Curated OER
Let's Make a Solar Car
Learners transform a car that they have built out of K'NEX into a solar car. Students add one or two solar cells to the car to power a DC motor then connect the motor to the car and come up with a method to drive the car. This is the...
Curated OER
TE Activity: Racing with the Sun - Creating a Solar Car
Learners use a purchased kit to build a solar powered car. They connect a solar photovoltaic panel to a motor which runs the car forward and backward. They determine how to wire the car to move in both directions.
Bonneville
Background Research on Alternative Transportation Vehicles
There's no alternative to a great research project. The second of five lessons in the Solar Transportation unit has scholars research different types of alternative vehicles. They determine the price, range, battery size, and cost to...
Curated OER
Chemistry: Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy
Students research on renewable and nonrenewable resources. In this chemistry activity, students design and build solar panels. They evaluate their device and write a lab report.
Curated OER
Rechargeable Batteries
Students explore how rechargeable batteries work by conducting a series of experiments. In this physics instructional activity, students discuss the benefits of using rechargeable batteries over disposable ones. They build their own...
Curated OER
Photosynthesis
Students are introduced to the process of photosynthesis. In groups, they test the effects of the lack of sunlight on plant leaves and compare the results with their hypothesis. They note the characteristics that plants and animals share...
Curated OER
Chloroplasts
Young scholars study chloroplasts, their structure and evolution. For this photosynthesis lesson students experiment with polarized light and the production of chlorophyll.
Teach Engineering
Concentrating on the Sun with PVs
Concentrate to determine the best reflector design. Pairs use the engineering design process to build a reflector to increase the current output of a photovotaic panel. Teams arrive at a final design and present it to the class along...
Curated OER
Energy Alternatives and Conservation
In this energy alternatives and conservation worksheet, learners research the topic, answer 3 questions, then complete a 4 step plan to create a print or digital project. This page has numerous links to web resources.
PBS
Inspector Detector
How do spacecraft detect magnetic fields? The fourth installment of a five-part unit has learners develop a device with magnets that allows for the detection of magnetic fields. They use a map of an imaginary planet to try out their...
Curated OER
IBEX Creates an Unusual Image of the Sky!
In this IBEX satellite worksheet, students read about the Energetic Neutral Atoms that are detected by the IBEX satellite. Students use a given hypothetical data string to determine the number of particles detected and create an 'image'...
Curated OER
Cytoplasmic Streaming
Students prepare successful wet mount slide of Elodea. They determine and identify environmental conditions that induce cytoplasmic streaming. They determine the positive aspects of cytoplasmic streaming. They illustrate knowledge and...
Curated OER
Battery Charger
Students explain how battery chargers work. In this physics lesson plan, students discuss the two main ways that vehicles get charged. They build their own battery charger.
Curated OER
The Power of the Plug: How Electricity Will Change Our Lives... Again
Students study electricity. In this physics lesson, students review electrical energy by discussing three ways of generating it. Students explore various energy sources used for creating electricity and examine how different states...
Curated OER
Life in a Mini World
Sixth graders observe, describe, and classify microorganisms found in water sources. In small groups, they make their own slide, observe the Protozoa under a microscope, and record and classify the microorganisms.
Curated OER
Milkweed Monitoring
Ninth graders study milkweed and see how it is effected by ozone. In this air pollution lesson students complete a lab activity that includes data analysis.
Curated OER
Generators: Three Mile Island vs. Hoover Dam
Students are given a history of electricity and its development into the modern age lifeline upon which we so depend. The methods of power generation are introduced, and further discussion of each technology's pros and cons follows. ...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Solar Cell Power Output vs. Temperature
Solar cells provide a clean way of making electricity directly from sunlight. In this project you will build a simple circuit and experimental setup to investigate whether the power output of a solar cell changes with ambient temperature.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Exploring Solar Power
This unit provides students the opportunity to explore methods engineers have devised for harnessing sunlight to generate power. Students will initially explore heat transfer and heat storage through the construction, testing, and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Organic Solar Energy and Berries
Students learn about how a device made with dye from a plant, specifically cherries, blackberries, raspberries and/or black currents, can be used to convert light energy into electrical energy. They do this by building their own organic...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Solar Speedway
Solar power is hot these days. Gleaming, black solar panels soak up rays on more and more rooftops of homes and businesses providing a clean, alternative source of heat and electricity. You might guess that different times of the day...
![California Energy Commission: Solar Energy Science Projects [Pdf] Lesson Plan](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "California Energy Commission: Solar Energy Science Projects [Pdf] Lesson Plan")
Other
California Energy Commission: Solar Energy Science Projects [Pdf]
Four science projects in which students learn how solar energy works and how thermal energy is transferred and utlized in a solar air heater, a solar water heater, a solar hot dog cooker, and a solar cell.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: Engineering the Future of Solar Electricity
Part of a materials science engineering course, a project through which students investigate the future of solar electricity by creating prototypes of solar cells. Students complete exercises in "project planning, analysis, design,...