In this lesson, the learners will work across the curriculum using technology, business education, and mathematics. They will form a company and use the physics of force and motion to build a hovercraft. The students will use this...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Learn about the relationship between position, velocity, and acceleration for two objects in one-dimensional motion. Experiment with varying approaches to the race for both Irwin and Ruthie to see how...

A high school physics lab on classical mechanics in which students study force versus time and acceleration versus time. Students need access to an elevator to complete the experiments. A lab handout is provided.

In the following lesson students are asked to devise a plan to measure the distance of a balloon's flight, predict the direction a balloon will travel as it deflates, learn about Newton's Laws of Motion, experience Newton's Third Law,...

Students will be able to determine a way to change the direction of a moving object by conducting a simple experiment. Included in this lesson are videos of the activity in action, a printable recording sheet, pictures of the set-up for...

A series of participative experiments using ultrasound position sensors. The details will depend upon the datalogging system available to the students.

Students will be able to explain what is needed to stop an object by completing a simple investigation. Students will experiment with Hot Wheel cars and record their predictions on a recording sheet. Included are videos of the lesson in...

Videos that accompany activities that are hands-on challenges that focus on the engineering design process. They use simple materials, allow for multiple solutions, and are ideal for ages 9-12.

Students learn why and how motion occurs and what governs changes in motion, as described by Newton's three laws of motion. They gain hands-on experience with the concepts of forces, changes in motion, and action and reaction. In an...

Students will make predictions and conduct an experiment using marbles to figure out what types of things can cause a moving object to change direction. Included is a video of the instructional activity in action, pictures, discussion...

Students experiment with different materials and objects to make a sled that will slide down the ramps.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Learn about adding force vectors in two dimensions using the example of a painting hanging from two strings. Experiment with variables of weight and angles to hang a portrait in this physics simulation....

[Free Registration/Login Required] Learn about the relationship between velocity and position for a swimmer. Adjust the velocity of the legs, streamline, and arms to experiment with the slope of velocity in the simulation swimmer. Dig a...

Students conduct an experiment to determine the relationship between the speed of a wooden toy car at the bottom of an incline and the height at which it is released. They observe how the photogate-based speedometer instrument "clocks"...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Learn about the relationship between position and velocity for a model rocket during launch and in free-fall. Experiment with rocket mass, rocket thrust, and rocket burn time to understand the...

In the first of two lessons of this curricular unit, students are introduced to the concept of friction as a force that impedes motion when two surfaces are in contact. Student teams use spring scales to drag objects, such as a ceramic...

A lesson about friction can be found on this website. Students will experiment to see how motion and frictional force affect the game of football.

Through ten lessons and numerous activities, students explore the natural universal rules engineers and physicists use to understand how things move and stay still. Together, these rules are called "mechanics." The study of mechanics is...

Students experience firsthand one of the most common water treatment types in the industry today, flocculants. They learn how the amount of suspended solids in water is measured using the basic properties of matter and light. In...

Fantastic variety of printable activities that cover motion-related principles. Topics include the following: experiments (engineering, structures, forces and energy, fluids, sound and light, patterns, human body); arts & crafts;...

This is part 2 of a two-part lesson on understanding how speed changes when two objects collide. Learners will conduct an experiment, collect data, and draw conclusions about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide....

For this rocket experiment, middle schoolers will investigate the question, "Which amount of water will cause the rocket to stay in the air the longest?" Students will compare how long the rocket was in the air with how much water was in...

Experience the effect of friction, air resistance, and applied force upon a sledder. The speed, acceleration, and force values are displayed as the sled moves. Learners can vary the mass of the sledder and the size of the parachute...

In UCM, the net force called Fc is equal to mv2/r and is directed toward the center. This is demonstrated by an object that is suspended by a string and is moving in a circular path which makes a conical pendulum. In this experiment, you...