Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Physics/mechanics (Force and Motion)
A collection of mechanics activities. Many pertain to Newton's laws of motion. Step-by-step directions provided with illustrations. Great for teacher demos or student projects.
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)
Smile: The Center of Mass
This site from the Illinois Institute of Technology provides a lab activity in which students determine the location of the center of mass of an irregularly shaped object. Observations are related to the balancing point of the object....
PBS
Pbs Teachers: 21st Century Medicine: Virtual Fear
Explore phobias - irrational fears of an object, situation or activity - and how sufferers endeavor to avoid the cause of their extreme anxiety. Perform activities to explore center of gravity, and describe its effect on sufferers of...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Tightrope Trials
To learn about the concept of center of mass, students examine how objects balance. They make symmetrical cut-outs of different "creatures" and experiment with how they balance on a tightrope of string. Students see the concept of center...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Forces and Graphing
This activity can be used to explore forces acting on an object, to practice graphing experimental data, and/or to introduce the algebra concepts of slope and intercept of a line. A wooden 2x4 beam is set on top of two scales. Students...
NASA
Nasa: Beginner's Guide to Aerodynamics
Includes exhaustive information and a wealth of activities pertaining to aerodynamics and the physics of flight.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Mechanics Mania
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...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating Calculating the Effect of Mass, Length and Displacement
In this physics lab activity students investigate how mass, length and angular displacement affect the period of a simple pendulum. Students control variables, testing one variable at a time, using manual techniques (stopwatch, human...
NASA
Nasa: Weight and Balance Forces Acting on an Airplane
The effects of forces exerted on an airplane wing are discussed both conceptually and mathematically. Illustrations and sample problems and solutions are provided.