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Lesson Plan
LABScI

Potential and Kinetic Energy: The Roller Coaster Lab

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Ron Toomer, a famous roller coaster designer, suffered from motion sickness. Pupils design their own roller coasters, learning about potential and kinetic energy in the process. Labs focus on the importance of drop height, energy...
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Forms of Energy

For Teachers 6th Standards
The amount of energy Americans use doubles every 20 years. The first activity in a 10-part series teaches scholars about different forms of energy. They rotate through five stations with hands-on activities or experiments at each in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Hilly Ride

For Teachers 5th
Different types of energy are the focus of this science resource. Learners identify situations in which kinetic and potential energy are exchanged. They conduct an in-class inquiry which leads them to discover that there is a limit to...
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Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

An Energy Mix: Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
What did the windmill say about renewable energy? I'm a BIG fan! Lesson three in the series of 12 has classes discuss potential and kinetic energy and then, in pairs, they complete a web quest over the different types of energy...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Steamship Portland: Where's the Energy?

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine how steamships operate. They describe the necessary energy conversions. They construct a model paddlewheel ship. They use rubber bands as examples of potential and kinetic energy as they unwind and set the models in motion.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Heat Islands: An Introduction to Energy Transfer and Transformation

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Elementary school physical scientists explore kinetic mechanical energy by dropping a golf ball on different surfaces. They discuss how human made materials might react to light differently from nature made materials. This lesson plan...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

States and Forms of Energy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Energy is just energy, right? Explain various forms of energy to your young scientists by using an interactive experiment that contains common objects to demonstrate complex concepts. Pupils conduct experiments for radiant, thermal,...
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Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Exploring Energy: Kinetic and Potential

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
The potential of the energy in the class is moving. The third segment in a six-part unit on energy provides a deeper understanding of kinetic and potential energy. Learners understand the relationship between mass, speed, and energy and...
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Lesson Plan
NOAA

Oceans of Energy

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Are the earth's oceans really just giant batteries, waiting for their energy to be harnessed? Middle school mechanical engineers will be shocked by the amazing amount of energy that forms around them after diving into part four of a...
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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Energy Changes in Chemical Reactions

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The heat of solution measures how much thermal energy a dissolving substance consumes or gives off. The experiment demonstrates both endothermic and exothermic reactions. Scholars dissolve several substances, measure the temperature...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Conservation of Energy

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders identify situations in which kinetic and potential energy are exchanged and identify the direction of energy transfer using marbles and flexible foam track. They observe how the marbles move spontaneously when released...
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Lesson Plan
Clarkson University

Forms, States, and Conversions

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Searching for a way to integrate multiple concepts of energy conversion while captivating a middle school audience? This lesson presents topics related to potential and kinetic energy and offers the ability to allow pupil interaction. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Characteristics of Energy

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders view a video and create a KWL to identify energy sources. In this energy sources lesson, 4th graders explore the meaning of energy, kinetic energy, potential energy, thermal energy, radiant energy, and electrical energy....
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Energy Transfer and Transformation

For Teachers 6th Standards
When you take a simple task and create an exceptionally difficult way to complete it, it is known as a Rube Goldberg machine. These machines are filled with many types of energy transfers and energy transformations. Here, pupils watch...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where's the Energy

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students research energy conversions. In this energy lesson, students describe the basic operation of a steam engine.  They explain the energy conversions in the steam engine's operation. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy Transformation

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students identify different kinds of energy such as heat energy, kinetic energy, potential energy, and magnetic energy. They investigate the concept of conservation of energy.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heat and Thermodynamics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
This is actually a 10-day mini unit on thermal energy for your high school chemists. Every avenue is taken to get learners absorbed in heat: a pretest, a PowerPoint presentation, Internet exploration, demonstrations, lab activities, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bounce Back - The Long and Short of It

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Upper elementary scientists test basketballs with differing amounts of air to find if inflation affects bounce height. The lesson introduction poses the question of whether or not the composition of a ball determines bounce height, but...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Magnetic Energy

For Teachers 8th - 10th
In this magnetic energy worksheet, students are given the formula to calculate the magnetic energy of an object. They use the formula to solve for the magnetic energy of the Earth, a geotail, the Sun, and a solar prominence given their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students distinguish between kinetic an potential energy. They recognize that energy is conserved when changing from one form to another. Students compare the scientific meaning of work with its everyday meaning.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy Conservation

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners complete a variety of activities as they examine forms of energy, use of energy, different technologies to harness energy and the ethical implications of these sources and technologies.
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Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Sensors in Chemistry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Environmental Protection Agency monitors sensors to track air pollution and set clean air standards. Enthusiastic young scientists use similar sensors to gather data in their area and then apply the gas laws and conservation of...
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Lesson Plan
STEM for Teachers

Temperature and Bounce

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Take part in a fun experiment and hold an impromptu bouncing contest with your class. Young scientists heat and cool balls before bouncing them to determine whether temperature changes affect how they bounce. The set of STEM lesson plans...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Hilly Ride

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders investigate situations that show how kinetic and potential energy are exchanged. They determine how friction is a source of energy transfer from kinetic to thermal energy by experimenting with a car and track. They answer...