Lessons

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  Just Turn It Off

  K-2  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson, students will probe the problem of what happens to a battery-operated flashlight when it is not turned off.
• 

  The Warmth of the Sun

  K-2  |  Hands-On
  Students will take a closer look at the sun and begin to recognize its critical function in heating and warming the air, land, and water that sustain our lives.
• 

  Energy Sources and Use

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson, students distinguish between renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy while comparing the benefits and drawbacks of each.
• 

  Power Up!

  3-5  |  Interactive
  In this lesson, students compare and contrast different energy sources and the trade-offs of using them.
• 

  Sensing Energy

  3-5  
  In this lesson, students will perform simple experiments that will help them to explore unseen energy produced by the sun.
• 

  When Things Start Heating Up

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  This lesson is intended to give students a general idea of how heat is produced from human-based activities and mechanical and electrical machines.
• 

  Converting Energy

  6-8  
  In this lesson, students will study energy through the idea of energy transformations and conversions.
• 

  Energy for You

  6-8  
  In this lesson, students will learn about the sources of the energy that supply their community.
• 

  Energy Resources and Trade-Offs

  6-8  |  Interactive
  In this lesson, students look at different energy resources, where they come from, what they produce, and the trade-offs of using them.
• 

  The Transfer of Energy 2: Electrochemistry

  6-8  |  Hands-On
  This lesson is intended to increase students' understanding of electron transfer and its role in chemical changes.
• 

  Transforming Energy

  6-8  
  In this lesson, students investigate how electrical energy can be produced from a variety of energy sources and then transformed to almost any other form of energy.
• 

  Energy: The U.S. in Crisis?

  9-12  
  In this lesson, students research and assess past, present, and future decisions related to energy shortages.
• 

  Green Roof Design

  9-12  
  In this student-centered learning model, students work collaboratively in small teams to design a heat- and water-conserving “green roof” of plant material for an urban apartment building.
• 

  Searching for Oil: The Role of Science and Technology

  9-12  
  In this lesson, students explore how geoscientists use technology and computer modeling to find oil and natural gas.
• 

  Splitting the Atom

  9-12  
  In this lesson students explore the history of the splitting of the atom.
• 

  Star Power! Discovering the Power of Sunlight

  9-12  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson, students will discover that sunlight and the electromagnetic spectrum are the main tools with which we study objects in the solar system.

Science Updates

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  Fossil Fuel Switch

  6-12  |  Audio
  Learn about a thirty-year plan to replace 70 percent of our fossil fuels, using only current technologies like storable solar power, safer nuclear plants, and methanol from crop waste.
• 

  Houses and Environment

  6-12  |  Audio
  As number of households is increasing faster than the human population is growing, it puts a strain on our energy resources.
• 

  Solar Power from Moon

  6-12  |  Audio
  Solar power is clean, abundant, and becoming cheaper and more efficient all the time. Unfortunately, however, the sun isn't always there when you need it—like when it's cloudy, or it's raining, or it's nighttime. In this Science Update, you'll hear about an ambitious plan to get around that problem.

Tools

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  Kilo-What?

  3-8  |  Interactive
  This resource provides an introduction to electricity and power plants.
• 

  Power Up!

  3-8  |  Interactive
  This interactive challenges students to think about the positive and negative consequences of various types of power.
• 

  Power Play

  6-8  |  Interactive
  This interactive game helps students learn about harnessing energy from different power sources.
• 

  Energy Time Machine

  6-12  |  Interactive
  The Energy Time Machine is a site that presents the history of energy from 500,000 BCE (Before the Common Era) up to 2006.
• 

  Energy Transformation for a Pendulum

  9-12  |  Interactive
  This resource from the Physics Classroom provides an animation of the motion of a pendulum.
• 

  Oil Refining: A Closer Look

  9-12  |  Video
  This resource contains a video and an interactive explaining how petroleum was formed and how it is processed.

Collections

• 

  Energy in a High-Tech World

  6-12  
  Science NetLinks has developed a number of resources that examine the science behind energy and oil refining.