Each of the slides here gives a definition, equation, or calculation example for a component of force and motion. This large collection covers topics from momentum and Newton's laws to centripetal forces and simple machines. Animations...

Who said teaching a STEM instructional activity had to be challenging? Incorporate a career and technology-centered car build into your upcoming force lesson plan, and your class will be moving down the road in no time! Pupils practice...

How does an airboat move when there isn't a motor in the water? The simulation teaches the forces related to the thrust and drag on an airboat. Scholars vary the boat mass and thrust force in order to view graphs of the changing force...

Has your class wondered how fast a human could run or how high they are capable of jumping? Help them understand these concepts as they explore acceleration and use an accelerometer to make semiquantitative measurements of acceleration...

Is the sky falling? Learners use a simulator to modify the mass and velocity of asteroids and collect data on how they influence the diameter and depth of the impact crater. They use their results to draw conclusions and make predictions...

Learners build a model rocket. In this model rocket lesson, students explore a rocket launch cycle. Learners investigate the laws of physics for each part of the launch. Students build model rockets and launch at school.

Does size or mass impact gravitational pull? Scholars experiment with force pairs to answer that question. They can change the size, mass, and distance between the objects using an engaging simulatoin. This allows pupils to visualize the...

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...

Can a horse pull more than its weight? A simple simulation answers this question and more. Pupils adjust the mass in a cart, the mass of the horse, the acceleration of the horse, and the angle of the tension rope between the horse and...

Create egg drop soup. Teachers first set up eggs that are held up above cups of water with a piece of cardboard and cardboard tubes. Learners try to determine a way to get the eggs to drop into the cups. Using a broom, the instructor...

Middle schoolers engage in a instructional activity that is concerned with the concept of a simple machine and uses the law of motion to justify why they operate. Students explore the laws by constructing some simple machines to...

Students examine Newton's three laws of motion to discover what causes it and how it changes. They conduct motion experiments by building catapults and constructing balloon rockets. Finally, they conduct peer studies correlating...

Students engage in a lesson that reinforces rockets as a vehicle that helps us explore outside the Earth's atmosphere by using the principles of Newton's third law of motion. Also, the principles that engineers deal with when building a...

Students investigate the interdependence of mass and gravitational acceleration using computer simulation. In this physics lesson, students derive the formula for acceleration due to gravity. They calculate air resistance on falling...

Young scholars investigate the engineering design process and the relationship between distance, time, and speed. Using a generic car base, small groups design a device that will protect an egg on or in the car as it is rolled down a...

Students conduct a simple inertia demonstration by spinning a hardboiled and raw egg. They push a wagon to demonstrate inertia. They explore Newton's first and second laws of motion.

In a nose-cone to nose-cone competition, which rocket will prevail? Teams form rocket companies to design and build a rocket while competing against other teams in an economic challenge. The team that comes up with the best benefit/cost...

Prepare to accelerate your Android. Pupils prep for the upcoming activity in this third installment of a four-part series. The lesson plan progresses nicely by first introducing different types of acceleration to the class. The teacher...

When making decisions, it might be wise to revise Newton's Third Law of Motion to read, "For every decision, there are options and consequences." Although in decision-making, not all these forces may be equal. The third lesson in the...

Students investigate how Newton's Third Law affects vehicle design. In this Newton's Third Law lesson, students use a web site to research Newton, his third law, and how to design a vehicle that uses a balloon for power. They sketch and...

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...

NASA's LCROSS mission is dropping a probe into a lunar crater. Groups design a system to travel down a zip line and drop a marble onto a target in the classroom. The groups then modify their designs based upon testing. 

Students perform mathematical calculations to design safety device or enclosure to protect an egg as it is rolled down a ramp at increasing slopes.

Sixth graders compare and contrast mass and weight. In this physics lesson, 6th graders calculate speed given distance and time information. They construct a rocket and relate this to Newton's 3rd Law of motion.