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.

Experiment with conductivity in metals, plastics and photoconductors. See why metals conduct and plastics don't, and why some materials conduct only when you shine a flashlight on them.

Students make a simple conductivity tester using a battery and light bulb. They learn the difference between conductors and insulators of electrical energy as they test a variety of materials for their ability to conduct electricity.

Experiment with conductivity in metals, plastics and photoconductors. See why metals conduct and plastics don't, and why some materials conduct only when you shine a flashlight on them.

Charge can flow through some materials, but not others. Created by David SantoPietro.

This freshman-level course is the second semester of introductory physics. The focus is on electricity and magnetism. The subject is taught using the TEAL (Technology Enabled Active Learning) format which utilizes small group interaction and current technology. The TEAL/Studio Project at MIT is a new approach to physics education designed to help students develop much better intuition about, and conceptual models of, physical phenomena.
Acknowledgements
The TEAL project is supported by The Alex and Brit d’Arbeloff Fund for Excellence in MIT Education, MIT iCampus, the Davis Educational Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Class of 1960 Endowment for Innovation in Education, the Class of 1951 Fund for Excellence in Education, the Class of 1955 Fund for Excellence in Teaching, and the Helena Foundation. Many people have contributed to the development of the course materials. (PDF)

Students are introduced to the idea of electrical energy. They learn about the relationships between charge, voltage, current and resistance. They discover that electrical energy is the form of energy that powers most of their household appliances and toys. In the associated activities, students learn how a circuit works and test materials to see if they conduct electricity. Building upon a general understanding of electrical energy, they design their own potato power experiment. In two literacy activities, students learn about the electrical power grid and blackouts.

Students will learn the difference between an insulator and a conductor and why conductors help to close electricalcircuits. This is important content to better understand how energy and particularly electrical energy works.

Students engage in an interactive "hot potato" demonstration to gain an appreciation for the flow of electrons through a circuit. Students role play the different parts of a simple circuit and send small items representing electrons (paper or candy pieces) through the circuit.

This course is an introduction to electromagnetism and electrostatics. Topics include: electric charge, Coulomb’s law, electric structure of matter, conductors and dielectrics, concepts of electrostatic field and potential, electrostatic energy, electric currents, magnetic fields, Ampere’s law, magnetic materials, time-varying fields, Faraday’s law of induction, basic electric circuits, electromagnetic waves, and Maxwell’s equations. The course has an experimental focus, and includes several experiments that are intended to illustrate the concepts being studied.
Acknowledgements
Prof. Roland wishes to acknowledge that the structure and content of this course owe much to the contributions of Prof. Ambrogio Fasoli.

Course 8.022 is one of several second-term freshman physics courses offered at MIT. It is geared towards students who are looking for a thorough and challenging introduction to electricity and magnetism. Topics covered include: Electric and magnetic field and potential; introduction to special relativity; Maxwell’s equations, in both differential and integral form; and properties of dielectrics and magnetic materials. In addition to the theoretical subject matter, several experiments in electricity and magnetism are performed by the students in the laboratory.
Acknowledgments
Prof. Sciolla would like to acknowledge the contributions of MIT Professors Scott Hughes and Peter Fisher to the development of this course. She would also like to acknowledge that these course materials include contributions from past instructors, textbooks, and other members of the MIT Physics Department affiliated with course 8.022. Since the following works have evolved over a period of many years, no single source can be attributed.

This freshman-level course is the second semester of introductory physics. The focus is on electricity and magnetism. The subject is taught using the TEAL (Technology Enabled Active Learning) format which utilizes small group interaction and current technology. The TEAL/Studio Project at MIT is a new approach to physics education designed to help students develop much better intuition about, and conceptual models of, physical phenomena.
Staff List
Visualizations:  
Prof. John Belcher
Instructors:  
Dr. Peter Dourmashkin  
Prof. Bruce Knuteson  
Prof. Gunther Roland  
Prof. Bolek Wyslouch  
Dr. Brian Wecht  
Prof. Eric Katsavounidis  
Prof. Robert Simcoe  
Prof. Joseph Formaggio
Course Co-Administrators:  
Dr. Peter Dourmashkin  
Prof. Robert Redwine
Technical Instructors:  
Andy Neely  
Matthew Strafuss
Course Material:  
Dr. Peter Dourmashkin  
Prof. Eric Hudson  
Dr. Sen-Ben Liao
Acknowledgements
The TEAL project is supported by The Alex and Brit d’Arbeloff Fund for Excellence in MIT Education, MIT iCampus, the Davis Educational Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Class of 1960 Endowment for Innovation in Education, the Class of 1951 Fund for Excellence in Education, the Class of 1955 Fund for Excellence in Teaching, and the Helena Foundation. Many people have contributed to the development of the course materials. (PDF)

Electricity and magnetism dominate much of the world around us – from the most fundamental processes in nature to cutting-edge electronic devices. Electric and magnetic fields arise from charged particles. Charged particles also feel forces in electric and magnetic fields. Maxwell’s equations, in addition to describing this behavior, also describe electromagnetic radiation. 
The three-course series comprises:
8.02.1x: Electrostatics
8.02.2x: Magnetic Fields and Forces
8.02.3x: Maxwell’s Equations
This course was organized as a three-part series on MITx by MIT’s Department of Physics and is now archived on the Open Learning Library, which is free to use. You have the option to sign up and enroll in each module if you want to track your progress, or you can view and use all the materials without enrolling.

Students come to understand static electricity by learning about the nature of electric charge, and different methods for charging objects. In a hands-on activity, students induce an electrical charge on various objects, and experiment with electrical repulsion and attraction.