Rice University
College Physics for AP® Courses
Take a look at an organized physics course. The 34-section electronic textbook covers material in AP® Physics 1 and 2. Teachers use the text to supplement lectures and have the class work through the labs. Each section contains multiple...
DiscoverE
Build a Bobsled Racer
Host a design challenge of Olympic proportion! Junior engineers build their own bobsleds using simple materials. The activity focuses on kinetic and potential energy and how the center of mass affects motion on a downhill track....
College Board
AP Physics 1 and 2 Inquiry-Based Lab Investigations
Have you ever wondered what type of AP Physics investigations The College Board wants? This is the guide for you! Sixteen labs covering both Physics I and II will get you started and inspire you to meet the requirement of 25 percent of...
CPO Science
Physics Skill and Practice Worksheets
Stop wasting energy searching for physics resources, this comprehensive collection of worksheets has you covered. Starting with introductions to the scientific method, dimensional analysis, and graphing data, these skills practice...
Curated OER
Impulse, Momentum, and the Conservation of Momentum
What happens when two worlds collide? In the first of several activities, future physicists experiment with colliding ball bearings or Newton's cradle. Another activity requires the use of an air track with cars to examine collision....
Curated OER
Physical Setting: Physics Exam 2004
Twelve pages of mostly multiple-choice questions comprise this comprehensive New York Regents physics exam. It covers an entire year's worth of physics curriculum and requires about three hours for completion. Review the questions to...
Teach Engineering
Cosmic Rhythm
Young engineers turn poets with a hands-on activity that challenges them to apply the concept of rhythm to crafting a poem.
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Utah Open Textbook: Physics
Textbooks come in all shapes, sizes, and media these days. An electronic textbook resource offers Physics materials for an entire course. The text offers an explanation of physics topics as well as examples of calculations and reading...
Discovery Education
Stomp Rockets
Watch the excitement grow as learners experiment with homemade rockets. Pupils create their own rockets from a soda bottle and experiment with launch angles. They discover the launch angle has a significant effect on the distance the...
Physics Classroom
Momentum
Interactive emphasizes understanding magnitude of momentum vectors depends upon mass and velocity, while the direction of the vector only relates to the direction of movement. As part of the larger series on momentum and collision, three...
Physics Classroom
Being Impulsive About Momentum Change
Scholars quantitatively apply their knowledge relating impulse, force, and time in the collision of objects. Three progressive levels challenge pupils with different ways of analyzing these problems. They identify multiple collision...
Physics Classroom
Law Enforcement - Explosions
How do law enforcement officers determine the strength of an explosion based on the movement of objects around the point of origin? Scholars inspect the relative mass and velocities of two cars before and after an explosion. They perform...
DiscoverE
Marble Run
It's time to slow your roll! Can your class create a track that allows a marble to roll as slowly as possible? Teams of science scholars collaborate to design, build, and test their tubes while learning about gravity and friction.
CK-12 Foundation
Car Collision
When a car crashes into a wall, does it just stop or does it bounce or roll backwards? A simulation relates velocity, kinetic energy, momentum, and restitution to answer this question. Scholars apply their knowledge through eight levels...
CK-12 Foundation
Collisions
Is momentum conserved in a collision, along with energy, or are they opposing forces? Pupils vary the mass and velocity of two bumper cars along with the type of bumper in order to answer this question. Worksheet and in-simulator...
CK-12 Foundation
Bumper Cars
Is the transfer of energy different in bumper cars with stable versus bouncy bumpers? One of the variables explored in the simulation is bumper type; other variables are the mass and velocity of each car. This allows pupils to see the...
CK-12 Foundation
Crash Test Dummy
Why are car manufactures required to install seat belts and airbags; do they really make that big of a difference? Scholars use a simulator to determine the amount of force dissipated by a seat belt and airbag in a head-on crash. This is...
CK-12 Foundation
Ballistics Tests
How did scientists measure the speed of incredibly fast things before the invention of high-speed photography? Scholars virtually perform ballistics tests to discover the process. They control the rifle type, bullet mass, and target...
LABScI
Conservation of Momentum: Marble Collisions
What happens to the momentum of an object when it strikes another object? Scholars roll a marble down a ramp so it collides with another marble. By measuring the speed of each marble before and after the collision, pupils answer this...
Discovery Education
Cushion It!
Sugar cubes, collide! Groups design protection systems using bubble wrap to protect sugar cubes from being destroyed by falling batteries in the STEM lesson. They consider how the experiment relates to collisions in real-world...
Urbana School District
Momentum
Here's a presentation that not only covers momentum, impulse, conservation of momentum in both one and two dimensions, angular momentum, torque, and the moment of inertia, but offers many applied guided practice problems as well.
Teach Engineering
Ramp and Review (for High School)
Rolling for momentum. As part of a study of mechanical energy, momentum, and friction, class members experiment rolling a ball down an incline and having it collide with a cup. Groups take multiple measurements and perform several...
It's About Time
Cushioning Collisions (Computer Analysis)
Did you know the car bumper is specifically designed to save the car and not the passengers in case of an accident? Young scientists use a computer, a force probe, and a sonic ranger to experiment with external cushioning on cars.
It's About Time
Automatic Triggering Devices
How does the air bag trigger in an accident? The lesson explores how automatic triggering devices work in automobiles. Using examples such as a seat belt lock and air bag, scholars design their own device to better understand the...