Berkeley Engineering and Mentors
Marshmallow Catapaults
After a brief lecture on levers, torque, projectiles, and the five-step engineering design cycle, young physical science learners or engineers build catapults out of craft sticks. This is an open-ended exploration of what works and what...
Cornell University
Catapult
Studying levers couldn't be more exciting! Learners build their own catapults and test the results as they make adjustments to the fulcrum. They compete against other groups to create the most accurate apparatus.
Curated OER
Tracking Hurricanes
Students explore how technology and science are used to identify, measure, and track powerful tropical storms to better warn and secure people from their impact. They research hurricanes online by tracking the storms on a hurricane website.
Curated OER
Race the Track! Jump the Gap
Learners record data of using a track system with variables and how those variables affect a ball used in the track. In this track lesson plan, students design their own track in groups, test the ball's rates of speed, and record their...
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Balloons
Learners explore the different types of balloons. In this materials lesson students can complete several experiments including building their own hot air balloons, making balloon animals and experimenting with static electricity.
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Vectors
High schoolers listen to a lecture and complete a number of problems as they go. There are a variety of examples given and they are guided through the problem solving steps for each of the real-world scenarios regarding the purpose of...
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RIDING THE WIND
Students locate the Trade Winds, Westerlies and Polar Easterlies on a map, explain the impact of the rotation of the Earth, and plot a route for a round trip voyage from New York to London.
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Virus and Bacteriophage
Students examine the differences between a virus and a bacteriophage. They explore various websites, identify the parts of a virus and a bacteriophage, and construct a model of a virus or bacteriophage.
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Hurricanes 2: Tracking Hurricanes
Students examine the role of technology in identifying and tracking hurricanes.
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Gravity Launch
Students use an online interactive to launch a rocket from earth. They have control over the angle and thrust of the rocket to discover the relationship between the two.
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Water and Ice
Students will work in small groups, observing an ice cube and recording a description, the feel of the ice, and how it looks when put in another container. Students observe changes in the ice over 15 minute intervals, then freeze the...
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Chemistry in the Kitchen
Students, in groups, combine given materials from an everyday kitchen until a chemical reaction occurs and record the reaction time.
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Build Your Own Hovercraft
Learners construct a hovercraft following specific procedures. In this technology lesson, students explain the physics principles behind hovercraft. They compare and contrast this machine with the aircraft.
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Help! I'm Under Too Much Pressure!
Students play with a ping pong ball sized piece of modeling clay observing what happens to the clay as they play with it and write their observations in their notebooks. They share the results of their observations introducing the term...
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Geography Made Fun with Technology
Students incorporate knowledge box into their classroom activities. In this technology integration lesson, students fill out a graphic organizer using Glossopedia to analyze a new subject.
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Momentum And Colliding Spheres
Students explain that mass times velocity equals momentum. They investigate the impacts of collisions and their results and determine the vector of an incident.
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Air and Water Pressure
Students examine buoyancy and fluid pressure. They conduct a series of fun experiments to discover the effects of pressure and explore how pressure differences can be used to float, lift, transport, or hold a material in place.
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Civil Engineering: Designing Bridges
Students examine the bridges of the United States. They discuss the concept of balance. They draw their own design of a suspension bridge.
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The Addiction With Friction
Learners compare and contrast where friction occurs in robots and bicycles. In this science lesson, students label the diagram of bicycle and robots. They investigate how friction affects their different parts.
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Reflecting Light
Students are introduced to the reflective properties of light and use mirrors to make light from a source reflect onto a specific target. They take turns and record the amount of time it took to correctly reflect the light.
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Friction This
Students investigate road surface and calculate speed. In this algebra lesson, students analyze the roughness of a road and calculate distance and speed based on friction. They relate friction and energy to speed.
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Physics Around the School: Simple Machines In and Out of the Classroom
Students explore different machines and the components that encompass the science of physics. In this physics activity students explore how things move.
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RESISTANCE IS FUTILE
Learners explore friction and use objects such as coins and marbles to study the concept.
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SLIME!
Students learn the effects of friction and examine how certain lubricants can only be used with certain materials.