Students explore kinetic and potential energy. In this energy lesson, students launch toys cars from ramps in order to examine the relationship between potential energy and kinetic energy. Students collect data and graph the results.

Eighth graders engage in an experiment which uses an inclined plane and balls of various masses to determine the effect a large object has on a small object. They study velocity, momentum, gravity and forces.

Learners calculate a toy car's velocity and acceleration. For this force and motion lesson, students build ramps and attach a dropper to a toy car, which is released down the ramp. Learners calculate and graph velocity and acceleration...

Students investigate simple machines and their uses in everyday life.  In this scientific method lesson, students examine physical tools such as wedges, screws, and levers using a "how does it work" approach.  Students complete...

Students investigate and explain simple machines and their uses. Key concepts include: lever, screw, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, and wedge.

Third graders discover the process thinking about science experiments, and why they are important. They work in small groups using incline planes and a small toy car to design one scientific question that can be answered through...

Pupils investigate the connection between work, potential energy, kinetic energy, and heat. In this physics lesson, students use pulleys to produce mechanical advantages and incline planes to demonstrate energy conversion.

Students complete activities to learn about the common land features in Alaska. In this land study lesson, students study an overhead for permafrost features. Students define ice wedge polygons, thermokarst, and pingos. Students also...

Students measure the flight of a gilder. In this fight of angles instructional activity, students explore the flight of a glider and measure the distance flown. They collect statistical data of the flights and determine the slope of...

Compound machines, nothing more than a combination of simple machines working together, are the focus of an activity that asks class members to use the provided information to take a look at the way innovators combine simple machines to...

Eighth graders construct various machines and compare the work done by them.

Students listen to a read aloud of Shel Silverstein's, The Little Blue Engine. They design and build a Lego train that climbs a three foot incline, one foot at a time. They draw and write about their design.

Fourth graders observe and identify the effects of weathering and geological activities. They take part in an excellent hands-on group activity called "Erosion Race," in which each group tries to simulate erosion of soil in the quickest...

What does slope have to do with lines? Pupils work with lines and determine the slope of the lines informally and with the slope formula. Groups use their knowledge to calculate the slopes of parallel and perpendicular lines. They also...

Build learning by breaking atoms! Young scientists study the way energy changes with a hands-on activity. As they roll steel marbles down a ramp, learners test the hypothesis that kinetic energy does not go away with friction...

Young scholars examine and describe the six main simple machines. In groups, they work with an inclined plane to calculate the ideal and actual mechanical advantages of the plane. Using their results, they must determine the efficiency...

Students listen to a lecture by the teacher about farm work and ways to use physics to make farm work easier. The machines that are highlighted include pulleys, ramps, lever, and gears. Each machine is explained in context of its use in...

Young learners explore friction. They view a video or DVD (bibliography provided) and define terms related to friction, and work in groups to experiment with the effects of friction on speed and motion using ramps and toy cars.

Students explore simple machines.  In this simple machines science lesson, students work with a partner to identify what kind of simple machine is represented by a variety of household objects placed in paper bags.  Students...

A hands-on instructional activity using the TI-CBR Motion Detector to provide information to graph and analyze. The class uses this information to calculate the slope of motion graphs and differentiate scalar and vector quantities. There...

Students explore parts of a system. In this simple machines lesson, students discover that simple machines are composed of two or more systems. Students examine household tools and assess the parts of the system.

Students work together to examine inclined planes. They create a plan to raise rocks to build pyramids. They discover the changes that occur when the angle is increased or decreased.

Students discover basic machines and how they make completing work easier. They identify two basic machines, the inclined plane and the lever and the functions of these simple machines.

Students discover how inclined planes make work easier as they make mathematical predictions and prove their predictions through experiments.