Teach Engineering
May the Force Be With You: Drag
Do not let friction drag you down! The 11th segment in a series of 22 focuses on the fourth force acting upon an airplane—drag. Pupils learn about the effects and causes of drag.
Curated OER
Design a Bobsled
Students apply their knowledge of friction, drag, mass and gravity as they design, build, and test mini-bobsleds.
Cornell University
Friction
Friction and gravity are always at odds! Learners complete a set of activities to explore the relationship between friction and gravity. Groups make conclusions about the factors that affect the amount and type of friction between surfaces.
Curated OER
Friction
Occasionally, a short PowerPoint is still able to get many important facts about friction and motion across. The consequences of friction on movement and the terms used to describe it such as drag or viscosity are covered. The only...
Curated OER
What a Drag
Middle schoolers learn examples of friction and drag, and suggest ways to reduce the impact of these forces. The equation that governs common frictional forces is introduced, and during a hands-on activity, students experimentally...
Curated OER
Satellite Technology
In this satellite technology learning exercise, students read about Low Earth Orbit satellites and the frictional drag from the Earth's atmosphere that causes them to fall back towards the Earth. Students use given data of the years the...
NASA
Rocket Wind Tunnel
Using a teacher-built wind tunnel constructed from a paper concrete tube form, a fan, and a balance, individuals determine the amount of drag their rocket design will experience in flight. Pupils make modifications to increase the...
Curated OER
Discovering Friction
Middle schoolers watch a demonstration that introduces them to the idea that friction is a force that impedes motion when two surfaces are in contact. They work in groups to experiment with frictional force using a coffee cup on which...
Curated OER
Puttin' It All Together
Students explain the concepts of kinetic and potential energy and how it can change forms. In this energy, motion, and frictional forces lesson students participate in a hands on activity that includes calculating energy.
Curated OER
Forces
These simple slides are basic, but clear, in their summary of physical forces. Definitions of friction, air resistance, gravity, freefall and projectiles are given along with a couple of helpful diagrams. More examples always help to...
Curated OER
Friction Force
Students investigate friction force on a variety of objects such as bricks and cardboard boxes. They use a force probe to collect data on the changes in force required to drag the objects across a variety of surface types.
Curated OER
DOWNHILL DISCOVERIES
Students studykinetic energy, friction, drag and acceleration by relating it to the Winter Olympics. In this physical properties instructional activity students create tracks and determine how the course conditions affect bobsled, luge...
Curated OER
Introduction to Friction
Students study the properties of the frictional force between two surfaces in contact. They inspect various phenomena in nature where friction plays an important role and demonstrate
Curated OER
Wright Again: 100 Years of Flight
Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...
Curated OER
Satellite Drag and the Hubble Space Telescope
In this satellite drag and Hubble space telescope worksheet, students solve two problems using a graph showing the altitude of the satellite vs. the year with two lines showing two different types of re-boost and one line without...
Curated OER
Applied Science -Technology (6B) Pre Lab
Sixth graders discuss how simple machines overcome friction. In this simple machine lesson plan, 6th graders review the parts of a plane and how they make up for gravity and friction. They roll different objects down an inclined board...
Curated OER
Hovercraft Racers!
Students gain first-hand experience on how friction affects motion. They build a hovercraft using air from a balloon to levitate a craft made from a compact disk (CD), learning that a bed of air under an object significantly reduces the...
Scholastic
Acceleration Nation Guide
Discover the science of NASCAR! Young scholars rev up their learning as they explore aerodynamic principles. Hands-on activities help learners understand concepts of friction, kinetic energy, and potential energy.
Teach Engineering
Ramp and Review (for High School)
Rolling for momentum. As part of a study of mechanical energy, momentum, and friction, class members experiment rolling a ball down an incline and having it collide with a cup. Groups take multiple measurements and perform several...
Curated OER
Friction- What a Drag
Students explore friction. In this friction lesson, students investigate that weight and surface type affect friction.
Curated OER
Force and Motion
Each of the slides here gives a definition, equation, or calculation example for a component of force and motion. This large collection covers topics from momentum and Newton's laws to centripetal forces and simple machines. Animations...
DiscoverE
Marble Run
It's time to slow your roll! Can your class create a track that allows a marble to roll as slowly as possible? Teams of science scholars collaborate to design, build, and test their tubes while learning about gravity and friction.
Curated OER
Ramp and Review
Students participate in an activity in which they observe a ball as it rolls down an incline into a cup. They take measurements and use equations that describe the concepts of mechanical energy, work and power, momentum, and friction. ...
Curated OER
Trigonometry in Automobile - Accident Reconstruction
In this accident reconstruction worksheet, students use trigonometry and vectors to determine the speeds of automobiles in a car accident. They compute the speed at which a car skidded before a crash. This one-page worksheet contains 1...