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Design Your Own Rube Goldberg Machine
Students participate in a culminating activity for a unit on Energy and Simple Machines. They are challenged to incorporate simple machines in to a complex mechanical system. While designing and testing their machine they will also...
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Capturing Wind Energy
Students investigate technology and make a correlation between technology and the weather. In this science lesson, students experiment with the weather and climate using technology to help them understand forces and motion. They identify...
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Pasta Bridges
Students analyze the correct use of technology as it relates to math and science. In this science lesson, students investigate force and weight as it relates to building an object. They build a bridge and draw conclusion based on the...
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Rockets!!
Learners launch a rocket. In this laws of motion lesson, students discuss the forces of flight, how a plane flies and how a rocket gets off the ground. Learners watch a video about rocket launches, discuss Newton's Third Law...
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Introduction to Friction
Students study the properties of the frictional force between two surfaces in contact. They inspect various phenomena in nature where friction plays an important role and demonstrate
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Testing and Refining Aircraft Design
Young scholars design and make a flying device. They work in small groups to brainstorm ideas for the design of their device. They choose an idea or combination of ideas to use for their design and create a sketch of their design. The...
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Constancy and Change
Second graders investigate how objects can move in different ways. They move in different ways across the room and develop a class list of movement words. Students also conduct a measuring motion experiment, create a bar graph for the...
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A Classical & Relativistic Trip to a Black Hole
High schoolers calculate distance, velocity, acceleration and time on their fantasy trip to the black hold. They apply Newton's Laws of Motion and calculate circular motion. They discuss any questions that may arise.
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Simple Machine Research
Fifth graders demonstrate the ability to use scientific skills and Processes to describe forces that act upon objects to cause specific changes in motion. They identify and describe a science problem related to forces and simple machines.
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Race the Track! Super Slope (Lesson One)
Fifth graders utilize basic physics concepts to calculate speed of an object set in motion from various heights. In this basic physics lesson, 5th graders make observations, calculations, record data, and conclusions throughout experiment.
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Simple Machines V - Wheels and Axles and Gears
Fourth graders investigate the principles and uses of gears, and examine how gears can be used to alter the direction of motion or the speed of an object. They observe two cars with different sized wheels roll down an inclined plane,...
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Newton's Laws
Students state Newton's Laws of Motion. They explain how force, mass and acceleration are related. They analyze action and reaction forces, calculate momentum,
and explain conservation of momentum
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Full of Hot Air
Students investigate technology and its many designs to make our lives easy. In this science instructional activity, students build a hot air balloon and answer specific questions about weight and rides in the hot air balloon. They...
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Race the Track! Design Challenge
Students use the design process to investigate physical science. For this force and motion lesson, design a track to achieve a specified outcome. Students complete additional experiments with speed and distance. Students...
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The Sun Affects Earth
Third graders read, write, and listen to information about the sun and its effects on the Earth.as it relates to its axis, orbit, rotate, and revolution. In this solar system lesson, 3rd graders examine how the sun...
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Crash Test Physics
Learners design and test balsa cars. In this crash tet instructional activity, students design and build their own cars to specifications. They explore the physics of motion and vehicle crash safety.
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Incline Planes
Students determine the forces necessary to move a truck on an inclined plane with weight and slope as variables. They identify the cheapest way to transport trash to local garbage disposal sites.
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Building a Roller Coaster
Students describe the law of conservation of energy. They identify the conversion between potential and kinetic energy. They investigate and describe the application of Newton's Laws of Motion.
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Deducing Induction
Students examine how changing magnetic fields induce currents in
loops and coils, determine orientation and magnitude of magnetic field,
describe Michael Faraday's experiments that led to conclusion that changing
magnetic force induces...
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The Moon Made Me Do It!
Students research about how lunar cycles affect living organisms. In this biology lesson, students prepare an oral presentation of their research results and analyses. They explore the forces that affect tides.
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A Matter of State
Middle schoolers conduct science experiments to understand that particle movement changes as a substance changes from one phase to another phase. Students record observations of experiments that involve the three states of matter:...
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Simple Machines
Fourth graders discover the principles and uses of gears noting that they can be used to change the direction of motion or the speed of an object. They may also change the force and/or distance through which an object turns. They then...
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Floating and Falling Flows
Students discover fluid dynamics related to buoyancy through experimentation and optional photography. Using one set of fluids, they make light fluids rise through denser fluids. Using another set, they make dense fluids sink through a...
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The Physics of Toys
Students explore physics by experimenting with classic toys. In this physical science lesson, students utilize gliders, energy balls, bouncing balls, marbles and other toys to explore how they work. Students explore each toy at a work...