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
How Do Airplanes Stay off the Ground?
Young scholars use balloons and string to duplicate Bernoulli's Principle of wing shape and its affect on liftoff.
Curated OER
WHAT HOLDS US TO EARTH?
Students they imagine they are Galileo and try to duplicate Galileo's experiments and results.
Curated OER
Sounds Like Science - Kazoo
Students discover that energy is needed to produce sound. They see that identifying where the energy comes from enables us to control the type of sound produced. They play the kazoo and manipulate the sound in a variety of ways.
Curated OER
Toys and Forces
Third graders discuss the collection of toys and demonstrate to the class how a given toy moves. They discuss the part of this toy that could be broken or missing to cause the toy not to work. Which parts could be broken and the toy...
Curated OER
Balanced Forces
Students are able to explain why football running backs benefit from having a lower center of gravity when opponents are trying to tackle them. They explain why racing cars are designed to have a low center of gravity. Students explain...
PHET
Mapping the Field of a Dipole Magnet
High school scientists build their own magnetometer and use it to map the field surrounding a bar magnet. Excellent background resources is included, as well as a diagram of how to build the magnetometer.
PHET
Mapping the Ambient Magnetic Field
No GPS allowed! High school scientists continue to explore magnetic fields with a hands-on activity. After mapping the ambient magnetic field in the classroom and completing data analysis, they write about the similarities and...
PHET
The Earth as a Magnet
Everyone loves playing with magnets and iron filings. Here, young scientists first observe and then participate in an activity demonstrating magnetic fields. After completing their observations, they apply this knowledge...
PHET
Mapping the Field of Multiple Dipole Magnets
So you built a magnetometer, now what? High school scientists use their magnetometer made in a previous lesson to map the union of magnetic fields of dipole magnets. They experiment with different alignments and draw conclusions about...
Curated OER
Build A Borneo Glider!
Students construct a paper glider. In this physics of gliding instructional activity, students first learn about Borneo and it's rainforest habitat. After students discover the way animals in Borneo glide from tree to tree, they use...
University of Colorado
Happy Landings: A Splash or a Splat?
Huygens spacecraft landed on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005, making it the farthest landing from Earth ever made by a spacecraft. In this hands-on activity, the 12th installment of 22, groups explore how density affects speed. To do this,...
PHET
Learning about Space Weather
Is the sun the only celestial body with magnetic fields? A guided discussion on the weather in space is designed with a mix of questions, discussions, explanations, and applications. Additionally, the resouce includes an...
PHET
Soda Bottle Magnetometer
Introduce learners to set of complete instructions that describe how to build a magnetometer that works just like the ones professional photographers use to predict auroras. The diagrams are wonderfully descriptive, and the written...
University of California
Marble Rollercoasters
Don't let your classes coast through school! Engage them in their learning as they build their own roller coasters to study potential and kinetic energy. Young scholars complete several challenges that require them to consider the...
NASA
Determining the Nature, Size, and Age of the Universe
Prompt scholars to discover the expansion of the universe themselves. Using photographs of other galaxies, they measure and then graph the size and distance of each. Finally, they draw conclusions and prove the universe is...
University of Colorado
Terra Bagga
Earth's magnetic poles switch positions about every 200,000—300,000 years. In the activity, groups create a planet with a magnetic field. Once made, they use a magnetometer to determine the orientation of the planet's magnetic field....
University of Colorado
Great Red Spot Pinwheel
The great red spot on Jupiter is 12,400 miles long and 7,500 miles wide. In this sixth part of a 22-part series, individuals model the rotation of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. To round out the activity, they discuss their findings as a...
PHET
Iron Filings and Magnetic Field Lines
How do magnetic fields differ? Allow scholars to see the difference between 2-D and 3-D magnetic fields. They construct models of both and observe how they are similar and different. It is the fifth installment of an 18-part unit.
Curated OER
Recognizing Litter
When does trash become litter? Use this litter awareness lesson to help them understand the importance of trash disposal. Get learners engaged by reading Nancy Loewen's Lady Lulu Liked to Litter (not included). After discussing what...
American Chemical Society
Does Temperature Affect Dissolving?
When making sweet tea, why do people dissolve the sugar in hot tea instead of cold tea? The class discusses the previous lab and builds upon it. Working in groups, they design an experiment to determine how temperature affects the...
Curated OER
Sky Observations Sky & Cloud Windows
Students observe the sky and weather to gather data. They conduct experiments to answer questions about the sky and weather phenomena. They measure, analyze and present data. They create sky windows by gluing sky colored paint chips...
NASA
Measuring Dark Energy
You're only 10 minutes late? Do you know how much the universe has expanded in those 10 minutes? Scholars graph supernovae based on their redshift and see if the results verify Hubble's Law. If it does confirm it, the universe is...
University of Colorado
Distance = Rate x Time
Every year, the moon moves 3.8 cm farther from Earth. In the 11th part of 22, classes use the distance formula. They determine the distance to the moon based upon given data and then graph Galileo spacecraft data to determine its movement.