Investigate and describe the transformation of energy from one form to another.
| Name |
Description |
| Switching on the Lights | Students will explore how electricity is provided to the citizens of Florida and the state and local government’s role in that service. They will explore an interactive map of the various types of power plants in Florida and describe the transformations in energy that occur when different fuel sources are used. The class will discuss the responsibility of the government in ensuring the citizens of Florida have the electricity they need in this integrated lesson plan.
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| Marshmallow Missiles | In this activity, students will learn the differences between kinetic and potential energy. To measure their understanding, they will complete a lab activity that will help them launch a projectile and compare how the kinetic and potential energy can differ the outcome of the launch. Students will need two 45-minute days to complete this lesson. |
| Introducing the Types of Energy | The students will investigate how the various forms of energy are transferred into other forms of energy and will use graphic organizers and stations to describe how the energy is being transferred. |
| Voltaic Pile Lab Activity | Students will explore the Law of Conservation of Energy by reviewing common forms of energy and how they may be converted to other forms of energy. Students will be guided through this exploration by a PowerPoint presentation reviewing the basic forms of energy and how they may be converted.
The students will then conduct a lab activity where they build voltaic piles utilizing copper pennies, zinc plated washers, and salt water soaked cardboard. Students will use a voltmeter to record the voltage produced by their voltaic piles, and will experiment utilizing the voltaic piles to power small electronic devices such as LED lightbulbs or flashlights, calculators, piezo buzzers, etc.
Students will then complete five (5) Lab Journal Activities/Questions in their Lab Journals, and one Real World Challenge question on a separate sheet of paper. The Real World Challenge Question will challenge the students to apply the knowledge gained from the lesson to a life or death real world scenario. |
| Building a Motor | Students will be able to demonstrate the Law of Conservation of Energy by building a miniature motor. They will demonstrate that the chemical energy in the battery is converted to electromagnetic energy (with the electrons moving up the metal clips on the side), and then mechanical energy (with the copper enamel wire spinning in the center). |
| CATAPULTS! | After learning about Energy Transformations and the Law of Conservation of Energy, students will be tasked with building a catapult that is capable of demonstrating these relationships. In addition, students will be able to gather data of distance traveled for the projectiles (marble and large marsh mellow) to traverse the predetermined trajectory. Once data is tabulated, students will then graph, analyze, and report their results.
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| Energy Transformations at Santa's Enchanted Forest | This activity allows students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding on forms of energy and transformations in a fun way. This lesson is based on an annual carnival in the community during the Christmas season. After learning about different forms of energy, how the transform from one to another, and the Law of Conservation of Energy they apply that to some of their favorite and popular rides at the carnival. This lesson allows for the arts in S.T.E.A.M. to be addressed. |
| Spread the Sunshine MEA | In this MEA, the sun is asking students to provide an advertisement explaining how the sun's energy is used to provide energy every second of every day. Students are asked to provide many examples of how solar energy is transformed into electrical, thermal, and other types of energy. Students are then asked to develop a presentation for the media outlet of their choosing. This MEA can be scaled down for differentiation, or used as is for a challenge to engage students in a rigorous fun activity. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Marble Run – Kinetic and Potential Energy | Students investigate and explore kinetic and potential energy on a roller coaster and a marble run. |
| Too Hot to Handle | This activity brings heat to life. It is based on transferring of heat through conduction, convection, radiation. It is a 4-day lesson with a PowerPoint, 2 labs, and a computer activity. Students have real word experiences with these and are now able to relate them to their daily lives. |
| Family on the Go | The main problem students will need to rank the best hybrid car for the family to buy which shows the most fuel efficient, highest safety rating, best price, and most comfortable car for a family of four. The family is interested in a hybrid. Students will then be asked to look over their finding and evaluation checklist and change the four passenger vehicle to an SUV in order to fit grandma and grandpa that will soon be moving in. The students will be given new data set that includes all SUV's currently on the market. They will use the ranking formula they devised to figure out the best SUV for the family. Next, they write a letter to the family explaining their findings and the reasons for their choice. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Future Car - Energy and the Environment | Students must choose which type of automotive power plant is the best choice for a car company to use in its upcoming eco-friendly model. The students must make this decision based on characteristics of each power plant, such as efficiency, production cost, and production energy. Students must decide what they feel makes the car most “ecological.” They may choose a very low-polluting car that is very difficult and costly to produce, or one that has more emissions, but uses very limited resources to develop. This lesson could be used to either as an introduction or a follow-up to a lesson about ecology, energy use and conservation, or human environmental impacts. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Let's Heat Things Up! | How do things heat up? Help students relate thermal energy to their daily lives. This is a two-day entertaining lesson explaining thermal energy the transfer of energy between the phases of matter. It includes 2 activities for the students along with two-teacher demonstrations. Also included is a power point, and small quiz. |
| How Fast can Dominoes Travel in a Chain Reaction? | The students will complete an inquiry activity using dominoes to determine what variables affect the speed of the chain reaction. Students will have to consider and decide on the best spacing between dominoes to achieve the fastest travel time and ensure the spacing remains constant by carefully measuring the distance between each domino. They will set up 5 dominoes at a time to set off a chain reaction alongside another 5 dominoes space differently. Students can create a bar graph to show how the spacing affects the speed. Students can have fun while learning or reinforcing their understanding of potential and kinetic energy, measuring distance, measuring elapsed time, recording data, making and interpreting graphs and using the distance formula to calculate the rate of speed. |
| The Power of Energy | Have you ever wondered how energy changes from one form to another? How you can put food in microwave, and seconds later it is hot? What happens between the time you plug in a TV and you see a picture? Students will take a deeper look into energy. What are all of the kinds of energy that help an object work? This lesson is a fun way to involve kids in their learning and include technology to present. |
| Energy on the Move! | This lesson is an activity to have students explore energy transformations. Students will use photovoltaic solar panels, batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, and a fan to model energy transformations to see how energy can be transformed from one form to another. If you do not have these items, see the Florida Solar Energy Center's for how to borrow them.
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