PBS
Rubber Band Car
Class, start your engines. Future engineers design a car with old CDs as wheels. The power source? Some rubber bands will do the trick! This is the first installment of a five-part series.
Curated OER
Solar Car Races: Build and retrofit for speed
If you have solar car kits for your junior high schoolers, they can experiment with photovoltaic cell angle, light intensity, and aerodynamic design to discover what makes their car move more quickly. This is a classic activity to use...
National Science Teachers Association
Paper Car Crash Design
High school physical scientists collide with motion. They work in pairs to design a paper car that will protect a raw egg during a head-on collision. Measurements of distance traveled, time of run, vehicle specs, and photo gate flags are...
Curated OER
Build Your Own Car
Learners design and build their own cars. In this physics instructional activity, students test their car's speed and make changes when necessary. They graph data and analyze results.
Curated OER
Solar Car Series: Angle/Energy Amount
Does the angle of a solar panel change the output? Emerging engineers find out! Demonstrate for your class how they can angle a straw to match the angle of light rays coming from a source. Then turn them loose to experiment with the...
Curated OER
Solar Car Series: during What Part of the Day Can the Most Sun Power Be Collected?
In preparation for solar car races, middle schoolers attempt to discover what time of day the most solar energy can be collected. Begin by demonstrating the use of a voltmeter for measuring solar cell output. Take them outdoors to take...
Curated OER
Go Car, Go!
Learners design and build their own car. In this physics lesson, students collect data to determine the speed of the car. They plot the data on the graph analyze the relationship between variables.
Curated OER
Magnetic Car
In this magnetic car worksheet, students learn how to use simple household items to create a magnetic car. Students learn that magnets have two poles and when the same poles face each other it causes a force of repulsion which moves the...
Curated OER
Build and Test Your Car Continued
Students create and build cars to race in class. In this physics lesson, students calculate the speed using distance and time information. They evaluate their design and make adjustments when needed.
Curated OER
Rocket Car
Students construct a balloon-powered rocket car from a Styrofoam tray, pins, tape, and a flexible straw, and test it along a measured track on the floor. They experiment with ways of increasing the distance the rocket car travels.
Curated OER
Rover Races
Students identify the challenges encountered by astronauts in operating a planetary rover. For this space science lesson, students create a rover using their team members. They follow a command sequence from the driver and navigate...
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.
It's About Time
The Doppler Effect
In 1842, Christian Doppler proposed a theory relating the change of wavelengths based on motion. Young scholars observe the Doppler Effect on a small scale in a ball, on a larger scale from a car, and on the largest scale studying the...
Curated OER
The Dymaxion Car
In this motion activity, students read about the invention of the Dymaxion car that was designed to achieve high speeds. Students complete 2 short answer questions based on the reading.
Teach Engineering
Spool Racer Design and Competition
Wind it up and let it go. Individuals build a basic spool racer in the second portion of a six-part unit on energy. After receiving three criteria, pupils modify their designs to meet the new challenge. Pairs compete against each other...
Curated OER
Unit V: Worksheet 2 - Constant Force
Physics learners studying force and acceleration practice solving eight problems with this assignment. They calculate acceleration and deceleration, net force, and distances required for stopping a moving object. Kinematics equations and...
Curated OER
Newton in Motion Project
Students investigate Newton's Third Law of Motion as it exits in real world applications. They watch as the teacher makes a simple balloon powered car before explaining how the motion of the car demonstrates Newton's Third Law of Motion....
Kenan Fellows
The Newton Challenge
Make Newton proud. Scholars apply their understanding of forces and energy to an engineering design challenge. They learn about simple machines, create a presentation on Newton's laws, and develop a balloon-powered car.
Curated OER
Let's Make a Solar Car
Students transform a car that they have built out of K'NEX into a solar car. Students add one or two solar cells to the car to power a DC motor then connect the motor to the car and come up with a method to drive the car. This is the...
Curated OER
Solar Car activity
Students study the basic concept of solar energy. They build a working solar car. Students comprehend how solar energy can be produced via a solar panel. They examine the physics that describe how a solar panel works.
Curated OER
Vectors
Students describe a complex path by the use of adding vectors. They are explained the procedures and rules of the balloon car race. Students are remined that the summary and answers to the questions are due Monday. They are given the...
Curated OER
Aerodynamic Design
Students research aerodynamic design. In this aerodynamic design lesson, students investigate wind resistance on a car. Students explore the reasons necessary for aerodynamic design.
Curated OER
A Tall Ship and a Star to Steer Her By
Students create a water transportation device powered by wind. For this wind power lesson, students research transportation concepts after reading the poem "Sea Fever" by John Masefield. Students design the fastest sailboat they can...
Curated OER
Newton's 2nd Law
Fourth graders discuss Newton's Second Law of Motion, and the acceleration of fast and slow moving objects. They experiment with items with different masses to determine the effect mass has on acceleration using a toy car. They complete...