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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

FRAMES OF REFERENCE: THE BASICS

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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.
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Article
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Relativity and the Cosmos

For Students 9th - 10th
This illustrated essay from the NOVA Web site introduces the basic concepts of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and what we know about cosmology as a result.
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Website
Stanford University

Stanford Univ/gravity Probe B/relativity Q&a

For Students 9th - 10th
Click "Relativity Q & A". Over 200 questions and answers dealing with relativity (special and general), answered by NASA scientist Dr. Sten Odenwald. Answers are generally one paragraph, very clear and coherent.
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Unit Plan
University of New South Wales (Australia)

University of New South Wales: Einstein Light

For Students 9th - 10th
Einstein Light highlights the Theory of Special Relativity and related topics. Learn how Galileo, Maxwell, and Einstein contributed to our knowledge of relativity, electricity, magnetism, and time by watching fun, interactive modules.
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Interactive
American Association of Physics Teachers

Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: General Relativity (Gr) Package

For Students 9th - 10th
An extensive collection of simulations, activities, and worksheets for exploring relativity. Topics include Newtonian Physics, special relativity, Schwarzschild metric, Rain metric, Kerr metric, and general relativity orbits.
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PPT
Nobel Media AB

The Nobel Prize: Relativity

For Students 9th - 10th
After a brief introduction, this site provides information on special relativity include sections such as The Michelson-Morley Experiment, The Postulates of Special Relativity, Lorentz Transformations, The Twin Paradox, Energy is...
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Article
PBS

Pbs Nova: Relativity and the Cosmos

For Students 9th - 10th
This well-written explanation of relativity includes animations and pictures which may be helpful in understanding a tough topic.
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Graphic
Georgia State University

Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Special & General Relativity

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the Georgia State University provides an interesting chart form of the ideas of relativity. Column 1 - Idea, Column 2 - Experiment. Each item is linked to its own page of explanation, which is well done. A nice type of...
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Article
Other

No Carolina St Univ: The Day the Universe Went All Funny

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides a very readable treatment of a really difficult subject. You still have to work hard at it, but this article can make relativity understandable.
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Website
Other

Uc Riverside: Usenet Relativity Faq

For Students 9th - 10th
A physics usenet listing of frequently asked questions relating to relativity, answered by a number of scientists. Administrivia and Reference, Speed of Light, Special Relativity, General Relativity and Cosmology, Black Holes. Loads of...
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Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: E = Mc^2 O Logy Card

For Students 3rd - 8th
Flip over this interactive OLogy card and start learning bite-size pieces of useful information about E = mc^2, Einstein's famous equation that shows the relationship between mass and energy.
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Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: Time O Logy Card

For Students 3rd - 8th
Flip over this interactive OLogy card to find short overviews, fact-or-fiction questions, and similar bite-size bits of information about the nature of time, time travel, atomic clocks, and the general theory of relativity.
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eBook
Libre Text

Libre Texts: Physics: Introduction to Relativity

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the story of the principle of relativity. Find practice problems after reviewing the article.
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Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: Biography of Albert Einstein

For Students 9th - 10th
The life and many accomplishments of Albert Einstein are detailed in this article. Includes descriptions of his scientific theories and contributions.
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eBook
Libre Text

Libre Texts: Physics: Frames of Reference and Newton's Laws

For Students 9th - 10th
A resource featuring the Principle of Relativity. Discover what develops based on the premise of this principle.
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Activity
Other

Fear of Physics: Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity

For Students 9th - 10th
Fear of Physics uses animations and simple language to teach the theory of relativity.
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Website
Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies

Mocomi: Theory of Relativity

For Students 3rd - 9th
Understand what relativity is and what Albert Einstein discovered while studying it. Identify special relativity and general relativity.
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Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: O Logy: You Light Up My Life!

For Students 3rd - 8th
Brief explanation of observations that Arthur Eddington used to test Einstein's general theory of relativity. Click on the starred words to learn more about the topic.
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Unit Plan
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: O Logy: It's All Relative

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the 4th dimensions and the theory of relativity.There is no absolute, or "same," time and space. This means time and space are different for everyone! How you experience events in time and space depends on two important...