Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newton's Third Law of Motion

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders are introduced to Newton's Third Law of Motion.  In this physics lesson plan students examine the concept of thrust as one of the forces acting on aircraft. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animating Motion

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students apply what they recall about objects in motion by animati ng sequences of pictures that model a set of physical conditions. They animate the orbital motions of the Earth, the space shuttle, and the Moon based on calculations of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Roller Coasters

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Twisting and turning through the sky, roller coasters are popular attractions at amusement parks around the world, but how exactly do they work? Explore the physics behind these thrilling rides with an engineering design activity....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Crash Course in Flight

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High school physicists demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle by blowing on different items and finding that they do not move in the expected direction! They apply Bernoulli's equation to the flight of an airplane. This well-organized lesson...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Freestanding Structures: A Tech Museum Floor Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars attempt to design the tallest structure that they can with the given materials which are wooden dowels and rubber bands. They discuss the physics of their structure and how they would improve it the next time they built a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

F = ma, Inertia, and Action-Reaction

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders apply concepts of Newton's Laws in scientific inquiries. Use this lesson to have your charges test and identify the characteristics of objects that make them easier or harder to push. After a teacher-led demonstration,...
PPT
Curated OER

Velocity and Acceleration

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Compliment your physics lesson with this PowerPoint which demonstrates many important points regarding acceleration and velocity. A starter experiment activity to stimulate student thinking is given, and may prove very interesting to a...
Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Airplane

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
How does an airplane control its take off and descent? Scholars explore the forces acting on an airplane and control the angle of attack, wing profile, thrust, and airplane size. They learn about lift, drag, thrust, gravity, and the...
eBook
Utah Education Network (UEN)

Utah Open Textbook: 7th Grade Science

For Students 7th Standards
Physical and biological factors affect everyday living. Scholars explore electromagnetic forces, motion, the rock cycle, and geological changes. They examine cells as the building blocks of life and how organisms reproduce using images...
Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Newton's Cannon

For Students 9th - 12th
Gravity does more than keep our feet on the ground — it holds a satellite in orbit, too. Help learners understand the effects of gravity on an orbiting object through a simulation activity. Individuals adjust a launch speed and watch as...
Activity
NASA

Touchdown

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Just how do astronauts stay safe during moon landings? Here's an activity that allows investigators to use the engineering process to explore how shock absorbers protect astronauts during landing. Applying knowledge of gravity, force,...
eBook
Rice University

College Physics for AP® Courses

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
Take a look at an organized physics course. The 34-section electronic textbook covers material in AP® Physics 1 and 2. Teachers use the text to supplement lectures and have the class work through the labs. Each section contains...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gravity (Newton's Laws of Motion): A Weighty Subject

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students identify Newton's Laws of Motion. They students explore Newton's Laws of Motion and apply the second law with a classroom activity. The videos will provide visual examples of the effects of gravity while riding on a roller coaster.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Newton's Second Law

For Students 9th - 12th
In this Newton's law of motion instructional activity, students review the concepts and equation associated with Newton's second law of motion. Students complete 7 matching and 5 true or false questions.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Weight, Friction, Equilibrium

For Students 10th - Higher Ed
For this weight worksheet, students review the equation for solving for the force of weight and review the kinds of friction. Students complete 10 matching, 7 fill in the blank, and 8 problems to solve.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I'm Falling For You!

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders are introduced to the concept of gravity by observing different objects being dropped from a high point. In groups, they complete the same activities Galileo did and record their observations. To end the lesson, they...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Chapter 3 and 4 Review

For Students 9th - 12th
In this physics review worksheet, students complete 42 matching, fill in blank, and problem solving questions pertaining to Newton's laws, force formulas, distance formulas, and simple machines.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Airplanes

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders experiment with gravity and lift by building paper airplanes. In this physics lesson, 4th graders compare the falling rate of a crumpled vs. flat sheet of paper. Then after class discussion and demonstration of Bernoulli's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hot Wheels

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students observe the action produced by toy cars. In this geometry instructional activity, students discuss motion and distance as they relate to the movement of a spherical object.They collect data and make conjectures based on their data.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newton Must have Been a Sports Fan

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students examine Newton's Laws. In this law of motion lesson, students observe Newton's three laws of physics demonstrated by the teacher. They apply other examples to Newton's first law of inertia.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Look Ma! I'm a Rocket Scientist!

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students use a ball to push and pull to demonstrate the concept of force. In this force lesson plan, students talk about the importance of force in space and use balls to demonstrate this phenomena.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physics of Roller Coasters

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars study the physics used to design today's roller coasters.  In this engineering lesson students complete several activities including designing their own roller coaster. 
Lesson Plan
NASA

Gravitational Waves

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Young scientists participate in a hands-on experiment to explore Einstein's theory of relativity in a creative manner. They investigate various waves and compare their characteristics as they discuss how each wave is created....
Lab Resource
Colorado State University

Why Do Raindrops Sometimes Land Gently and Sometimes with a Splat?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
A mouse can fall from large heights without injury! Air resistance is a large influence on small falling objects. In an exploratory lesson, young scholars build a raindrop bottle to compare the falling rate of different-sized objects.