Curated OER
Learn to Build a Rocket in 5 Days
Young scholars explore physics by participating in an engineering activity. In this rocket lesson, students define a list of scientific vocabulary terms such as "re-engineering" and "trade-off." Young scholars identify the rocket...
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Seeing Interference Fringes with a Telescope
Students construct an interferometer using a simple telescope. In this physics lesson, students explain how light waves create the fringe patterns. They observe patterns made by different objects in the sky and compare them.
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Making Ice Cream
Student examine the physical changes of matter and are able to describe them. They make ice cream in plastic bags to observe the changes in matter. They describe and record the changes in the ice cream mixture as it freezes.
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Baseball Activity: Bouncing Balls
Students explore the concept of motion. In this hands-on physics instructional activity, students examine how the construction of baseballs and the temperature they are stored at affect their bounce.
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Friction
Students explore the force of friction between materials. In this physics lesson, students participate in an experiment using various materials such as wood, waxed paper, and aluminum foil and explore which item produced the most friction.
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Rover Landing Design Challenge
Students examine the concepts of forces and motion. They work together to design protective devices for their egg rovers as they are dropped from a specific height. They record their observations and discuss.
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Spuds in Space
Students explore the effects of velocity on an object when it collides with another object. They design and outfit a potato astronaut in a spacesuit to withstand the hazards of high velocity impacts from space debris and meteoroids.
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Energy Transformation with a Top
Second graders examine both potential and kinetic energy. After discussing the difference and examples of potential and kinetic energy, they participate in a game of "Show Me Potential Energy/Show Me Kinetic Energy" using toy tops.
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Energy: Light -- Spinning Color Wheel
Second graders make spinning color wheels to determine how energy effects what colors look like. They paint or color a color wheel with the seven colors of the spectrum. Next, the spin the wheel to determine what happens. In order to...
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Energy Transformation with Balance Toys
Students explore and identify the concepts of potential and kinetic energy. They define kinetic and potential energy and discuss examples of each. Students then play a game involving balance toys, demonstrating both kinetic and potential...
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Measuring Velocity
Learners calculate their classmate's velocity using a mathematical formula. In this physics lesson, students graph the motion. They interpret the slope of the graph.
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Perpetual Motion
Students discuss movement of air currents and then experiment to create visible models of air currents. Students connect the model to weather patterns.
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Extreme Acceleration
Young scholars explore the concept of acceleration. They determine the acceleration rate of a roller-blader and graph the results.
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Helium Balloon Race
Students determine the force of a helium balloon that allows it to rise a specific distance. In this helium lesson students calculate the amount of paper needed to construct a weight and determine the density of a piece of...
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Keep It Hot
Students design and conduct an experiment to explore the insulating abilities of different materials for keeping a liquid in a paper cup warm. A small group of lab partners test four different materials: black paper, white paper,...
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Learn to Build a Rocket in 5 Days or Your Money Back
Students discover the entire process that goes into designing a rocket for any customer. They study important factors such as supplies, ethics, deadlines and budgets. Also, students explore about the Engineering process, and recognize...
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Heat Up the Floating Plates
Eighth graders research the connection between the convection currents within the mantle of the earth and the moving of Earth's plates. A connection to lessons at previous grade levels on the rock cycle and important background...
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How Do Probes Get To Space
Students investigate how force works to propel rockets into outer space. In this physics lesson, students use a drinking straw, fishing line, a balloon, and tape to explore how force works in outer space. Students repeat the experiment...
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Avalanche!
Students explain that when forces on an object are balanced, the motion of object does not change. They describe how an object changes its motion when forces on it are unbalanced. They plan and conduct a scientific investigation to test...
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Wig-wag Physics
Learners make observations on the effects of a small, medium and large weight on the movement of a wig-wag apparatus. They use their observations to develop a generalized inference of the effect weight on movement patterns.
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Gravity
Students perform inquiry in response to the question "Do objects fall at the same rate?", teacher candidates discuss a model experiment for secondary students to discover the answer, including recording and analyzing data.
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Rocketry in Motion
Pupils investigate why a balloon flies in one direction as air escapes in the opposite direction, which helps them understand the nature of rockets and fireworks. Individually and in teams, students conduct research to create a timeline...
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Sports in Physics: Measuring Velocity in a Mini-Olympics
Eighth graders examine the difference between speed, velocity and acceleration. In this velocity lesson students read and construct a line graph and a bar graph to show information about velocities of sports activities.
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A Steep Hike
Students explore slope. In this middle school mathematics lesson, students analyze and interpret graphs as they investigate slope as a rate of change. Students use a motion detector to collect data as they walk at different...