Curated OER
Heat and Electrical Resistance
Students discover electrical resistance and how it is directly related to thermal energy through a hands-on activity. Working in groups, they wrap a wire around a thermometer and the positive and negative poles of a D cell battery and...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Energy in Motion
Fifth graders explore energy transfer. In this thermal energy lesson, 5th graders stretch rubber bands several times and estimate the band's temperature change. Students identify this action as an example of thermal energy. Students...
Curated OER
Capturing Renewable Energy
Students watch a video segment on the engineering design process, then design a storage system for renewable energy. Students brainstorm and research ways in which renewable energies such as solar and wind power can be stored.
National Wildlife Federation
Get Your Techno On
Desert regions are hotter for multiple reasons; the lack of vegetation causes the sun's heat to go straight into the surface and the lack of moisture means none of the heat is being transferred into evaporation. This concept, and other...
Curated OER
Energy for You
Middle schoolers investigate the energy sources used in student's communities. They explore where the energy comes from, how it is transported, and the uses to which it is put. They review the meanings of vocabulary renewable and newable...
Curated OER
Heat and Matter
Students explore liquids and solids by conducting in class experiments. In this matter lesson, students define the properties of matter and how heat can change those properties. Students experiment with heating objects such as butter and...
Science Geek
Bulk Properties of Water
Learn the ins and outs of the properties of water through an engaging slide show. The lesson presents different facts about water including phase change, heat of fusion, heat of vaporization, and specific heat among others.
Curated OER
Household Conservation/Efficiency
Hook your class up to an online home energy usage calculator so that they can estimate the amount used per month by their families. Then give them Watt meters with which they will measure the power consumption of several small...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Albedo, Reflectivity, and Absorption
What is reflectivity, and what does it have to do with the Earth's climate? As reflectivity is measured by albedo, scientists can gather information on Earth's energy balances that relate to global warming or climate change. Budding...
Discovery Education
Cool It!
Adjust the melting time of ice without varying the temperature! Learners experiment with different materials to decide how the materials affect the rate an ice cube melts. They then connect their findings to the conductivity of each...
University of California
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Calories are not tiny creatures that sew your clothes tighter every night, but what are they? A science lesson, presented at multiple levels, has learners experiment with heat, heat transfer, and graph the function over time. It also...
Messenger Education
My Angle on Cooling—Effect of Distance and Inclination
When exploring Mars, spacecrafts are exposed to 5-11 times more sunlight than when near Earth. Groups of pupils complete a hands-on activity to explore how distance and angle of the sun affect temperature. Through discussions, they then...
Discovery Education
It's Melting!
It's a race to the finish! Which ice cube will melt the fastest? Scholars discover the effect thermal energy has on melting ice. They experiment with melting ice cubes on different materials and learn that even at a consistent...
Curated OER
Power Play
Once your physical science stars have a grasp of the different forms of energy, use this resource to get them putting the energy to work. Small groups choose from seven different project options and work together to build an energy...
Curated OER
TO CONSERVE OR NOT TO CONSERVE
Students explore how energy is wasted at home and at work and develop a program to save energy in a specific area.
Curated OER
Calorimetry Problems
In this calorimetry worksheet, students complete 30 problems. They calculate the change in heat of a system given the mass and the change in temperature of the system. Students also find the final temperature of a reaction given the...
Curated OER
Make a Solar Oven
Students build a solar oven. In this Science lesson, students construct a functional solar oven. Students design the oven and explain the energy concepts involved.
Colorado State University
How Do Long and Short EM Waves Interact with the Earth's Atmosphere?
Things are about to heat up in your classroom! A kinesthetic lesson asks learners to play the part of the gases in the earth's atmosphere and interact with the sun's radiation. The focus is to learn the impact of the increasing...
Colorado State University
Can Boiling Make Something Freeze?
Use boiling as an avenue for freezing. Young scholars watch as liquid nitrogen removes heat from the ingredients for ice cream. As this happens, the nitrogen boils and the ice cream freezes—all in the same container. A little science magic!
Space Awareness
Climate Zones
The climate at the equator is hotter than the climate at the poles, but why? The lesson goes in depth, explaining how the angles of illumination relate to the heating rate at different latitudes and seasons. Scholars use a strong lamp,...
Curated OER
Rooftop Gardens
Second graders investigate how to help a city building remain cooler on the inside. They create a rooftop garden in order to shield the building and lower the internal temperature. The garden is meant to replace the black tar paper that...
PHET
Friction
Friction leads to movement, heat, and melting on such a small scale most people don't notice. A short simulation permits scholars to observe the reaction between atoms as they move together. The simulation applies the concept of...
Colorado State University
If Hot Air Rises, Why Is it Cold in the Mountains?
Investigate the relationship between temperature and pressure. Learners change the pressure of a sample of air and monitor its temperature. They learn that as air decreases its pressure, its thermal energy converts to kinetic energy.
Curated OER
The Greenhouse Effect
Why does it get so hot inside of our cars in the summertime? The greenhouse effect! Lab groups experiment to see what happens to an ice cube enclosed in a jar and placed in sunlight as compared to an ice cube outside of the jar. They...