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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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Activity
DiscoverE

Build a Roller Coaster

For Students 3rd - 8th
Let the good times roll as young thrill seekers build a roller coaster on school grounds. Future engineers design and build a roller coaster from flexible tubing. The roller coaster is for a marble, so there will be plenty of room to let...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ball Bearing Roller Coasters and Teamwork Lab

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students discuss potential and kinetic energy and design roller coasters to study this concept. In this energy lesson, students discuss the potential and kinetic energy of a roller coaster. Students design roller coasters and hypothesize...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design Your Own Rollercoaster

For Teachers 5th
Here is a physics activity that your 5th graders should love. They explore the physics behind roller coasters by viewing roller coaster simulations online. Then, they work in pairs in order to design their own roller coasters and track....
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

This Is How We Roll!

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students research how roller coasters work. In this physics lesson, learners research the history of roller coasters and the safety factors in the design of a roller coaster on the website www.learner.org/exhibits/parkphysics. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

May the Force Be With You

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read an article, brainstorm ideas and prepare journals investigating why people enjoy 'thrill' rides, what forces affect the body on these rides and how they can become dangerous.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ultimate Ride Coaster Deluxe

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders describe the energy transformations as cars travel over a roller coaster. They explain the principle of conservation of energy as it relates to a roller coaster ride. The integration of technology is done using educational...
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Activity
DiscoverE

Marble Run

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
It's time to slow your roll! Can your class create a track that allows a marble to roll as slowly as possible? Teams of science scholars collaborate to design, build, and test their tubes while learning about gravity and friction.
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Activity
It's About Time

Exploring Energy Resource Concepts

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Please turn off the lights to conserve energy. Or not, after all energy is always conserved. This first lesson in an eight-part series includes three parts. Part A contains one hands-on activity and two inquiry-based experiments on heat...
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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Catapults

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elements of Physics: Energy And Work

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the difference between potential and kinetic energy.  In this energy lesson students view a video and apply these energies to real world situations. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Three States of Matter

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders identify properties of solids, liquids, and gasses. In this states of matter lesson, the teacher demonstrates the properties of each state of matter, then students go on a scavenger hunt for items to represent each state...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy, Work and Power

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars examine the differences between potential and kinetic energy.  In this physics lesson students view a video and apply what they learn about energy to apply it to real world situations. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Principles of Physics: A Real Scream!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students apply their knowledge of the physics principles of force, energy and motion to researching the physics behind amusement park rides.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovery Science Library: The Basics Physical Science

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine  friction and gravity. affect four sports. In this scientific discovery lesson plan, students examine how friction and gravity affect sports. They discuss, write, and illustrate the effect of different forces on...