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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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Design Your Own Rube Goldberg Machine
Students participate in a culminating activity for a unit on Energy and Simple Machines. They are challenged to incorporate simple machines in to a complex mechanical system. While designing and testing their machine they will also...
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Mr. and Miss Big Feet
Third graders experiment with gravitational force. In this physical science lesson plan, 3rd graders send matchbox cars off a ramp while changing the amount of weight attached to the car. Students record their data and discuss the results.
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Race the Track! Super Slope (Lesson One)
Fifth graders utilize basic physics concepts to calculate speed of an object set in motion from various heights. In this basic physics lesson, 5th graders make observations, calculations, record data, and conclusions throughout experiment.
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Rising Water!
Students observe water change from a liquid to a gas state when heated and then return to its liquid stage when cooled. They learn that gas molecules move faster than liquid molecules. They discover physical properties that describe how...
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Simple Machine Research
Fifth graders demonstrate the ability to use scientific skills and Processes to describe forces that act upon objects to cause specific changes in motion. They identify and describe a science problem related to forces and simple machines.
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Communications
Students incorporate different disciplines into this instructional activity. In this science instructional activity, students investigate the use of communicating without words, and how it is different than communicating with words. They...
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Go Car, Go!
Learners design and build their own car. In this physics instructional activity, students collect data to determine the speed of the car. They plot the data on the graph analyze the relationship between variables.
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Skateboard Science
Pupils investigate how skaters can turn in midair. In this physics lesson, students relate Newton's Laws to skateboarding. They carry out the maneuver with the help of their classmate.
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Graphing Your Motion-Day 1
Ninth graders explore the concepts of motion, velocity and acceleration through graphing their own movement using LoggerPro. They become more familiar with the computer technology. Students explore graphing in real time and graph on...
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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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Physical Pendulum Lab
Students calculate the moment of inertia of a disc. In this physics activity, students differentiate the two methods used in finding the inertia. They construct their own pendulum for the lab.
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Simple Harmonic Motion
Students explain the theory of simple harmonic motion (SHM) by performing hands-on, practical application experiments.
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Pendulum Motion Experiments
Students experiment with simple pendulums to determine the validity of an equation for all angles. Students discover the usefulnes and limitations of approximations in science. Using spreadhseets and a java applet, students observe the...
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Accelerated Frames of Reference: Inertial Forces
Students examine how when applying the laws of motion to an object in an accelerating frame, using coordinates defined in such frame, one must always add an "inertial force", representing forces caused by the frame's acceleration.
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Vectors
Students describe motion by the use of adding vectors to obtain the resultant vector. They comprehend the meaning of a resultant vector. Students identify the difference between the x and y components of vector quantities. Students...
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Introduction to Friction
Students study the properties of the frictional force between two surfaces in contact. They inspect various phenomena in nature where friction plays an important role and demonstrate
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A Classical & Relativistic Trip to a Black Hole
High schoolers calculate distance, velocity, acceleration and time on their fantasy trip to the black hold. They apply Newton's Laws of Motion and calculate circular motion. They discuss any questions that may arise.
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Building a Roller Coaster
Students describe the law of conservation of energy. They identify the conversion between potential and kinetic energy. They investigate and describe the application of Newton's Laws of Motion.
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Farming in the 1930's
Students research and conduct experiments with several types of simple machines. They examine levers, pulleys, inclined planes, wheels, axles, wedges and screws and then consider the physics behind "Green Eggs and Ham".
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Simple Machines: The Wede & Lever
Students describe how wedge and lever makes work easier. In this physics lesson, students analyze experimental data by creating a graph to see the trends. They calculate the work done and mechanical advantage of these simple machines.
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Floating and Falling Flows
Students discover fluid dynamics related to buoyancy through experimentation and optional photography. Using one set of fluids, they make light fluids rise through denser fluids. Using another set, they make dense fluids sink through a...
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The Sun Affects Earth
Third graders read, write, and listen to information about the sun and its effects on the Earth.as it relates to its axis, orbit, rotate, and revolution. In this solar system lesson, 3rd graders examine how the sun...
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Properties of Matter (Biomaterial Through Nanotechnology)
Learners investigate friction between different surfaces. In this physics lesson, students research biomaterials that can reduce friction. They calculate efficiency using a mathematical formula.