Curated OER
Impulse, Momentum, and the Conservation of Momentum
What happens when two worlds collide? In the first of several activities, future physicists experiment with colliding ball bearings or Newton's cradle. Another activity requires the use of an air track with cars to examine collision....
LABScI
Conservation of Momentum: Marble Collisions
What happens to the momentum of an object when it strikes another object? Scholars roll a marble down a ramp so it collides with another marble. By measuring the speed of each marble before and after the collision, pupils answer this...
LABScI
Potential and Kinetic Energy: The Roller Coaster Lab
Ron Toomer, a famous roller coaster designer, suffered from motion sickness. Pupils design their own roller coasters, learning about potential and kinetic energy in the process. Labs focus on the importance of drop height, energy...
Curated OER
Qualitative Aspects of Rotational Dynamics
Explanations for six different physics lab activities and five suggested assessments are contained in this resource by the National Science Teachers Association. Any combination can be used to open learners' eyes to rotational motion....
LABScI
Kinematics: The Gravity Lab
Falling objects can be brutal if you don't protect your noodle! Scholars explore the motion of falling objects through measuring short intervals to determine if the distance traveled varies with time. Building off of this, scholars...
University of California
Marble Rollercoasters
Don't let your classes coast through school! Engage them in their learning as they build their own roller coasters to study potential and kinetic energy. Young scholars complete several challenges that require them to consider the...
Curated OER
Let's Outrage the Bull
Students study kinetic and potential energy. In this energy instructional activity, students in grades K-2 understand the differences between kinetic and potential energy. Students in grades 3-5 demonstrate that kinetic and potential...
Curated OER
Activity Three Teacher Page: Collisions
Students after completing this lesson, identify variables that affect the system, and specify which variables are independent; which are dependent. They represent data in a data table and a graph and analyze data and make predictions.
Curated OER
Electromagnetic Radiation
Learners explore the nature of electromagnetic spectrum through a series of experiments. In this physics instructional activity, students determine how light behaves under certain circumstances. They explain how humans perceive colors.
Curated OER
Weight and Velocity
Students perform an experiment in order to determine how increasing weight affects the velocity of a truck and use the computer to compile their data.