Fifth graders study the concept of momentum and its application by Newton in his studies. They view a demonstration and complete an experiment with toy cars on a racetrack that shows them the properties of momentum and how velocity and...

Everything that happens is an interaction, from the wind blowing a sail to a cannon ball being thrust out of a cannon. A simulation shows the interactions involving a sail, air, ball, pirate, cannon, deck, ocean, and the Earth and...

The tension of the 236 strings in a grand piano exert a combined force of 20 tons on the cast iron frame. The presentation includes topics such as work, forms of energy, conservation of energy, gravitational and elastic potential energy,...

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...

How does an airplane control its take off and descent? Scholars explore the forces acting on an airplane and control the angle of attack, wing profile, thrust, and airplane size. They learn about lift, drag, thrust, gravity, and the...

Can a horse pull more than its weight? A simple simulation answers this question and more. Pupils adjust the mass in a cart, the mass of the horse, the acceleration of the horse, and the angle of the tension rope between the horse and...

Sometimes it appears that a bowling ball slides down the alley rather than rolling, while other times it appears to switch rolling directions at some point. Scholars control the bowling ball size, initial rotation, initial speed, and...

Fourth graders use a matchbox car to push across a hard surface and observe what happens. They then push the car across a soft or rough surface and discover what happens. The two ideas are discusses as Newton's First and Second Laws of...

Learners explore the concept of parabolas by collecting quadratic data on a bouncing ball as it is falling using a motion detector. They plot the data and determine the equation of the quadratic in vertex form, then determine the values...

Pupils explore the concept of distance and time as they use a CBR to mimic distance v. time graphs. Learners walk towards and away from the monitor to create various distance v. time graphs, then discuss what motion creates certain graphs.

High schoolers examine the velocities of two different falling objects. They produce distance vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs using a Motion Detector and a CBL 2 to collect experimental data. Learners analyze and interpret the...

Has your class wondered how fast a human could run or how high they are capable of jumping? Help them understand these concepts as they explore acceleration and use an accelerometer to make semiquantitative measurements of acceleration...

Students, after reviewing and analyzing Newton's third law of motion, make balloon rockets and experiment with a variety of models. After the experiment, they chart the results and form conclusions. In addition, they compare/contrast...

Students explore the aspects of Newton's First and Third Laws of Motion as they conduct controlled rocketry experiments and analyze the Mars Mission in terms of the principles of rocketry.

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...

In this physical science worksheet, students write short responses for each scientific law in 14 different questions to obtain a merit badge.

Students study the physical force of linear momentum by investigating collisions. They analyze the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions. They calculate linear momentum.

Students participate in a warm-up activity by attending a football match writing an account of who won the game. They discuss how their account could differ from someone else's account of the game. They discuss how different people's...

Students perform an experiment in order to determine how increasing weight affects the velocity of a truck and use the computer to compile their data.

Discover the change of the seasons by modeling the Earth-Sun system. Learners model the orbit of the Earth around the sun and explore how and why the patterns of winter and summer occur.

Pupils explore data collection in this lesson. They investigate distance vs. time and velocity vs. time graphs using information collected with a CBR 2 to simulate the reconstruction of an accident.

Students design sleds. In this engineering lesson, students collaborate to engineer and build a real working sleds from the materials provided.  This lesson was originally designed to be taught to a group of female students.

Students, in groups, use given materials to devise a way to deposit a ping-pong ball into a paper cup that is located in the middle of a 6-foot diameter circle, while standing outside the circle.

You won't have to force your classes to complete these engaging activities! Through exploration, young scientists learn that force has both magnitude and direction. They draw force diagrams, investigate force models, and complete a...