Balloon Rockets

Pass along the knowledge of the great Sir Isaac Newton with this activity on the laws of motion. Including three separate problems, each involving multiple parts and calculations, this resource is a great way to...

How do rockets fly? Teams design, build, and launch a rocket made from a two-liter bottle to explore forces on a rocket such as Newton's Laws of Motion.  During the design phase, young engineers draw a diagram of their rocket and...

When going for distance, does it make a difference at what angle you launch the rocket? Teams of three launch foam rockets, varying the launch angle and determining how far they flew. After conducting the series of flights three times,...

Fly high using the force of water. A segment of the Veritasium playlist applies the Newton's Laws of Motion via a jetpack. Using a CO2 fire extinguisher, the video demonstrates the idea of Newton's second law, without enough mass. While...

Using the Cartesian coordinate system, future flight experts plot points to determine whether or not an airplane will fly. With the four forces of weight, lift, drag, and thrust represented in different quadrants, your physics learners...

Force the plane through the air. The lesson introduces the force on an airplane that makes it go forward. Pupils learn how Newton's laws of motion apply to flight in the eighth segment of a 22-part unit on flight.

Acceleration, velocity, mass, and gravity all play a role in the motion of a rocket. Young scientists explore the connection among these components using an interactive tutorial. They adjust the mass and thrust force to experiment with...

It's the law—every action requires a reaction, no matter how small. Pupils experience two demonstrations of Newton's third law of motion as it relates to thrust in the 10th segment of a 22-part unit on flight. Using their mathematical...

Students examine force and conduct activities that model parachutes and helicopters.  In this airplanes lesson students identify the forces that make airplanes fly higher and land. 

How does an airboat move when there isn't a motor in the water? The simulation teaches the forces related to the thrust and drag on an airboat. Scholars vary the boat mass and thrust force in order to view graphs of the changing force...