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders complete activities to study the sources of energy and forms. In this energy lesson, 4th graders discuss the origin of energy and define it. Students participate in several experiments to further study energy including a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Infrared Image Technology

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Learners investigate the formation of infrared images. In this physics lesson, students discuss the different application of infrared imaging technology. They compare this to images formed by visible light.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let the Sunshine in

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students collect and analyze data to study wavelengths of visible light. They cover Styrofoam cups with three different colors of sun filtering products and shine a lamp directly on the cups. They determine the most effective filtering...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Riding the Gravity Wave

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students write a sketch of an artist or athlete that has pushed the limits on gravity. They explore concepts of rhythm, balance and friction. They examine how engineers design sports equipment.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Frozen Film

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students discover how light reflects off surfaces. For this hands-on demonstration, students examine how variations in color are produced by light interference.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth's Winds, Crust, and Atmosphere

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
This site provides a variety of activities and worksheets about the problem-based learning activity about Earth and its atmosphere. The lessons can be used separately or together in a geology unit. The resources and charts are very...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Looking at the World in a Different Light Quiz

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students participate in a quiz about light, colors and wavelength.  In this investigative instructional activity students use the Internet to take a quiz on light. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Waves, Making Music, Making Noise

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders watch a demonstration on how talking cans produce sounds. In groups, they compare and contrast the sounds from different sized cans. They participate in a variety of activities to discover how sounds are made and how...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Invisible Zoo

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students differentiate cold and warm-blooded animals using infrared images. For this physics lesson, students compare the images formed by infrared and visible light. They explain how scientists use infrared technology to study animals.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Super Gelatin

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the refraction properties of gelatin to calculate its index of refraction. They discover that as the light travels through the gelatin, its speed and wavelength also change. Students find th indes of refraction of an...
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Assessment
PHET

The Sun: Pre- and Post-Assessment

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Want to see how far pupils have come since the beginning of the unit? This activity is designed to be a pre- and post-assessment for a unit on the Sun. The first in a series of 18 that can be combined to form a complete unit. Two...
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Activity
Exploratorium

Bubble Tray

For Teachers 1st - 8th
Create jumbo bubbles and use them to teach about surface tension or interference, perfect for a physical science lesson on light or molecular attraction.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Electromagnetic Spectrum

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners define electromagnetic radiation, list major categories and uses of electromagnetic waves, identify potential health risks with electromagnetic waves, and demonstrate understanding of Plank's constant by solving quantitative...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Virtual Electron Microscope

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars explore the world of the very small using a Flash plug-in Virtual Electron Microscope. They complete and discuss an activity in which unknown samples are placed under the computer simulated microscope to determine where...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson- Colors of Stars

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Student describes what happens to the color of a stove burner or a coal as it gets hotter. They use the applet to determine what range of temperatures range give you a red light, what range of temperatures would give you a white light,...
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Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

The Amazing Aerogel

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Introducing ... the aerogel. The first of a two-installment series teaches young engineers about the properties and uses of aerogels. A PowerPoint presentation provides information about this unique material to help solidify the concept.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shrinky Dinks® Palettes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here is a fun and clever lesson for teaching physics classes how to calculate wavelength if given the energy and frequency data. On a worksheet, they compute wavelengths using a table of information that you provide. On a paper palette,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Frozen Film

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students are introduced to the topic of light interference through this hands-on activity. They observe how light reflects off two surfaces and then meets to form an interesting variation of color on a film surface.