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Dimensional Analysis Problem Set
Students, after studying various pages of a NASA Web-based textbook, use dimensional analysis to verify actual aeronautic equations.
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TE Activity: Build Your Own Mobile
Students inquire into how the center of mass is the key factor in designing cars. They construct an oddly shaped object and determine its center of mass. They find that engineers are able to predict how objects will behave while they are...
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Physical Pendulum Lab
Students calculate the moment of inertia of a disc. In this physics activity, students differentiate the two methods used in finding the inertia. They construct their own pendulum for the lab.
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Wig-wag Physics
Learners make observations on the effects of a small, medium and large weight on the movement of a wig-wag apparatus. They use their observations to develop a generalized inference of the effect weight on movement patterns.
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Big Wheels Keep on Turning
Eleventh graders work in groups and investigate how force determines the speed and distance then they view the video, "Math Vantage #7: What's Your Angle?." They are given a real life problem to solve using speed, ramps, angle, incline...
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Potato Launcher Energy Lab
Students investigate conservation laws using a potato launcher. In this physics lesson, students measure angles, time and distance of the potato. They discuss applications of experiments like this.
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Where Will It Go?
Students predict the path of a ball bouncing off an object. For this physics lesson, students conduct the rolling ball experiment to test their prediction. They perform several trials for accuracy.
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Exploring the Celestial Neighborhood
Ninth graders study the origin and organization of the solar system. They investigate the Earth's place in the system and how planetary motions explain natural phenomena observable from Earth.
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What Floats Your Boat?
Students discover the Archimedes principle through a buoyancy experiment. They measure the water displacement of a lump a clay which is denser than water then reshape the clay into a bowl which floats but displaces more water.
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In-Line Inertia
Students practice calculating the moment of inertia when discussing a skater and the position in which it is best to spin. After class discussion, students practice calculating inertia on their own.
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It Won't Budge: Balloon
Eighth graders use the scientific method to discover why a balloon is not inflated.
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Looking into Eratosthenes' Radius of the Earth
Learners, in small groups, research Eratosthenes and his calculations of the Earth's radius. They write a summary of the person, the experiments and his calculations to determine how accurate Eratosthenes was in his estimations of the...
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Hurricanes 2: Tracking Hurricanes
Students examine the role of technology in identifying and tracking hurricanes.
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Space Ship Pilot
Students visualize the relationship between acceleration and velocity as they maneuver a model spaceship in a 2-dimensional applet.
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MEASURING THE GRAVITATIONAL CONSTANT, G
Students study gravitational force an. In this gravitational force lesson students observe a demonstration.
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#22 Frames of Reference: The Basics
Students explore the concept of frames of reference in physics.
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Frames of Reference: The Basics
Young scholars learn the concept of frames of reference in physics. They examine how two frames of reference, each moving with respect to the other with a constant velocity v (constant speed, constant direction).
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Help! I'm Under Too Much Pressure!
Students play with a ping pong ball sized piece of modeling clay observing what happens to the clay as they play with it and write their observations in their notebooks. They share the results of their observations introducing the term...
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Roller Coasters in the Classroom
Students define kinetic energy and know the effects of weight and speed on momentum. In this investigative lesson students get into groups and design a roller coaster.
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Origami Flight: The Physical Setting
Sixth graders investigate the forces that move certain objects. In this physics lesson, 6th graders design and create paper flying objects using origami methods, which they practice flying in different conditions. Students...
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Antacid Tablet Race
Students complete experiments to determine how rocket fuel is affected by surface area and temperature. They compare the reaction rates of antacid tablets. They discuss their results to complete the lesson.
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Gravity, Angles, and Measurement
Students relate math to real life scenarios. In this geometry lesson, students launch a ball tracking each launch using a graph. They analyze their data for speed, angles and distance, trying to improve on each launch.
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Proportionality: Modeling the Future
Students explore and examine how patterns, measurement, ratios and proportions are utilized in the research development and production of airplanes. They meet a pilot from the Federal Aviation Association who describes the growth of air...
Teach Engineering
Induced EMF in a Coil Wire
Small groups investigate the interaction between a coil of wire and a magnet to create an electromagnetic field and observe the voltage they create. Through further interactions, they realize a conductor can be charged from the...