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Acceleration 1
In this acceleration worksheet, students use weights to increase the mass affecting the force on moving objects. Students plot a graph of their data and answer 3 questions about how the acceleration of the toy skateboard used in the...
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The Great Ocean Conveyor
Students investigate water density. In this water density lesson plan, students conduct an experiment with food coloring, water and salt to see how the salt effects bodies of water.
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Rocket Science
Students conduct an experiment. In this physical science lesson, students learn about Isaac Newton's theory that for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. Students show this theory by looking at how a rocket is propelled...
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What Makes Thing Fly?
Second graders study lift, drag and thrust from a real flight instructor. In this physical science lesson students build and fly paper airplanes and experiment with variations and design.
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Space Ship Pilot
Young scholars visualize the relation between acceleration and velocity in 2 dimensions. They are introduced to Newton's first law,and Newton's second law. Students work on an exploration activity where they condsider an example of a...
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100 Years of Flight
Students investigate Bernoulli's principle of air pressure and how it
relates to the lift of an airplane. Students identify various Aeronautical vocabulary terms. Students construct a paper glider and experiment with the control surfaces...
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Impulse/Momentum Lab
Students investigate the relationship between force and momentum using motion detectors and sensors. In this physics lesson, students graph experimental results. They calculate impulse using the area under the graph.
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The Law of Inertia
Learners practice the 4 question strategy to form more questions and develop further experiments. The four questions are engage, explore, explain, and elaborate. They use the 4 question strategy on an investigation involving the mass...
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Wind Power for Educators
Students explore wind power as a renewable resource. In this wind power lesson plan students build models of wind turbines and experiment with different changes to see if it increases efficiency.
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I'm Falling For You!
Third graders are introduced to the concept of gravity by observing different objects being dropped from a high point. In groups, they complete the same activities Galileo did and record their observations. To end the lesson, they...
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Balloons
Students 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...
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Inertia
Students conduct an experiment to apply Newton's first law of motion. They observe the inertia of an object in regard to its mass. The students record and graph the outcomes of their investigation and present the relationship between...
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Kites: Patang - The Indian Fighter Kite
Students investigate the history of fighter kites and build their own. In this aeronautics lesson, students discover how other countries utilize fighter kites and where they originated. Students create their own fighter kites...
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Blow and Go
Students discover how air can move things by using their breath. In this physics lesson, students hypothesize then attempt to move a pencil 1 meter using nothing but their breath. Students record data from their experiment including...
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How Can Sounds Be Different
Second graders explore energy and motion. They investigate how sound energy moves in waves. Students explore how sounds are varied and how the instruments that make those sounds are built. They observe sounds being produced and predict...
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To See or Not to See: The Colors of Light
Seventh graders describe and conduct an experiment that identifies the physical properties of light. They explore sources of visible light and an electromagnetic spectrum. Students explain the conversion of one form of energy to another.
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The Drag of Drag
Students are introduced to drag. Then they summarize drag by saying that the drag is proportional to the square of the velocity. Students then solve problems an example of such a problem: Explain why swimming underwater is faster than...
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Marvelous Magnets
Students identify and classify magnetic and nonmagnetic materials and metals. After determining which materials and metals are magnetic, students create a data table and classify items by two different criteria. Students e-mail various...
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2D Kinematics w/ String Racers
Students calculate the speed of string racers. In this physics lesson plan, students measure the time in several trials and get the average. They graph their results using a spreadsheet.
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Earth's Orbit Lesson
Tenth graders devise a computational model to explore how the orbit of the Earth might change if its velocity were different. Using accurately recorded data, 10th graders defend a scientific argument.
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Egyptians as Engineers
Student design and build Lego vehicles that drag given amount of weight up an incline. They show how this demonstrates Egyptian methods of pyramid construction.
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Secrets of Lost Empires II -- Roman Bath
Students build an arch with no mortar following the design of the Romans. They use cookies to represent the blocks used and work to distribute the weight on the stones.
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Snack Attack: Food Packaging Activity
Students design and create packaging material for food. For this snack attack lesson, students design a package to protect a food item from heat and water. Students consider costs of materials, design, and test the package to see if it...
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Science: Avalanche!
Eighth graders examine avalanches after reading excerpts from John Muir's book, "The Yosemite." In small groups, they conduct experiments with flour, sugar, and potato flakes representing different snow consistencies. Then, 8th graders...