NASA
Rocket Wind Tunnel
Using a teacher-built wind tunnel constructed from a paper concrete tube form, a fan, and a balance, individuals determine the amount of drag their rocket design will experience in flight. Pupils make modifications to increase the...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Fun with Speedboats!
After reading about marine engineers and naval architects, it's all hands on deck to design and test a speed boat. This lesson is designed for the Next Generation Science Standards in engineering and can be a centerpiece for a STEM...
Curated OER
Forces in a Climb
Students use a NASA website to use a given formula to find acceleration and distance after a specific time and how it relates to engine propulsion.
Curated OER
Traveling Bowls
Students investigate the relationship between force and motion while conducting an experiment to answer the question,"How do objects move?". In small groups, they predict how many washers are needed to pull a bowl across a finish line.
Curated OER
Describing Motion
Reinforce the concepts of motion and force in this graphic organizer, which prompts students to provide the effect of pushing and pulling an object, as well as an object in motion. Ample space in the answer section allows students to...
Curated OER
Speedy Trials
Fifth graders investigate how forces affect the motion of an object. In this physics lesson, 5th graders calculate an object's speed using a mathematical formula. They discuss how force and mass affects the speed.
Curated OER
Rock-A-Bye Pendulum
Third graders use the scientific process to explore the effects of force on an object in motion. They demonstrate that the greater the force applied to an object, the greater the change in speed or direction of the object. They...
Curated OER
Leonardo Lives
Students investigate the concepts of force and motion. They describe how motion is created by force. Also students define a simple machine and the factors of application to creating force or motion. They analyze the plans of Leonardo De...
Curated OER
Look Ma! I'm a Rocket Scientist!
Students use a ball to push and pull to demonstrate the concept of force. In this force lesson plan, students talk about the importance of force in space and use balls to demonstrate this phenomena.
Curated OER
Spuds in Space
Students explore the effects of velocity on an object when it collides with another object. They design and outfit a potato astronaut in a spacesuit to withstand the hazards of high velocity impacts from space debris and meteoroids.
Curated OER
Dark Matter In The Universe
Students investigate the concept of dark matter and how it occurs in the universe. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Students use the information by reading at least two articles about dark matter. They also generate...
Curated OER
Friction In Our Lives
Fourth graders explore friction. They examine the effects of friction in the movement of objects. Students discover how friction helps and hinders us in our daily lives. They answer questions and participate in activities to demonstrate...
Curated OER
Newton's Second Law of Motion
Sixth graders study Newton's second law of motion and verify it. In this force and motion lesson students complete a lab activity and collect data, analyze it and graph it.
Curated OER
What Can Change an Object's Motion?
In this object in motion worksheet, students will brainstorm ideas of what can change an object's motion. Then the student will write in supporting details for each idea in a graphic organizer.
Curated OER
Animating Motion
Learners apply what they recall about objects in motion by animati ng sequences of pictures that model a set of physical conditions. They animate the orbital motions of the Earth, the space shuttle, and the Moon based on calculations of...
Curated OER
Faking It
Middle school earth scientists describe the behavior of the Coriolis force. They compare and contrast conditions under which the Coriolis force has a significant impact with conditions under which it has very little. They model the...
Physics Classroom
Gravitational Field Strength
Budding scientists fall hard for a gravitational field strength activity! Physics pupils compare the masses and distances relative to the center of planets using an interactive from a Circular and Satellite Motion series. Individuals...
Curated OER
Transforming Energy
Super detailed, this lesson will educate physical science learners about the flow of electrons. Begin by reviewing potential and kinetic energy with a moving pendulum, and then get them online to observe interactive websites about...
Curated OER
Parachutes: What a Drag
Sixth graders make 2 different kinds of parachutes and record and graph the time for each one for the different drag forces. In this parachute lesson plan, 6th graders compare the results to the rest of the class of each parachute and...
Cornell University
Buoyancy
Swimmers know to float by turning their bodies horizontally rather than vertically, but why does that make a difference? In an interesting lesson, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test cups to see which...
Curated OER
Newton's Second Law
Three memorable activities build on each other to give physics masters a firm grasp of Newton's Second Law. Pupils play with a lab cart on a flat surface and on an incline to confirm that force is equal to mass times acceleration. In the...
Curated OER
Motion and Force
This physics PowerPoint defines the concepts of motion and force. The slideshow consists of an explanation on how motion and force work and give students the chance to demonstrate motion and force through an experiment. The directions...
Curated OER
Speed and Collisions Administration Procedures
High schoolers investigate speed as an important variable regarding force of an impact. Students roll a car down a ramp and into a block of wood. The distance the car travels, the time until impact and the distance the block moves are...
Curated OER
The Spin Doctor Is In
Students are given the difintion of translational motion, which is the object in motion stays in motion. If you are in a car and the car stops, you keep moving. They then discuss rotational motion, which is a spinning object continues to...