Curated OER
Games on Echolocation
Get a little batty with life science! This fun simulation game replicates how bats use echolocation to hunt moths in their native Hawaiian habitat. After creating blind folds and discussing some basic principles of echolocation, students...
Baylor College
Challenge: Microgravity
What a festive way to examine what happens to the heart in different gravitational situations! Small groups place a water-filled balloon in different locations (on a table top, in a tub of water, and held in a vertical position), drawing...
Curated OER
Paper Suspension Bridges: You Want Me To Go Up There?
A few class periods will be required to complete this physics investigation with your high schoolers. There is an unavailable video written into the lesson plan, but there is plenty of material here to bridge the gap. Two terrific...
Curated OER
Toying Around with Newton's Laws
Eighth graders identify balanced and unbalanced forces that affect the movement of objects and Newton's three Laws of Motion. Students also design a contraption utilizing Newton's Laws of Motion that will launch a marshmallow five meters.
Curated OER
High Jump
Pupils examine how physics help high jumpers break records. They discuss the phases of the high jump, gravity, and center of gravity, and conduct an experiment to determine whether they can improve the height of their jump.
PHET
Science and Engineering Conference
Young scientists present their experimental designs from the previous experiment. The ninth lesson in the series outlines what learners should present, what class discussions should happen, and the solution NASA came up with for the same...
Curated OER
The Science of Swinging
Learners learn how a pendulum works in the concept of an amusement park ride. In this pendulum lesson, students are introduced to Newton's first law of motion and how it works in an amusement park ride. Continuous motion and inertia are...
Curated OER
Move It!
Students explore the notion that simple devices can help us move objects when an understanding of forces is applied. They apply the design process, make predictions, draw sketches, make a model and evaluate their solution.
Curated OER
Mummy Ball
Students practice their hand and eye coordination in a ball throwing activity. In this physical education lesson plan, students participate in a game where they sit in a circle and throw to each other only once until everyone has...
Curated OER
The Addiction With Friction
Students compare and contrast where friction occurs in robots and bicycles. In this science lesson, students label the diagram of bicycle and robots. They investigate how friction affects their different parts.
Curated OER
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...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Trebuchet Toss
Young engineers work in teams to design and build their own trebuchets according to certain criteria; they must be able to launch a mini marshmallow accurately into a pie tin. Background reading material, a planning sheet for trebuchet...
National Institute of Open Schooling
Air Pollution
Seventy percent of the air pollution in China is due to car exhaust. Under the umbrella of environmental chemistry, learners extensively explore air pollution. From the makeup of our atmosphere to sources of major air pollutants, classes...
Curated OER
Numerical Determination of Drag Coefficients
Learners create a video of an object falling with a drag. In this physics instructional activity, students calculate drag coefficient using data from Logger Pro. They calculate velocity and acceleration of the object.
Curated OER
Falling
Students should describe the path that the motion would take as well as what might begin or stop the motion. The common characteristic of all the motions that students have experienced directly is that one or more forces are acting on...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Construction of an Ammeter and a Voltmeter from a Galvanometer
Students explore series and parallel circuits. In this physics instructional activity, students construct a simple circuit and measure its maximum current. They construct their own voltmeter and ammeter that operates at a specified range.
Curated OER
Vectors
Pupils differentiate distance and displacement. In this physics lesson plan, students use formulas to calculate for displacement. They draw vectors using the grid.
Curated OER
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Eighth graders explore the three laws of motion. For this physics lesson, 8th graders observe teacher demonstration and explain what happened in terms of Newton's Laws. They complete worksheet at the end of the lesson.
Curated OER
2D Kinematics w/ String Racers
Students calculate the speed of string racers. In this physics instructional activity, students measure the time in several trials and get the average. They graph their results using a spreadsheet.
Curated OER
Investigation of Hooke's Law Lab
Students determine the spring constant by conducting an investigation. In this physics lesson, students collect data and create a graph of force vs. displacement. They compare the results of two different methods to find spring constant.
Curated OER
Scientific Inquiry: Periodic Motion
Young scholars construct their own pendulum. In this physics lesson, students design an experiment to find the factors affecting its period. They formulate a conclusion based on experimental data.
Curated OER
Magnetism in Action
Third graders experiment with magnetic force and magnetic fields. They examine how magnetic forces can act through a distance.
Curated OER
Gyrocopter - Describing Rotary Motion
Students calculate angular displacement, velocity and acceleration of gyrocopters. In this physics lesson, students compare data taken from 3 different gyrocopters. They explain how differences in construction material affect rates of...