Curated OER
Magnus Effect
Students examine the Magnus effect and its history. In this forces instructional activity students investigate the lift of a rotating cylinder.
Curated OER
Friction: Friend or Foe?
Using a hands-on approach, learners explore the effect of friction on objects. Learners use toy cars, shoes, wood, metal, and more to experiment with the causes and effects of friction. Afterwards, they conduct experiments in which they...
Curated OER
@23 Accelerated Frames of Reference: Inertial Forces #23a Frames of Reference: The Centrifugal Force
Young scholars distinguish between the centripetal and centrifugal forces.
Curated OER
Falling Motion
Students design and conduct an experiment on Galileo's Rule of Falling Bodies. In this physics lesson, students collect and analyze data. They create a presentation and share it with the class.
Curated OER
Rollin' On
Third graders investigate the effects of gravity on the motion of a marble on an inclined plane and a declined plane. They work in small cooperative groups to predict and explain outcomes.
Curated OER
Force Counterforce
Students hypothesize what forces affect the motion of a falling body. In this physical science lesson, students create diagrams and illustrations to support their hypothesis. They perform the experiment and record observations.
Curated OER
Newton's Ist Law
Fourth graders explore Newton's First Law of Motion. They conduct an experiment to observe what happens to a ball that is placed carefully on slippery ice. They also observe what happens to a dowel on the ice, then draw and label...
Curated OER
Newton Gets Me Moving
Fourth graders experiment with Newton's three laws of motion. In this motion instructional activity, 4th graders explore the three laws of motion and then work in small groups collaborating while experimenting with these laws....
Curated OER
Foucault's Pendulum
High schoolers investigate how the motion of the Foucault pendulum proves that the Earth is rotating. They research the Internet about pendulums and conduct an experiment online. They view a multimedia presentation about pendulums and...
Curated OER
Acceleration 2
In this acceleration instructional activity, students experiment with varying amounts of mass to observe the effects on the force needed to move an object. Students apply Newton's Second Law of Motion to describe the relationship between...
Curated OER
Rocket Science 101
Students explore the aspects of Newton's First and Third Laws of Motion as they conduct controlled rocketry experiments and analyze the Mars Mission in terms of the principles of rocketry.
Curated OER
The Lost Newton's Laws Lesson
Students explore momentum. For this physics lesson, students perform an experiment in which two balls are released on slanted boards while students observe which ball will go the farthest and the fastest. Students define and explain...
Curated OER
Applied Science - Physics Pre-Lab
Students observe fluid motion. In this Physics lesson, students explore the principles of Pascal, Archimedes, and Bernoulli. Students list their experiences with fluid movement.
Curated OER
Newton's First Law Crash!!
Students examine Newton's first law of motion and demonstrate how it applies to cars. In this motion instructional activity students complete an experiment and worksheet on speed and inertia.
Curated OER
Junkyard Wars: Wild Watercraft
Students develop a fast travelling hull for a boat. In this physical science lesson plan, the students' hulls will be tested in a channel (built by the teacher) with a fan as the driving force. The students will compete for who has the...
Curated OER
Newton Rocket Car
Students observe a demonstration of Newton's third law of motion using a small wooden car. They discuss Newton's third law of motion and what happens to motion if the mass or acceleration is increased, construct their car, and record...
Curated OER
Simple Machines: Levers
Students discover the fundamentals and daily applications of simple machines. They practice basic engineering theory through their hands-on demonstrations of levers.
Curated OER
Aerodynamics And Me
Seventh graders design, construct, refine, and test cars that they build on the computer screen. They find the density of several objects using the techniques used to find volume. They measure various common objects to become more...
Curated OER
Newton's Laws
Beginning with definitions of mass and foce, this excellent set of slides summarizes Newton's Laws of motion and universal bravitaions. Components of each law are explained along with examples and questions to inspire discussion. This is...
Curated OER
WHAT HOLDS US TO EARTH?
Learners they imagine they are Galileo and try to duplicate Galileo's experiments and results.
Cornell University
The Physics of Bridges
Stability is key when building a bridge. Scholars explore the forces acting upon bridges through an analysis of Newton's Laws and Hooke's Law. The activity asks individuals to apply their learning by building a bridge of their own.
Museum of Science
Balloon Racers
Watch those balloon cars go! Scholars build racers that run using the power of balloons and conduct races with the cars. They learn about Newton's third law of motion and how it applies to their balloon racers.
CK-12 Foundation
Model Rocket
Acceleration, velocity, mass, and gravity all play a role in the motion of a rocket. Young scientists explore the connection among these components using an interactive tutorial. They adjust the mass and thrust force to experiment with...
Teach Engineering
Making Moon Craters
Create an egg-citing study of energy. Pupils investigate the effect of height and mass on the overall amount of energy of a falling object. The fourth segment in a six-part series on energy uses a weighted egg falling from different...