Curated OER
Circular Motion: Target Practice
Students demonstrate direction of velocity of an object in circular motion. They discuss the mathematical formula, and demonstrate the formula using a string, rubber stopper and a target.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Modeling Motion: Rolling Cups
Connect the size of a rolling cup to the size of circle it makes. Pupils view videos of cups of different sizes rolling in a circle. Using the videos and additional data, they attempt to determine a relationship between cup measurements...
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Circular Motion
Twelfth graders discuss centrifugal force, frictional force, and critical speed as it relates to the popular amusement park ride, the Gravitron.
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The Physics of Skateboarding
Learners explore Newton's three laws, gravity, momentum, trajectory, projectiles, circular motion, and friction by observing and breaking down skateboard tricks. They view short video clips of Tony Hawk and explain the physics concepts...
LABScI
Potential and Kinetic Energy: The Roller Coaster Lab
Ron Toomer, a famous roller coaster designer, suffered from motion sickness. Pupils design their own roller coasters, learning about potential and kinetic energy in the process. Labs focus on the importance of drop height, energy...
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A Classical & Relativistic Trip to a Black Hole
Students calculate distance, velocity, acceleration and time on their fantasy trip to the black hold. They apply Newton's Laws of Motion and calculate circular motion. They discuss any questions that may arise.
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Electric Hoist Problem
Students convert angle measures between degrees and radians. They are given a copy of the task sheet with a graphic to help describe the situation. Pupils review the angle and arc relationship in a circle related to length of the...
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Moving Along
Learners are introduced to the concept of motion. In groups, they practice calculating the rate, time, and distance of various objects on a variety of surfaces. To end the lesson, they apply the same principles to those objects moving...
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Atlatl Lessons Grades 4-12
Pupils examine motion and how to describe it qualitatively. In this investigative lesson students see how aboriginal people were environmentally responsible.
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Round and Round and Round We Go!
Students investigate motion using a CBL. In this algebra lesson, students collect and graph data on a coordinate plane. They define and identify amplitude and period of conic graphs.
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Orbital Bliss
Most young mathematicians are aware that the planets don’t orbit the sun in a circle but rather as an ellipse, but have never studied this interesting feature. This resource looks at the planetary orbits in more detail and helps learners...
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Newtonian Mechanics
Students familiarize themselves, through teacher demonstration, with Gavendish's apparatus first used for experimentally determining the value of the Universal Gravitational Constant G, and calculate theoretical value of Earth's...
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Measuring Acceleration
Students create an accelerometer and take measurements of acceleration in a moving car. They study the car speeding up in a straight line, slowing in a straight line and curving at constant speed. They prepare a lab report showing...
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The Moon Orbits the Sun?!?!
Students calculate the strength of gravitational force exerted on the moon by the sun and earth. In this orbital lesson students view a demonstration to see the gravitational forces between bodies.
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Oscillations
Students construct and compare the actions of various pendulums. In this pendulum motion lesson, students build and test different types of pendulums. They conduct experiments with the length of the swing arm and apply mathematical...
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Looking into Eratosthenes' Radius of the Earth
Students, in small groups, research Eratosthenes and his calculations of the Earth's radius. They write a summary of the person, the experiments and his calculations to determine how accurate Eratosthenes was in his estimations of the...
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Atlatl Lesson Grades 4-12
Tenth graders explore the weapons of the Aboriginal people. In this tenth grade mathematics instructional activity, 10th graders investigate how throwing with an atlatl increase the speed of the dart as it is thrown. Students calculate...
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The Solar System and the Forces Behind It
Sixth graders discover why planets stay in orbit. In groups, they use everyday materials to examine the effect of gravity of objects and calculate how mass changes based on gravitational pull. To end the instructional activity, they...
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Parachutes: Is it Surface Area or Shape?
Students investigate how to make a good parachute. For this physics lesson, students observe the motion of parachutes as it falls and measure the time. They collect data and calculate the average descent time for each canopy shape.
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The Mass of the Moon
In this mass of the Moon worksheet, students use the lunar orbit and the orbit period to determine the mass of the Moon. They solve 4 problems including finding the mass of the Moon, determining the ratio of the Moon's mass to the...
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Automobile-Accident Reconstruction
Students investigate an accident and relate it to math. In this trigonometry instructional activity, students measure the accident scene, the friction produced, and the speed from the skid marks. They create a poster of their findings.