Frames of Reference: The Basics

Now, that's some fire power! The five-page handout provides a description of the basics of how rockets work. The reading explains Newton's Laws of Motion by beginning with defining some of the important terms. The article finishes by...

Are the distance an object travels and the same object's displacement the same? Here is a lesson that addresses this commonly miss-answered question. Through discussion, observation, and an activity, scholars learn to recognize the...

Explore the concept of constant velocity and its graphical representation. Scholars collect a set of velocity data from a model car. They graph and analyze the data by describing its linear characteristics.

Accelerate your class' learning using an engaging resource. The lesson plan introduces the concept of acceleration using an object rolling down a slope or a falling object. Participants conduct a lab to find the acceleration of an object...

There are three models, all unconfirmed, of the possibility of multiverses, or multiple parallel universes. Each are explained in detail, with supportive drawings and diagrams. This is a mind-boggling topic for your astrophysicists to...

Students examine the concept of frames of reference in physics: that two frames of reference, each moving with respect to the other with a constant velocity v, observe the same accelerations and therefore Newton's laws are the same in both.

Students explore the concept of frames of reference in physics.

Learners discuss the application of frames of reference to an airplane flying with a constant velocity v through the air.

Students work in groups analyzing different scenarios to explain the critical issue of frame of reference. They create and present a short skit, based on information from their research, that describes a trip to a nearby solar system.

High schoolers learn the basic concepts about airplane flight. They learn the reason jetliner wings are swept back and why jet engines have replaced propellers in high-speed flight.