What a wonderful way to explore motion and forces! Learners design a catapult, after watching a video and discussing types of catapults. This is a comprehensive and complete lesson with links to supplementary resources.

Physics learners make magic with inertia! By pulling paper out from under a stack of blocks or batting a rubber ball into motion, physics scholars' eyes will be opened! Don't think that this lesson is only fun and games; plenty of...

Ninth graders create PowerPoint presentations to present Newton's three laws of motion, and make and launch rockets.

Several times throughout history, groups of soldiers marching in rhythm across a suspension bridge have caused it to collapse. Scholars experiment with pendulums, resonance, and force to determine why this would happen. First, pupils...

The stage is set for you to guide future physicists through three forceful activities about motion. In the first, learners experiment with rolling carts to discover how objects interact. In the second, they inspect images of an object in...

A nine-page physics resource supports your lesson plan on acceleration. A step-by-step lesson plan walks you through the materials you need, the background information, steps for leading experimentation, and the explanation of the...

Class members use mathematics in order to better understand magnetic forces and their interaction on charged particles. After a demonstration of the interaction between a magnet and an electron beam using a CRT computer monitor,...

Fourth graders are introduced to, summarize, analyze and memorize Newton's First Law of Motion and experiment demonstrating the theory with a yo-yo. They state, sing, draw, or enact Newton's First Law of Motion several times and with...

Ron Toomer, a famous roller coaster designer, suffered from motion sickness. Pupils design their own roller coasters, learning about potential and kinetic energy in the process. Labs focus on the importance of drop height, energy...

Young scientists design a rocket to launch using Newton's Laws of Motion in order to discover for themselves the forces of motion. 

Young scholars work in groups to discover how to move an object down a zip line.  In this engineering design lesson, students find how to use a cup to move a marble, the most efficient way.  Young scholars...

Physicists become Olympians in a competition using centripetal force. They ride a bicycle to comprehend relationships between linear and rotational motion. If you have an old-fashioned record player, it can be used to help pupils...

Do you need some new ideas for teaching Newton's Laws of Motion? This series of activities will spring your curriculum to life! Choose from five activities to demonstrate or have your science stars perform. As a result, they...

The first activity may not work for your class if you don't have access to an open area of 30 meters and two cars of different masses, but the remaining activities can be used in any physics course. They all involve the investigation of...

Do not let friction drag you down! The 11th segment in a series of 22 focuses on the fourth force acting upon an airplane—drag. Pupils learn about the effects and causes of drag.

Students create a car using physics. In this forces and motion lesson, students create a car and test which changes in design change the performance of the car. Students complete a graphic organizer with the different changes...

I love mixing arts lessons with core content! Here, the class will discuss energy, motion, and force (push/pull) as they review dance vocabulary and movements. They preview vocabulary for force and dance. Then they pair-up to dance a...

Assist your class with correctly calculating the values for force, work, and power as they determine the amount various activities require. They gather data and participate in a group discussion to compare results upon conclusion of the...

Students consider the first part of Newton's First Law of Motion, the Law of Inertia of objects at rest, which states that every object remains at rest unless acted on by a force. They perform hands-on experiments which demonstrate this...

Ride the wave to an understanding of refraction! The first in a series of two inquiry-based lessons challenges learners to create transverse waves with two different types of springs. As their wave hits an object, they observe the change...

Ninth graders utilize Newton's Laws of Motion to explain how things move, create poster illustrating each law of motion, and present and explain their poster to classmates.

Fourth graders study straight line motion and the forces that affect motion, including the terms force, gravity, and speed. They determine that gravity, weight, and other forces have an effect on speed and motion.

Third graders examine, analyze, study and memorize Newton's First Law of Motion utilizing a glider to demonstrate the process. They state, sing, draw or enact an example/illustration of Newton's First Law of Motion in front of their...

Students examine gravity, mass, and friction. In this speed and motion instructional activity, students investigate how straight line motion is impacted by gravity, mass, and fiction as they participate in a hands-on activity.