Hopefully you have a sensor interface for your physics class to use with graphing calculators when collecting data with a light sensor. If so, read on. Use this resource for learners to predict and then test whether or not the intensity...

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.

Middle schoolers recognize the effect of Earth's gravity on an object's weight. In this force and motion lesson plan students understand the role of gravity when you drop an object. Middle schoolers experiment with small items. Students...

Students calculate effects of gravitational force on planets, discuss the effects of weightlessness on the human body and describe and demonstrate how objects in a state of free fall are accelerated by gravity at an equal rate.

Give every type of learner in your physics class an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned throughout the year. From analyzing tables and graphs to evaluating diagrams and solving problems, there is an outstanding variety of...

Students read a NASA Web-based text, then demonstrate an understanding of the text by using it to complete an activity on the center of gravity of a commercial cargo airplane.

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...

Using a simple method, learners explore gravity, cohesion, and adhesion. They perform an experiment in which they determine how many drops of water can fit on a penny. Afterwards, they discuss their results.

What do magnetic fields look like? The best way to learn about magnetic fields is to try identifying them for yourself. Scholars will understand the importance of magnetic fields after completing this experiment. The extension activities...

This Discovery Education activity provides the information needed to understand the basics of flight. Before taking off, young pilots learn the eight stages of the engineering design process. Small groups then design and build...

Eighth graders build and run mousetrap cars in order to measure distance, time, and mass for their cars. They use these measurements to calculate average speed and kinetic energy, then create a slide show to visually explain how the car...

Student identify the three stationary positions, on the Earth, on the Moon, and in a house floating atop the cloud layers of Jupiter. They also identify the three orbiting positions, orbiting the Earth, orbiting the Moon, and orbiting...

Students use this problem to help them to relate to force vectors: Suspend a meterstick horizontally between two tables. Place a 1kg mass in the middle of the meterstick. Notice the bend of the meterstick. Explain why the meterstick...

Young scholars investigate the factors affecting projectile trajectory. In this physics lesson, students calculate the range, time and speed of projectiles using mathematical equations.

Students calculate acceleration due to gravity with the measurements of the period of a pendulum or measurements of the time for an object to fall from different heights. They observe and measure the effect of air resistance on the...

Students discuss how weight is directly related to gravitational force on a planet. Students then choose Space Traveler as companion and compute how much their guide weighs on various planets, based on each planet's relative surface...

What do the movies October Key and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone have in common? The fourth installment of a five-part module presents equations regarding projectile motion and how to rearrange them. Scholars view video clips...

Young scholars calculate a toy car's velocity and acceleration. In this force and motion activity, students build ramps and attach a dropper to a toy car, which is released down the ramp. Young scholars calculate and graph velocity and...

In this forces worksheet, young scholars practice writing net force equations and solving for acceleration and distance objects travel in different situations. This worksheet has 7 problems to solve.

Students perform inquiry in response to the question "Do objects fall at the same rate?", teacher candidates discuss a model experiment for secondary students to discover the answer, including recording and analyzing data.

Students investigate the interdependence of mass and gravitational acceleration using computer simulation. In this physics lesson, students derive the formula for acceleration due to gravity. They calculate air resistance on falling...

Students observe projectile motion and calculate the speed of a baseball based on the time and distance traveled. They record the time, measure the distance, and draw the path of the ball's travel on a data table.

Sixth graders compare and contrast mass and weight. In this physics lesson, 6th graders calculate speed given distance and time information. They construct a rocket and relate this to Newton's 3rd Law of motion.

Students explore how Newton tied together the gravity observed on Earth and the motion of the Moon. They apply an earlier lesson plan about centripetal forces.