NSTA - National Science Teachers Association

It Slices, It Dices--It Gathers Dust! By: William C. Robertson, Ph.D. A chapter from Energy: Stop Faking It! Finally Understanding Science So You Can Teach it Average User Rating: In case you can't tell from the title, this chapter is about machines. No, not salad shooters and makers of julienne fries but rather everyday things such as scissors and bottle openers and car jacks. These are known as simple machines, and they involve...  [view full summary] In case you can't tell from the title, this chapter is about machines. No, not salad shooters and makers of julienne fries but rather everyday things such as scissors and bottle openers and car jacks. These are known as simple machines, and they involve straightforward applications of work, energy, and the conservation of energy. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School

Energy on the Move By: William C. Robertson, Ph.D. A chapter from Energy: Stop Faking It! Finally Understanding Science So You Can Teach it Average User Rating: Up until now, we've been talking about things having a certain amount of energy and not about things gaining, losing, or changing their form of energy. We've already seen how energy can change, though. A marble at rest at the top of a ramp has a certain...  [view full summary] Up until now, we've been talking about things having a certain amount of energy and not about things gaining, losing, or changing their form of energy. We've already seen how energy can change, though. A marble at rest at the top of a ramp has a certain amount of gravitational potential energy and no kinetic energy. After you let go, and the marble reaches the bottom of the ramp, the marble has less gravitational potential energy and it has acquired some kinetic energy. Seems logical that what happened was that the gravitational potential energy transformed into kinetic energy. Energy transformations like this take place all the time. This chapter deals with keeping track of those transformations, and you'll end up with an incredibly useful principle, for among other things, building amusement parks. What better use for science? [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School

Temp-a-chur and Thermal Energy By: William C. Robertson, Ph.D. A chapter from Energy: Stop Faking It! Finally Understanding Science So You Can Teach it Average User Rating: In this chapter you will learn the basic concept of temperature and what it means for one thing to be hotter than another. The hotter something is, the faster its molecules are moving. And that means that a hot collections of molecules has more kinetic...  [view full summary] In this chapter you will learn the basic concept of temperature and what it means for one thing to be hotter than another. The hotter something is, the faster its molecules are moving. And that means that a hot collections of molecules has more kinetic energy than an equal number of cold molecules. With this in mind, the more kinetic energy possessed by the molecules in an object, the more thermal energy the object has. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School

Recognizing Energy By: William C. Robertson, Ph.D. A chapter from Energy: Stop Faking It! Finally Understanding Science So You Can Teach it Average User Rating: Energy is such a common notion. We talk about it all the time. Should you buy energy-efficient windows? The country needs an energy policy. That little kid at the store who screaming at the top of his lungs sure has a lot of energy. This chapter...  [view full summary] Energy is such a common notion. We talk about it all the time. Should you buy energy-efficient windows? The country needs an energy policy. That little kid at the store who screaming at the top of his lungs sure has a lot of energy. This chapter deals with recognizing and defining energy. This free selection includes the Table of Contents and Preface. [hide full abstract] Member Price: Free Nonmember Price: Free Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School

Taming Energy By: William C. Robertson, Ph.D. A chapter from Energy: Stop Faking It! Finally Understanding Science So You Can Teach it Energy transformations take place all over the Earth without humans ever getting involved. Being the control freaks that we are, though, we spend a lot of time trying to direct those energy transformations to make our lives easier. This chapter is about...  [view full summary] Energy transformations take place all over the Earth without humans ever getting involved. Being the control freaks that we are, though, we spend a lot of time trying to direct those energy transformations to make our lives easier. This chapter is about how we manipulate energy transformations to get electricity for important things like running model racing sets and model railroads. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School

Close the Door--You're Letting the Cold In! By: William C. Robertson, Ph.D. A chapter from Energy: Stop Faking It! Finally Understanding Science So You Can Teach it Actually no, you aren't letting the cold in when you leave the door open in winter. That's a common misconception that will be gently put to rest in this chapter. There will, however, be a discussion of the tranfer of energy that makes things hotter...  [view full summary] Actually no, you aren't letting the cold in when you leave the door open in winter. That's a common misconception that will be gently put to rest in this chapter. There will, however, be a discussion of the tranfer of energy that makes things hotter and colder. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School