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Calibrating a Roverbot
Learners build and program a Lego Mindstorms Roverbot to travel for a given amount of time. They gather data on time versus distance traveled to determine a calibration constant for their robot, which relates time to distance.
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Atmospheric Processes -- Convection
Students work together to discover how temperature changes can affect the density of water and air. They make predictions on what they believe is going to occur. They answer questions to complete the lesson.
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Transformation of Energy: Heat
Sixth graders investigate how heat is transferred and the concepts of conduction, convection, and radiation. They define key vocabulary terms, and observe teacher-led demonstrations of conduction, convection, and radiation.
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Learn to Build a Rocket in 5 Days
Students explore physics by participating in an engineering activity. In this rocket lesson plan, students define a list of scientific vocabulary terms such as "re-engineering" and "trade-off." Students identify the rocket creation...
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Electroscope
Students examine what an electroscope is and who invented it. In this electrical lesson plan students build their own Emergency Radiation detector Electroscope.
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Airplane Propeller
Students examine the different kinds of propellers and their functions. In this airplane lesson students build a hand made propeller.
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States of Matter Mini-Unit
Students identify he phases of matter (solid, liquid, gas), and why they take place. They comprehend what a physical change is and what a chemical change is. Students know the difference between a Mixture and a Solution.
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Balloons
Students explore the different types of balloons. In this materials instructional activity students can complete several experiments including building their own hot air balloons, making balloon animals and experimenting with static...
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Wonders of Weather
Students understand the destructive force of a tornado. They learn the role of a thunderstorm in the creation of a tornado.
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Heat And Heat Transfer
Students role play molecules in a container as the container is heated to develop a definition of heat and temperature. They also observe demonstrations of conduction, convection, radiation, and phase transfer. Using these observations...
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How Much Energy is a Kilowatt Hour?
Students study the conservation of energy. In this energy lesson students explain the differences between potential and kinetic energy.
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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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Momentum
Students learn the concepts of momentum and its conservation, using the recoil of a cannon as an example. They examine how momentum is a vector, allowing its conservation to be applied to problems in 2 and 3 dimensions.
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Electric Current and Circuits
Compare the drift speed of conduction electrons in a current-carrying wire to the signal speed of changes in current. They also distinguish between DC and AC and describe how AC is converted to DC.
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Wave Terms and Concepts
In this waves worksheet, students define 23 vocabulary words associated with the different types of waves and how waves are measured. Students complete 23 matching terms with definitions and draw the superposition of two waves shown.
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Aerodynamic Design
Students research aerodynamic design. In this aerodynamic design lesson, students investigate wind resistance on a car. Students explore the reasons necessary for aerodynamic design.
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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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Wig-wag Physics
Students 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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Physical Pendulum Lab
Students calculate the moment of inertia of a disc. In this physics lesson, students differentiate the two methods used in finding the inertia. They construct their own pendulum for the lab.
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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. In 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.