Curated OER
Pendulum Lab in 9th Grade Physical Science
Ninth graders conduct experiments to determine what affects the rate of a pendulum's swing. Working in small groups, they identify an independent variable to study and create an experiment to test their hypothesis. When tests are...
Cornell University
Airboats
Don't let the resource blow you away. Scholars build airboats from basic materials and collect data on how far the boats move. They refine their designs taking Newton's laws into consideration.
Cornell University
Alka-Seltzer Rockets
Blast off! An engaging hands-on activity has pupils create rockets powered by Alka-Seltzer. They learn about the physics behind these rockets throughout the process.
Curated OER
Freestanding Structures: A Tech Museum Floor Activity
Students attempt to design the tallest structure that they can with the given materials which are wooden dowels and rubber bands. They discuss the physics of their structure and how they would improve it the next time they built a...
Curated OER
F = ma, Inertia, and Action-Reaction
Fourth graders apply concepts of Newton's Laws in scientific inquiries. Use this activity to have your charges test and identify the characteristics of objects that make them easier or harder to push. After a teacher-led demonstration,...
LABScI
Catapult: Flight of the Marshmallows
Watch your marshmallows fly. The engaging STEM activity has groups create a catapult to launch marshmallows. After testing their prototypes, they consider improvements and redesign their catapults.
Curated OER
Puttin' It All Together
Learners explain the concepts of kinetic and potential energy and how it can change forms. In this energy, motion, and frictional forces lesson students participate in a hands on activity that includes calculating energy.
Curated OER
Temperature Changes Everything
Pupils determine the effect of temperature on the motion of particles. They study the difference between particles in a gas, liquid, and a solid and see how the characteristics of solids, liquids, and gases can be explained by particle...
Curated OER
Falling
Fourth graders explore the earth's gravitational force. They discuss objects in motion and the concepts of pulls and pushes. Students investigate the idea that falling and gravity can be useful in connection with various sports...
Curated OER
Toying Around with Newton's Laws
Eighth graders identify balanced and unbalanced forces that affect the movement of objects and Newton's three Laws of Motion. Students also design a contraption utilizing Newton's Laws of Motion that will launch a marshmallow five meters.
Curated OER
Leonardo Lives
Students investigate the concepts of force and motion. They describe how motion is created by force. Also students define a simple machine and the factors of application to creating force or motion. They analyze the plans of Leonardo De...
Curated OER
The Raw of Newton’s 3rd Law
Students identify the action and reaction forces acting on the CEENBoT. In this physics lesson, students describe everyday applications of Newton's 3rd Law. They create a cluster word web about this law.
Curated OER
Newton's Laws and Seat Belts
Students study Newton's Laws of Motion. They review an assessment task and rubric and discuss Newton's Laws of Motion. They discuss how to test the relationships of mass and acceleration in personal situations. They write a one-page...
Curated OER
Secondary Robot
Students identify the forces acting on a stationary/constant velocity robot. For this physics lesson, students draw a free body diagrams of the forces. They explain the difference between zero acceleration and zero net force.
Curated OER
Swinging
Pupils examine and modify a swinging apparatus. They describe the motion of an object by its position, direction of motion, and speed. Students measure motion using a graph.
Curated OER
Hlf-Ball
Students investigate Newton's Laws of Motion and the Law of Conservation of Energy. They examine how a ball and half-ball behave and relate these laws to what happens to the ball. Students produce a graph of the data collected and...
Curated OER
Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree…You Might Become Famous
Students explore Newton's laws using CEENBoTs. In this physics lesson plan, students collect data and create tables and graphs. They calculate speed, acceleration and forces using mathematical formulas.
Curated OER
Forces and Motion -- The Downhill Racer
Students examine the movement of a car on an inclined plane and on a flat surface. Using the amount of drops the car releases, they determine if it was traveling at a constant speed or not. They graph the velocity and acceleration rates...
Curated OER
Banana Man Glider
Students incorporate technology into the classroom as they investigate force and motion. In this science instructional activity, students construct a glider to be able to safely take a banana to the ground without dropping it. They...
Curated OER
Balloon Rockets
Students, after reviewing and analyzing Newton's third law of motion, make balloon rockets and experiment with a variety of models. After the experiment, they chart the results and form conclusions. In addition, they compare/contrast...
Curated OER
Paper Towel Structure
Students investigate technology and its purpose in the workplace. In this geometry instructional activity, students design and build a paper towel structure to investigate motion and forces. They are given a restricted weight and asked...
Curated OER
Acceleration 1
In this acceleration worksheet, students use weights to increase the mass affecting the force on moving objects. Students plot a graph of their data and answer 3 questions about how the acceleration of the toy skateboard used in the...
Curated OER
Investigation 1 - Push and Pull
Third graders study the forces of push and pull on motion
Curated OER
Investigation 2 - Zoom Balls
Third graders create Zoom Balls to explain how sometimes both forces of push and pull need to be used at the same time.