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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Einstein's Big Idea

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create a time line of scientists involved with E = mc2. They describe experiments that led to an understanding of energy, mass, the speed of light squared, and the equivalence of mass and energy. Students relate challenges...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jell-O Optics

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students observe an activity with Jell-O to learn about optics.  In this investigative lesson students fill out a handout on the activity that helps them to investigate the index of refraction and the speed of light. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Looking Out Is Looking Back...

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the size of our Universe by understanding how long it takes to travel around from object to object in it - even if you travel at the speed of light! In making our exploration, we will examine ways of measuring distance,...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Big Bang-Hubble's Law

For Students 7th - 9th
In this Hubble's law worksheet, learners use data for galaxies which include their distance and speed. Students make a graph to show the distance to each galaxy and the speed of each galaxy. They use their graph to answer 4 questions...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Data Corruption by High-Energy Particles

For Students 9th - 12th
In this data corruption by high-energy particles, students solve 4 problems about the solar flare that corrupted the imagers measuring them. Students find the speed of the arriving particles and the percentage of light-speed the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Electromagnetic Radiation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the nature of electromagnetic spectrum through a series of experiments. In this physics instructional activity, students determine how light behaves under certain circumstances. They explain how humans perceive colors.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Black Holes...Hot Stuff!...VIII

For Students 9th - 12th
In this black holes worksheet, students solve three problems about black holes using given equations for determining the temperature of the gases in a black hole and the visible light from the black hole at given temperatures.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Aurora to Magnetosphere Global Exploration

For Students 9th - 11th
In this magnetosphere global exploration instructional activity, students read about the instrument on board a satellite launched by NASA called the Radio Plasma Imager. This imager detects echoes from plasma clouds. Students calculate...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Super Gelatin

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students measure angles of refraction as the light travels through gelatin.  In this experimental instructional activity students complete a refraction lab and plot their data.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Incredible Light Bulb-Egg Drop Challenge

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Learners examine how spacecraft land on Mars. Using eggs or lightbulbs, they design a craft that withstand a drop from a table or ladder, competing in groups to see which module demonstrates the most successful landing.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy/Light/Heat/Sound

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study the properties of heat in this series of lessons. They discuss sources of heat and experiment to determine its properties. They identify insulators and conductors by measuring temperatures, and graphing their data....
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Climate Zones

For Teachers 5th - 11th Standards
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,...
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Activity
Teach Engineering

When Silicon Talks

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Explore Snell's Law using thin films. In the fifth installment of a seven-part series, pupils solve a set of problems relating to Snell's Law and use this skill during an experiment requiring the collection of reflective measurements...
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Interactive
Concord Consortium

Excited Electrons

For Students 9th - 12th
Excite your classes with an exploration of the kinetic energy of electrons. Scholars watch as excited electrons transfer their energy between one another. The simulation models this transfer while graphing the change in kinetic energy of...
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Assessment
Curated OER

Physics Final Exam, Part A

For Students 11th - 12th
Here is a comprehensive and cohesive final exam for your high school physicists. A variety of question styles are incorporated, such as multiple-choice and problem-solving. Topics are too many to list, so you will want to review the exam...
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eBook
Rice University

College Physics for AP® Courses

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
Take a look at an organized physics course. The 34-section electronic textbook covers material in AP® Physics 1 and 2. Teachers use the text to supplement lectures and have the class work through the labs. Each section contains...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

High Contrast Photographs

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners take and develop pictures using patterns of light.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Rotation Velocity of a Galaxy

For Students 9th - 11th
In this orbit of stars in galaxies worksheet, students are given an equation that models the orbital speeds of stars as they relate to their distance from the nucleus of a galaxy. Students solve 5 problems using this equation and...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Chandra Studies and Expanding Supernova Shell

For Students 7th - 9th
In this supernova instructional activity, learners read about the expanding supernova shell that was discovered by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Students solve two problems including finding the scale of the given images and determining...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Details from an Exploding Star

For Students 8th - 10th
In this nebula worksheet, students read about the Crab Nebula and calculate the average speed of the expanding gas. They determine the size of the smallest clumps of gas and they draw the diameter of the solar system to scale.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Control and Experimental Variables

For Students 9th - 12th
In this control and experimental variables worksheet, students read about the variables in an experiment and practice identifying each in 2 experiments. Students analyze the data in an experiment, identify the hypothesis and the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Applied Science - Technology (5A) Lab

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore electromagnetic waves and light. In this light instructional activity, 5th graders draw the parts of a wave of the electromagnetic spectrum. They compare a flashlight to a laser to see how the light looks when...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Refraction Through a Triangle

For Students 9th - 12th
In this refraction through a triangle worksheet, students use a given diagram of light striking a triangular piece of plexiglass to determine the light ray's angle of incidence, the ray's angle of refraction, they use Snell's Law to...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Design Project: LED Stroboscope

For Students 11th - Higher Ed
In this physics worksheet, students design and build an electrical circuit using LED as a light source. They complete 2 short answer questions about their design.