Build a Spinning Top

Get kids' heads spinning by challenging them to design a top that will rotate for a minimum of 10 seconds without leaving a 30-cm circle. Groups of learners collaborate through a planning stage, testing stage, and evaluation stage. Some...

Generally, heavy things go on the bottom and light things go on the top. Here is a video that presents a spinning wooden disk that doesn't appear to follow the rules. Young scientists hypothesize why this is before watching a video in...

Objects don't always behave the way we think they will. A video lesson gives some clarity to the movement of spinning objects. The instructor applies the concepts of torque and angular momentum in an episode of a physics playlist.

The sigma bonds and overlapping of s or p orbitals are the focus of an informative video. Your class will find SalÕs explanations and recaps very useful. He introduces pi bonds and draws examples of the single and double bonds.

Why is the spin of a black hole important? Scholars explore spinning black holes and how they relate to momentum, matter, and mass. They investigate the different parameters that are used to measure black holes by understanding how...

If your head is spinning when you consider teaching the action of spinning, this video is sure to settle things. First, the motion is defined and described. The conservation of angular momentum, the Coriolis effect, and the air pressure...

Lesson explores the history, design, and motion of spinning tops. Student teams design and build their own tops that can spin for at least 10 seconds within a circle 30 centimeters in diameter.

The Illinois Institute of Technology provides a lab activity on precession and spinning tops. Designed for primary grades, but easily adapted for any level. Includes directions and assessment ideas.

Students assembly tops and name them 1 - 12 so that they can compare their results. They guess which top they think will spin the best and then record data on "Toothpick Top" table. Using a stopwatch or clock to measure and record the...

This article from January 26, 2005, offers a video and a list of many common items used daily that exist because of NASA innovations. These include Cat Scans and MRIs, more precise and safer breast imaging, artificial limbs using...