Lesson Plan
DiscoverE

Friction in Action

For Teachers 6th - 8th
There's no need to have friction among instructors regarding the resource. Pupils investigate how marbles and coins slide along different surfaces which gives them information to estimate coefficients of friction.
Activity
Exploratorium

Marshmallow Puff Tube

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Let physical science stars experience Newton's first law of motion by blowing marshmallows out of cardboard tubes! Using different lengths of tubing, they find that more force is needed to overcome increasing friction, and they have a...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Friction

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Friction is a force that can be felt, which means that learners with visual impairments can experiment to feel and understand the concept of friction. They slide a rock along a smooth table, and then they slide a rock across sandpaper,...
Activity
It's About Time

The Mu of the Shoe

For Teachers 7th - 12th
What is mu? Emerging scientists explore the coefficient of sliding friction, or mu, and apply its concepts as they complete activities in the interesting lesson. They measure the sliding friction between soles of their own athletic shoes...
Activity
Teach Engineering

Sliders (for High School)

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Slip sliding away. Groups investigates the two types of friction by running an experiment that allows them to calculate the coefficient of static friction and the coefficient of kinetic friction. The experiment uses a box, a...
Activity
Teach Engineering

Ramp and Review (for High School)

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Rolling for momentum. As part of a study of mechanical energy, momentum, and friction, class members experiment rolling a ball down an incline and having it collide with a cup. Groups take multiple measurements and perform...
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Energy Skate Park

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Skate through a simulation on energy with an a activity that uses a computer simulation of a skater to reinforce the concept of conservation of energy. The resource guides pupils through scenarios using the computer simulation to...
Activity
Curated OER

Bicycle Wheel Gyro

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Using a bicycle wheel and a rotating stool, young physicists experiment with angular momentum. This is a simple, fun, and educational activity that demonstrates a foundational concept. If you can secure the materials, it is definitely...
Activity
It's About Time

Run and Jump

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Has your class wondered how fast a human could run or how high they are capable of jumping? Help them understand these concepts as they explore acceleration and use an accelerometer to make semiquantitative measurements of acceleration...
Activity
Curated OER

Sunken Treasure

For Teachers 8th - 10th Standards
You've located buried treasure, now what? Explore how to use algebraic and geometric methods to determine where to place a recovery ship based on the location of the treasure.
Lesson Plan
DiscoverE

Wind Farm

For Teachers 6th - 8th
A wind turbine is essentially just a giant pinwheel, right? Individuals first create pinwheels from paper, pins, and pencils. In groups, they model a wind farm along a coast and then test out their designs using an electric fan.
Activity
Science Museum of Minnesota

Science Museum of Minnesota: Thinking Fountain: Friction

For Students 3rd - 8th
The Thinking Fountain provides this simple experiment for understanding friction and it relationship to energy.
Activity
Scholastic

Scholastic: Dirtmeister's Science Reporters: Friction

For Students 9th - 10th
Step into Dirtmeister's Science Lab and become a Science Snooper! Work side by side with him as he sets out to answer the challenge question: "How does the force of friction affect us in our daily lives?"
Activity
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Activity: Frictional Force Experiment

For Students 9th - 10th
A lesson about friction can be found on this website. Students will experiment to see how motion and frictional force affect the game of football.
Activity
Science Museum of Minnesota

Thinking Fountain: Friction

For Students 9th - 10th
This science experiment provides a nice introduction to friction and bearings.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Slip Sliding Away: Experimenting With Friction

For Students 3rd - 5th
As you headed up the mountain to enjoy your last ski trip, you may have noticed a sign reading: Hazard. Icy Roads Ahead, Put On Your Chains. Putting chains on car tires increases the resistance between the tires and the road allowing the...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Hovercraft Racers!

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students gain first-hand experience on how friction affects motion. They build a hovercraft using air from a balloon to levitate a craft made from a compact disk (CD), learning that a bed of air under an object significantly reduces the...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Does Contact Area Matter?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Using the same method for measuring friction that was used in the previous lesson (Discovering Friction), students design and conduct an experiment to determine if the amount of area over which an object contacts a surface it is moving...
Activity
Center of Science and Industry

Cosi Columbus: Hover Cup

For Students 9th - 10th
Science experiment in which you make a hovercraft, a machine that uses compressed air to do work, from a paper cup. Includes full list of materials, procedures, and scientific explanation of how air flow can minimize friction and cause...
Activity
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Moving Cans Experiment

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Investigate motion using straws and two soda cans.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Does Weight Matter?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Using the same method for measuring friction that was used in the previous lesson (Discovering Friction), students design and conduct an experiment to determine if weight added incrementally to an object affects the amount of friction...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: It Takes Two to Tangle

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Students explore the theme of conflict in literature. They learn the difference between internal and external conflict and various types of conflicts, including self against self, self against other, and self against nature or machine....
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Sliding Textbooks

For Teachers 5th - 7th
In this culminating activity of the unit which highlights how forces play a role in engineering design and material choices, students explore and apply their knowledge of forces, friction, acceleration, and gravity in a two-part experiment.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Project Ideas: Whirl Y Bird vs. Whale Y Bird

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Improve the design of a very simple aircraft, the whirlybird, and learn about hydrodynamics and biomimicry in this science experiment. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and...

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