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Teach Engineering

Physics Tug of War

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
Slide books with a little assistance from Newton. Using books, groups create a demonstration of Newton's Second Law of motion. Pupils compare the distance traveled by one and two books when they apply a force to them.
Activity
Exploratorium

Whack-a-Stack

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Go wild as you hit a stack of wooden blocks to demonstrate Newton's first and second laws of motion. The blocks at the top of the stack stay put as you knock one at a time out of the bottom. Note, however, that you will need to...
Activity
Sharp School

Newton’s Laws of Motion Project

For Teachers 6th - 8th
After a review of all three of Newton's laws, physical scientists complete a choice project. They can create a book in which they collect pictures where the laws of motion are depicted, produce a PowerPoint presentation, or produce a...
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Playing with Parachutes

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
This lesson certainly will not be a drag! Little engineers design parachutes that make use of air resistance and, as a result, slow the descent of the payload as much as possible. It is an opportunity to teach about many motion concepts:...
Activity
Anchorage School District

Roller Coaster Project

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Emerging engineers work in teams to design pipe insulation roller coasters for marbles that meet specific parameters. They are required to label along the track the areas where kinetic and potential energy are highest and lowest, where...
Activity
MENSA Education & Research Foundation

Roller Coaster Mania!

For Teachers 3rd - 10th Standards
Raise the energy level of your physical science class with this exciting hands-on activity. Applying their knowledge of kinetic and potential energy and Newton's laws of motion, young engineers use foam tubing and marbles to create...
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Curated OER

Newton in Motion-Project

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students investigate Newton's Third Law of Motion. In this Newton's Third Law of Motion lesson, students explore the law in the real world. Students break down the definition for understanding and do an experiment using a balloon.
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Teach Engineering

Equal and Opposite Thrust in Aircraft: You're a Pushover!

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
It's the law—every action requires a reaction, no matter how small. Pupils experience two demonstrations of Newton's third law of motion as it relates to thrust in the 10th segment of a 22-part unit on flight. Using their mathematical...
Activity
BW Walch

Kelper's Second Law: How Do Planets Move?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Kepler's second law of planetary motion, specifically, the law of equal areas, is demonstrated by your high schoolers. On the provided graph paper, they mark out the designated path of Earth at two different times of the year and then...
Activity
DiscoverE

Slinky® Science

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Toys are great for learning about physics. Scholars use Slinky® toys to study Newton's laws of motion and types of energy. After a little play, they then model longitudinal and transverse waves with the Slinky® toys.
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Museum of Science

Balloon Racers

For Students K - 6th
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.
Activity
DiscoverE

Launch It

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Launch pupil interest in rockets. Scholars build rockets out of straws and balloons to learn about Newton's Third Law of Motion. Their task is to hit a target five feet away. It's not as easy as it seems!
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Las Cumbres Observatory

Craters in the Classroom

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Laws of motion apply both in space and on Earth. Young experimenters model object impact on the Earth and moon. They use data to determine the effect mass and velocity have on the resulting craters and how that relates to the energy of...
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Teach Engineering

Matching the Motion

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
It is not always easy to walk the straight and narrow. In the sixth portion of a nine-part unit, groups actively recreate a graph depicting motion. Individuals walk toward or away from a motion detector while trying to match a given...
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Teach Engineering

Beating the Motion Sensor

For Teachers 7th - 9th
I bet I can cross the room without having the lights come on. Class members set up an experiment in which they try to determine what materials will mask motion detected by a sensor. Groups predict how materials will interact with...
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Teach Engineering

Magical Motion

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Make solutions to projectile motion problems magically appear using equations. Pupils watch a clip from a Harry Potter movie and find the length of time it takes for a remembrall to fall into Harry's hands. They use a projectile motion...
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NASA

Exploring Exoplanets with Kepler

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Calculate the movement and properties of planets like professional astronomers! Scholars use Kepler's third law to find Mercury and Venus's distance from the sun. Using changes in brightness of distant stars and Kepler's third law,...
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Kinesthetic Astronomy: Mars Opposition Dance

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Your class will watch as one child orbits the sun as Earth, while another orbits as Mars. If the timing is right, they will see the repetitive dance between the two planets and discover how often they are opposite from each other. For...
Activity
New Mexico State University

Lab 6: Kepler's Laws

For Teachers 9th - 12th
A 15-page package thoroughly teaches your physics or astronomy learners about Kepler's three laws of planetary motion. Each one is stated and explained. Class members answer questions, solve problems, and participate in the classic...
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Teach Engineering

A Shot Under Pressure

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
You've got to pump it up! Using the equations for projectile motion and Bernoulli's Principle, class members calculate the water pressure in a water gun. The pupils collect data on the number of pumps and distance traveled in order...
Activity
NASA

Egg Drop Lander

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
You have to crack a few eggs to make a good engineer! Working in small groups, young scholars design, build, and test devices that protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a ladder.
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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...
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Teach Engineering

Energy Storage Derby and Proposal

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Small groups use the engineering design process to build and test a vehicle capable of carrying 250 grams a distance of five meters. The design must allow for the storage of potential energy and turn it into motion,...
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Exploratorium

Momentum Machine

For Teachers 9th - 12th
If you have a rotating office chair in your classroom, you can have physics pupils participate in this simple, yet effective demonstration of angular momentum. One partner sits in the chair, arms outstretched, holding heavy weights. The...

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