TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Advantage of Machines
In this lesson plan, middle schoolers learn about work as defined by physical science and see that work is made easier through the use of simple machines. Already encountering simple machines everyday, students will be alerted to their...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Generators and Motors
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] This lesson explains how a generator and a motor work. Includes a simulation for exploring generators.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: The 1880s: Convict Lease
African American convicts faced physical abuse, were forced to work long hours, and experienced poor living conditions as part of the "Convict Lease" program set up to pay for the prison system. Read about why this program was started...
Physics Classroom
The Physics Classroom: Work, Energy, and Power: Power
In this interactive module, students learn the basic terminology and concepts of power as it has to do with work and energy.
Read Works
Read Works: Famous Scientists Sir Isaac Newton
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage is a short biography of Sir Isaac Newton and his discovery of the force of gravity. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies...
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Charles Augustin De Coulomb
Spanish-language site lets students discover the life and work of this physicist and engineer, who is known for his studies of electric charges.
BBC
Bbc: Bitesize History: The Chartists: The Roots of Chartism
Discusses how Chartism took hold in Britain and the people who championed the movement.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Physical Science: Wedge
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] What a wedge is and its mechanical advantage, how it changes force to make work easier.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Physical Science: Inclined Plane
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Discusses what an inclined plane is, its mechanical advantage, and how it changes force to make work easier.
Ducksters
Ducksters: Physics for Kids: Friction
Kids learn about the science behind friction including how it works as a force to slow things down, how it helps us stand, preventing friction, types, and fun facts.
Cornell University
Cornell University: Cornell Center for Materials Research: Friction
A collection of experiments where students can learn about how friction works and affects the physical world. At the end, students design a tortoise to win by slowing it down using friction. Lesson includes explanation of the concept of...
Other
Puhinui School: The Atoms Family: The Mummy's Tomb: Raceways
Help the Mummy build a rollercoaster to entertain the Atoms Family monsters by investigating the concepts of kinetic and potential energy.
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)
Smile: Lab Work Forces & Acceleration
The Illinois Institute of Technology provides this site. The site contains a graphing activity which illustrates that a constant force exerted upon an object results in constant acceleration. Rolling carts and stopwatches are used to...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Mri Safety Grand Challenge
This module was written for a first year accelerated or AP physics class. It is intended to provide hands on activities to teach end of the year electricity and magnetism topics including the magnetic force, magnetic moments and torque,...
Ohio State University
Ohio State Univ.: Simple Machines & Mechanical Advantage [Pdf]
This site details how simple machines create a mechanical advantage for humans. Levers, theoretical mechanical advantage, actual mechanical advantage, and pulley systems are discussed.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Secrets of Lost Empires Ii: Lever an Obelisk
Utilize an understanding of how a lever works to lift an obelisk, using as few of the weights and support stones as possible in this online interactive activity.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: What Is Hooke's Law?
Learn about elasticity and how to determine the force exerted by a spring.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: The Black Hole
This site examines the black hole as an object in astrophysics. Delve into this comprehensive resource that covers this concept from its history, to qualitative physics, the reality of black holes, mathematical physics and more.
Other
Hands on Cern: Explore the Smallest Components of Matter
An online course in particle physics with colorful images, charts and animations. Begin by learning about the Standard Model and the types of particles, particle families, and forces, then carry this knowledge over to your study and...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Engineered Sports
Students work in teams to investigate how aerospace engineering relates to sports, especially golf ball design and the physics of bounce. They use this information to determine whether these aerospace principles can be applied to...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Episd: Inclined Planes
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Students will identify how work and force are figured out on inclined planes as well as how to apply Newton's Second Law of Motion to them.