Curated OER
Mobile Forces
Learners design and build original mobiles and consider how the forces of gravity and convection air currents affect the finished piece. They explore how an understanding of balancing forces is important in both art and engineering design.
Curated OER
Science in Focus: Force and Motion
Students explore force and motion through a series of experiments. For this physics lesson, students create and interpret speed graphs. They build an electromagnet and explain the factors affecting its strength.
Curated OER
Forces and Motion
Students build parachutes for chicken eggs. In this physics lesson, students describe the forces acting on a falling object. They predict which of the three parachute models they made has the best chance of keeping the egg intact after a...
Curated OER
The Art of Science: Gravity
Through a series of experiments and demonstrations, fifth graders will learn about gravity. They will make predictions, drop various objects, write down their observations, and try to understand gravity through balance. This lesson seems...
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
Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Eighth graders examine two different types of tires and the effects of different factors on the amount of force needed to overcome sliding friction such as when the vehicle tries to stop.
Curated OER
Flight Physics
Learners apply the knowledge of Bernoulli's Principle and construct simple aerodynamic designs. In this flight physics lesson, students explore the history of man's interest in flying and the forces influencing an object in flight by...
Baylor College
Gravity and Muscles
Humans are so used to gravity as a force that we don't tend to pay much attention to it on a daily basis. Through a couple simple activities, learners experience changes to their center of gravity and come to the understanding that...
Curated OER
Toying Around with Newton's Laws
Eighth graders identify balanced and unbalanced forces that affect the movement of objects and Newton's three Laws of Motion. Students also design a contraption utilizing Newton's Laws of Motion that will launch a marshmallow five meters.
Curated OER
Katrina Case Study: Watershed
Students explore the importance of the coastal wetlands. In this environmental lesson, students observe a model of wetland transformation over time. They discuss what changes occur in the wetlands and how hurricanes can affect the...
Curated OER
Fluid Friction
Students, using wood blocks and model boats, investigate how the shape of an object affects friction it encounters as it is drawn through a towing tank.
Channel Islands Film
Natural Resources, and Human Uses of Plants and Animals
As part of their study of the restoration projects on Santa Cruz Island, class members demonstrate their understanding of the connections among plant life, animals, and the actions of humans by crafting a model that reveals these...
Curated OER
Swinging on a String
Young scholars explore how pendulums work and why they are useful in everyday applications. In a hands-on activity, they experiment with string length, pendulum weight and angle of release.
Curated OER
World Geography: Climate Change Round Table
Students are able to explain the suspected causes of relatively recent climate changes, specifically the observed global warming. They discuss how unusual or extreme global warming disrupts the balance of the earth's geo-spheres.
Curated OER
Airplane Wings
Students examine the aerodynamics of a wing and how it generates lift. In this flight lesson students complete several experiments including how to build a paper plane and how airfoils affect performance.
Curated OER
I've Got That Sinking Feeling
Students design a simple boat and predict how much weight it can carry. They should also discover why objects float or sink and how this can be determined experimentally. A great lesson on buoyancy!
Curated OER
To Dam or Not to Dam
Young ecologists explore the Aswan Dam in Egypt via the internet. Each collaborative group is assigned a specific article about the ecological impact of the dam. Then they prepare a presentation to share with the rest of the class. Some...
Curated OER
Go Car, Go!
Students design and build their own car. In this physics lesson, students collect data to determine the speed of the car. They plot the data on the graph analyze the relationship between variables.
Curated OER
How Things Fly
Learners explain basic principles of aeronautics such as gravity and lift. In this How Things Fly lesson, students visit the interactive, hands-on How Things Fly gallery at the Smithsonian. Learners perform three experiments that...
Curated OER
Floating Pencil
Students discover how salt water makes a pencil float better than freshwater by measuring and comparing the lengths of the portion of the pencil that floats above the water surface. They then determine if an unknown water sample is...
Curated OER
IS MASS THE SAME AS WEIGHT?
Students see the difference between weight and mass when they examine the method of measuring each of them.
Curated OER
How Things Fly
Students research the mechanics of flight and create a slideshow with one slide dedicated to each of these topics: lift, drag, thrust, and weight. They create a short quiz regarding the material that they presented and give it to their...
Curated OER
The Effects on Flight Characteristics/Performance Due To Variations in Design of Sled Kites.
Students expand upon previous lessons with sled kites by varying the dimensions or materials while building a news sled kite while working in a team. They fly their original kites and the new ones under similar conditions to determine...