In this activity, students will explore how the Law of Conservation of Energy (the First Law of Thermodynamics) applies to atoms, as well as the implications of heating or cooling a system. This activity focuses on potential energy and kinetic energy as well as energy conservation. The goal is to apply what is learned to both our human scale world and the world of atoms and molecules.

A bungee jump involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. Design a bungee jump that is "safe" for a hard-boiled egg. Create a safety egg harness and connect it to a rubber band, which is your the "bungee cord." Finally, attach your bungee cord to a force sensor to measures the forces that push or pull your egg.

This concept-building activity contains a set of sequenced simulations for investigating how atoms can be excited to give off radiation (photons). Students explore 3-dimensional models to learn about the nature of photons as "wave packets" of light, how photons are emitted, and the connection between an atom's electron configuration and how it absorbs light. Registered users are able to use free data capture tools to take snapshots, drag thumbnails, and submit responses. This item is part of the Concord Consortium, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to transforming education through technology.

Elementary grade students investigate heat transfer in this activity to design and build a solar oven, then test its effectiveness using a temperature sensor. It blends the hands-on activity with digital graphing tools that allow kids to easily plot and share their data. Included in the package are illustrated procedures and extension activities. Note Requirements: This lesson requires a "VernierGo" temperature sensing device, available for ~ $40. This item is part of the Concord Consortium, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to transforming education through technology. The Consortium develops digital learning innovations for science, mathematics, and engineering.

This is a PBL project that used the North Carolina Gravity Games as the basis for students to understand the concepts of work and energy. It was specifically designed to help students increase their depth of knowledge of work, the conservation of energy, power, and the work-kinetic energy theorem. The project required students to design, build, and then use as a basis to prove their applied mastery of work and energy, a working "gravity car" that was tested locally, with the top three entering in the state-wide Gravity Games competition in Lenoir, NC. Note that the project was designed and delivered per the North Carolina honors Physics curriculum and it can be customized to meet your own specific curriculum needs and resources.

Students analyze video clips of kids rolling down a hill on skates, scooters, and bikes to determine whether mechanical energy is conserved.

A high speed video clip of a roller coaster is used as an example of conservation of mechanical energy. Students use the video to determine whether mechanical energy is conserved while the roller coaster rolls up, and then back down a hil.

Successful completion of this cooperative learning activity requires the active involvement of the individual, the small group and the entire classroom (collaboration). The goal is to make a simple task as complicated as possible by constructing a single complex machine.

Learn about conservation of energy with a skater dude! Build tracks, ramps and jumps for the skater and view the kinetic energy, potential energy and friction as he moves. You can also take the skater to different planets or even space!

This activity allows students to demonstrate their understanding of the Law of Conservation of Energy in the framework of student-designed investigations.

Explore the forces at work when you try to push a filing cabinet. Create an applied force and see the resulting friction force and total force acting on the cabinet. Charts show the forces, position, velocity, and acceleration vs. time. View a Free Body Diagram of all the forces (including gravitational and normal forces).

In this 7th grade science lesson, students learn about levers and use them to make-work easier.

How do greenhouse gases affect the climate? Explore the atmosphere during the ice age and today. What happens when you add clouds? Change the greenhouse gas concentration and see how the temperature changes. Then compare to the effect of glass panes. Zoom in and see how light interacts with molecules. Do all atmospheric gases contribute to the greenhouse effect?

This is a guided inquiry discussion to introduce machines and to identify types of simple machines

This activity is designed to provide qualitative understanding of the Work-Energy Theorem. Students are expected to have read introductory material regarding the theorem, and are tested on this with a short online quiz prior to class. After a brief discussion a "warm-up" demonstration is conducted with student participation. A question is then posed regarding the height a "Hopper Popper" will reach if launched from a thumb instead of a hard flat surface. After initial responses are presented, discussion groups are formed to achieve consensus and provide justification of conclusions. This is followed by a confirming demonstration with surprising results.

This activity is a guided inquiry or demonstration where students investigate elastic potential energy and gravitational potential energy and interpret their findings as related to Newton's Laws of motion.

A realistic mass and spring laboratory. Hang masses from springs and adjust the spring stiffness and damping. You can even slow time. Transport the lab to different planets. A chart shows the kinetic, potential, and thermal energy for each spring.

This is an indoor lab where students design marble runs to test what factors affect the final velocity of a marble.

Study the motion of a toy car on a ramp and use motion sensors to digitally graph the position data and then analyze it. Make predictions about what the graphs will look like, and consider what the corresponding velocity graphs would look like.