Exploratorium
Balancing Stick
Have some physical science fun when studying the center of gravity or center of mass. Simply have balancing artists stand a dowel on one finger and keep it from falling over! A lump of clay is added and moved up along the dowel over a...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Tinkering with Tops
Get kids' heads spinning by challenging them to design a top that will rotate for a minimum of 10 seconds without leaving a 30-cm circle. Groups of learners collaborate through a planning stage, testing stage, and evaluation stage. Some...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Gravity & Inertia
Is it possible to defy gravity? Not really. With force and inertia, we can act against it for a little while, but, eventually, gravitational force will pull us back to Earth. The relationships among mass, force, and inertia are all...
Exploratorium
Take It From the Top
Experiment with the center of gravity by stacking blocks in a way that appears to defy its force. This is a fascinating demonstration that you can use when teaching about gravity, forces, or balance.Â
Curated OER
Strawkets and Weight
Young scholars investigate the effect that weight has on rocket flight. They construct a variety of straw-launched rockets that have different weights, observe what happens when the weight of a rocket is altered by reducing its physical...
Curated OER
Balancing The Day Away In Grade 2
Second graders sped the day exploring about balance by playing with and making balancing toys. They discover how varying the amount and position of mass affects the toys' balance. Pupils explore gravity and balance while playing with the...
Curated OER
Ellipses and Kepler's First Law
The class examines graphs in the form r = F(¿¿) in polar coordinates (r, ¿¿), in particular with the circle, ellipse and other conic sections. They determine the nature of an ellipse by studying the role of the semimajor axis and...
Curated OER
Center of Gravity
Students work with boxes and weights to find the center of gravity. In this simple center of gravity experiment, students find success in using weights to move the center of gravity. Students will be assessed at the end of the lesson as...
Curated OER
Fast Cars and Roll-Over
Students creat a ramp using cardboard and tape. They follow directions to perform an experiment to determine the degree of tilt needed to cause an empty milk carton to tip over. Students discuss their results in terms of center of gravity.
Curated OER
TE Activity: Wow! That Captures It!
Learners examine how motion capture technology allows computer based animators to design realistic effects in animation. They study how the center of gravity contributes to animation and how to use the center of gravity to write an...
Curated OER
Floating Fishes: Boat Sinking Lab
Cut milk cartons in half to make boats and let investigators attempt to sink them. They add dividing walls and observe what happens if marbles are put into only one of the newly formed compartments. Vocabulary is provided: buoyant force,...
Curated OER
Fork It Over!
Students identify an object's center of gravity. In this physics lesson, students use two metal forks, modeling clay, toothpick, and a drinking glass to balance the forks on the glass. Students use the angle of the forks to spread the...
Curated OER
Acrobatic Clown
In this science investigation learning exercise, learners learn about balancing points and center of gravity by making a cardboard acrobatic clown using the directions and pattern provided.
Curated OER
Center of Gravity
Seventh graders determine the center of gravity of an object. They get card stock objects to balance on pencil eraser and a meter stick to balance with same # of weighted string(s) on each side. They get meter stick to balance with...
Curated OER
Strawkets and Control
Students investigate the effect that fins have on rocket flight. They construct two paper rockets that they can launch by blowing through a straw, one with fins and one with wings, and observe and record the results of the rocket flights.
Curated OER
Tightrope Trials
Students research the concepts of center of mass and how to make different things balance. They make symmetrical cut-outs of different "creatures" and experiment with how they balance on a tightrope of string.
Curated OER
High Jump
Learners examine how physics help high jumpers break records. They discuss the phases of the high jump, gravity, and center of gravity, and conduct an experiment to determine whether they can improve the height of their jump.
Curated OER
Balanced Forces
Students are able to explain why football running backs benefit from having a lower center of gravity when opponents are trying to tackle them. They explain why racing cars are designed to have a low center of gravity. Students explain...
Curated OER
Peak Performance
Students design and build a car that is capable of traveling across the floor quickly, and also up a steep ramp.
Curated OER
LEGO Balance
Learners design and build a balance using LEGO, string, and a set of standard metric weights.
Curated OER
Perching Parrot
Students explore the concepts of center of mass and static equilibrium by seeing how non-symmetrical objects balance. They also analyze why all forces on an object must cancel out exactly for an object to be stationary.
Curated OER
A Veritable Circus: Investigating Balance
Young scholars experiment with balance to learn about verticle balance, horizontal balance, center of gravity, and become active problem solvers and "scientists." Student engage in manipulating and changing experimental materials.