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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Parachute Drop

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students explore the effects of gravity. They create a parachute and make predictions about the effect of adding weight to the bottom of the parachute. Students record and interpret results of parachute experiments.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physics: Bounce - Projectile Motion and Collisions

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students conduct and observe experiments in Newtonian mechanics, kinematics, and projectile motion. They analyze the motion of a ball rolling off a table, falling, and then bouncing. Students answer a series of questions analyzing the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pendulum Motion

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students explore questions which cannot be handled with simple pendulums, and examine both the usefulness and the limitations of approximations in science. A Java applet created from a Stella model is included.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forces and Graphing

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars analyze graphs to determine relationships between variables and rates of change. They determine the basic concepts about static reaction forces. They determine the slope and equation of a line.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design a Parachute

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students engage in a discussion about what a parachute is and how it works. They create a parachute using different materials that they think will work best. The students test their designs, which will be followed by a class discussion...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do Things Fall?

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students study forces by examining the force of gravitational attraction. They observe how objects fall and measure the force of gravitational attraction upon objects. Students discover that, since gravitational constants are different...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bombs Away!

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students design and build a device to protect and accurately deliver a dropped egg. They review and study a number of vocabulary words that are associated with this lesson. They work in a small group in order to develop a successful...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Activity: Wow! That Captures It!

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students examine how motion capture technology allows computer based animators to design realistic effects in animation. They study how the center of gravity contributes to animation and how to use the center of gravity to write an...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gravity

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students perform inquiry in response to the question "Do objects fall at the same rate?", teacher candidates discuss a model experiment for secondary students to discover the answer, including recording and analyzing data.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forces of Nature: The Challenges of River Travel

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students examine how river travel affected the Lewis and Clark expedition. They define gravity, slope, and velocity, conduct a river formations experiment, complete an activity sheet, and watch a video about Lewis and Clark.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mobile Forces

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students design and build original mobiles and consider how the forces of gravity and convection air currents affect the finished piece. They explore how an understanding of balancing forces is important in both art and engineering design.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Powerful Pulleys

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the building of a pyramid and how pulleys were used to change the direction of applied force. They demonstrate the mechanical advantage of using a pulley and apply it to modern engineering.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Activity: Don't Crack Humpty

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students perform mathematical calculations to design safety device or enclosure to protect an egg as it is rolled down a ramp at increasing slopes.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gravity: It's GREEEAAATTT!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students calculate effects of gravitational force on planets, discuss the effects of weightlessness on the human body and describe and demonstrate how objects in a state of free fall are accelerated by gravity at an equal rate.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weight A Minute

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students watch a video and engage in hands-on activities which introduce scientific information made real through re-cognition and understanding the phenomena of gravitational force and how it impacts life on our planet.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Learning Tower of Straws Challenge

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students construct a tower as high as possible that can successfully lean without collaspling. They examine the effect that lowering an object's center of gravity has on the torque produced on an object.
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

The Motions of the Oceans

For Teachers 6th
Students examine the topics of ocean waves, currents, and tides. They locate and label ocean currents on a world map, conduct experiments, analyze key vocabulary, view demonstrations and record the data, and complete handouts.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's the Matter? (Grades 6-7)

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students explain the physical properties of matter. They, in groups, perform a variety of experiments, each demonstrating a different property of matter. A very nice, hands-on lesson!
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scrambled Eggs Anyone?

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Young scholars listen to Nursery Rhymes highlighting GRAVITY, pull ropes during a Rope Pull Activity and even drop eggs from a height during a Gravity Contest. This is a fantastic lesson which highly motivates Students!
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aircraft vs. Spacecraft

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate differences between aircraft and spacecraft, and the differences in propulsion systems. They build pinwheel airplanes and balloon rockets. An interactive activity quizzes students on thrust.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Egg Drop

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students design and create a container that allows a raw egg to drop from the second floor of a building without breaking. They develop and compute an invoice for project expenses using spreadsheet software. Students role-play a proposal...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Determining Center of Gravity

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students complete calculations involving the structure and properties of matter. They engage in a variety of problem solving activities to help them determine the center of gravity.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Determining Center of Gravity

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students complete calculus calculations involving the structure and properties of matter and determining the center of gravity.
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PPT
Curated OER

Gravity - What is It?

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
There is scant information on these slides: definitions of gravity and force, and the fact that objects fall at the same speed. Two slides give learners an activity to try to demonstrate aspects of gravity. Although the activities are...