Las Cumbres Observatory
Return to Earth: Build a Lander
Earth to all instructors: Here's a resource to use about spacecraft. After learning about gravity and air resistance, scholars create landers with padding to help capsules land safely on Earth. They test their creations by placing a raw...
Curated OER
How Far?
Students explore how different textures provide varying amounts of friction to objects moving across them. They build a tool to measure the amount of friction between a note card and various surfaces by measuring the distance that a...
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Ramp and Review
Young scholars participate in an activity in which they observe a ball as it rolls down an incline into a cup. They take measurements and use equations that describe the concepts of mechanical energy, work and power, momentum, and...
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MagLev Train System Activity
Students are able to analyze practices that affect the use, availabiltiy, and management of natural resources. They are able to show that the forces of friction retards motion. Students investigate electricity and magnetism as...
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That Mu You Do
Students are told that the weight of a car is equal to its mass multiplied by the acceleration due to gravity. When a car is at react on a horizontal road, there must be a normal force with which the road pushes up on the car to keep it...
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Moving Along With Simple Machines: Introduction
Students observe examples of gravity, friction, and force on the playground. They then experiment and participate in a variety of activities in centers back in the classroom.
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Resistance is Futile
Students participate in two hands-on demonstrations to explore how friction can make objects hard to push.
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Energy/Light/Heat/Sound
Fourth graders study the properties of heat in this series of lessons. They discuss sources of heat and experiment to determine its properties. They identify insulators and conductors by measuring temperatures, and graphing their data....
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Laws of Motions
Seventh graders explore the Laws of Motion. They define friction and explain the concept of inertia. Students explain what happens when a force is exerted on an object that is in equilibrium. They state the second and third laws of motion.
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Newton II; Slow Down
Students, in hands-on activities, explore how a dump truck might be made to negatively accelerate or slow down. They participate in activities using friction force to modify the truck-and-ramp system. Student groups test ideas for...
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DOWNHILL DISCOVERIES
Students studykinetic energy, friction, drag and acceleration by relating it to the Winter Olympics. In this physical properties lesson students create tracks and determine how the course conditions affect bobsled, luge and...
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Marbles in Motion
Fourth graders explore how to play marbles while learning the scientific concepts of force, motion, mass, acceleration, friction, and inertia.
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Physics on the Playground
Students investigate friction on a playground slide. In this force and energy instructional activity, students will predict, plan, and implement a scientific investigation to the problem; What materials will allow me to slide the fastest...
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Measure for Measure: Weight and Energy
Students study the friction of a particular sport. In this weight and energy lesson students choose a sport and us the Internet to research it then present their findings to the class.
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Power and Conservation vs. Non-Conservative Forces
In this power instructional activity, 12th graders solve four problems including calculating work done by friction, determining work done by gravity and the calculating the minimum horsepower needed to save a ship that is sinking.
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Roll On
Second graders, in groups, develop models to show how forces such as gravity, friction, equal, unequal forces and change in direction work on marbles.
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Breaker Breaker
Students create a model of a circuit breaker to help them explain how friction causes heat, and how current is carried.
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Harmonic Motion
In this waves learning exercise, students review the characteristics of harmonic waves including amplitude, cycle, phases, and friction. This learning exercise has 37 problems to solve.
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Mechanical Monsters
Students experiment try to build a Lego car. In this physical science lesson students present and demonstrate the vehicle that they constructed.
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Sliding and Stuttering
Young scholars measure frictional force existing between a moving cup and the surface it slides on. They conduct the experiment and answer discussion questions.
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.
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Physics of Roller Coasters
Students study the physics used to design today's roller coasters. In this engineering instructional activity students complete several activities including designing their own roller coaster.
Mr. E. Science
Electric Charges and Current
Resistance is not futile, it is voltage divided by current. The presentation goes in depth covering electric charges, conductors, insulators, electric fields, static charges, and circuits. The lesson is the 12th in a series of 26.
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Simple and Complex Machines Used In Agriculture
Students explore agriculture and the current technologies and research that continue to make Earth a viable planet. This four lessons unit introduce students to simple machines and the concepts of force and friction through a variety of...