Curated OER
Electric Charge
Students discover and identify positive and negative electrical charges and understand that like repels and opposite charges attract. In this physics lesson, students observe how friction can be used to give electrical charge to various...
Curated OER
Forces in Action
Students investigate questions centered around force and motion by going through the scientific process and creating fair tests and experimentation. In this lesson about forces-in-action, students diagram their findings and explore other...
Curated OER
Forces in the Sport of Luging
Learners discuss force, gravity, and friction as well as examples of each based on what they viewed during a Discovery video. They examine first hand the effect of forces by building their own luge track, making predictions, and testing...
Curated OER
Laws of Motion
Students explore centrifugal and centripetal force. In this motion lesson plan, students expand on their knowledge of motion to study velocity, acceleration, and friction. Students examine multiple objects to demonstrate the laws of motion.
Curated OER
Commotion About Motion
Second graders are introduced to different types of motion. They make rolling spider toys and race them on different surfaces to invsetigate forces and motion. Pupils make glue "spider webs" for their spiders after testing different...
Curated OER
Roller Ball Race
Students use problem-solving skills and creativity to build a roller ball race track with adjustable ramp levels and changeable friction surfaces. They hypothesize how fast or slow balls will roll down ramps, varying the shape and size...
Curated OER
Lesson: Hovercraft Racers
Now, this lesson would be a blast! When your engineering or physics class is examining the reduction of friction or fluid dynamics, you can have them make these hovercraft racers. Using a balloon, a bottle cap, and a compact disc, middle...
Curated OER
Let It Roll
Students experiment in order to see how ball bearings work. In this science activity lesson, students conduct an experiment where they make and examine a ball bearing. Students brainstorm other examples of ball bearings and discuss ways...
Curated OER
Regents High School Examination - Physics 2010
Give every type of learner in your physics class an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned throughout the year. From analyzing tables and graphs, to evaluating diagrams and solving problems, there is an outstanding variety of...
Captain Planet Foundation
Solar Cooking Race
Study heat transfer with activities that focus on how heat energy works. Using a solar cooker, ice cubes, and heat transfer bracelets, kids experiment and record what they find by keeping ice cubes cold and vegetables hot.
Curated OER
Acceleration, Drag, Gravity, Motion, Forces, and Friction
Eighth graders build and run mousetrap cars in order to measure distance, time, and mass for their cars. They use these measurements to calculate average speed and kinetic energy, then create a slide show to visually explain how the car...
Curated OER
Applied Science - Physics Post-Lab
Young scholars investigate energy. In this Physics lesson, students explore different sources of energy: heat, nuclear, and chemical. Young scholars sing an electricity song.
Curated OER
"Girls Only" Science Workshop
Learners design sleds. For 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 learners.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Give Me a Brake
Learners explore the concept of how brakes can stop or slow mechanical motion. They examine the operation of a bicycle brake and use low cost materials to devise a simple braking system. Finally, they work as a team to suggest...
Curated OER
On The Go! Forces and Motion
Students create a car using physics. In this forces and motion lesson, students create a car and test which changes in design change the performance of the car. Students complete a graphic organizer with the different changes they see.
Purdue University
Designing Safer Roadways
Be careful on curvy roads. An interesting STEM activity challenges scholars to design a safe road system. The goal is to help ensure that cars coming down a hill will be able to make a right turn without sliding off the road. Pupils test...
Purdue University
Simple Machines
What's the best way to use a simple machine to solve a real-world problem? Scholars construct their own simple and complex machines to explore the concepts of work and force. They discuss examples of simple machines they have found in...
University of Texas
Free-Body Diagram
Preparing for an AP test is about more than bubble sheets and memorization. The two activities in this resource require a direct application of skills learned throughout an AP Physics course.
Rochester Institute of Technology
Skateboard Performance Testing
Perform an activity on performance testing with a lesson focused on the purpose of wheel bearings on skateboards. Learners conduct performance testing on a skateboard to collect and interpret data.
Curated OER
The Magic School Bus Plays Ball
Learners learn along with Ms. Frizzle's class. In this Magic School Bus lesson plan, students work in small groups to find how movement changes when there is more - and less - friction.
Curated OER
The Physics of Skateboarding
Students explore Newton's three laws, gravity, momentum, trajectory, projectiles, circular motion, and friction by observing and breaking down skateboard tricks. They view short video clips of Tony Hawk and explain the physics concepts...
Curated OER
The Physics of Skateboarding
Students are able to analyze gravity as an universal force. They are able to determine how the force of friction retards motion. Students are able to apply Newton's Laws of Motion ot the way the world works.
Curated OER
TE Lesson: Land on the Run
Students study the causes of different types and speeds of landslides. They determine that landslides are the result of gravity, friction, and the materials involved. They examine the step engineers are taking to prevent and avoid...
Curated OER
Toting the Log and Lifting the Babe
Students use simple machines that demonstrate force, friction, work and power. They investigate and explain simple machines.