Curated OER
Newton's Laws
Eighth graders distinguish between and apply Newton's Laws. They take a quiz reviewing Kinetic and Potential Energy. Students explain that they have just demonstrated Newton's three laws of motion. They also explain what forces are...
Curated OER
The Science of Swinging
Students learn how a pendulum works in the concept of an amusement park ride. In this pendulum lesson, students are introduced to Newton's first law of motion and how it works in an amusement park ride. Continuous motion and inertia are...
Curated OER
In Golf Gravitas
Students are introduced to potential and kinetic energy through the example of a ball being thrown straight up in the air. They are then told that the energy associated with the position of the object is referred to as potential energy....
Curated OER
Blowin' In The Wind
Students predict and hypothesize the reasons for wind movement. After viewing a video, they describe the effects of a high and low pressure system and what makes the wind blow. In groups, they construct instruments that measure air...
Curated OER
Worksheet 20
In this math learning exercise, they write down and solve a differential equation governing the motion of an underdamped spring. Then they find the solution to the initial value problem.
Curated OER
To See or Not to See: The Colors of Light
Seventh graders describe and conduct an experiment that identifies the physical properties of light. They explore sources of visible light and an electromagnetic spectrum. Students explain the conversion of one form of energy to another.
Curated OER
The Beaufort Scale: A Local Model
Students study the Beaufort Scale and use it to study wind in their community. In this wind study instructional activity, students watch a DVD about climate change and learn about the Beaufort Scale. Students complete a worksheet for the...
Curated OER
Pendulum
Sixth graders are instructed on how to create a pendulum and measure the periodicity of the pendulum, using four different combinations of string. They are asked which influences the time more- the length of the string or the weight at...
Curated OER
Height of Bounce
Eighth graders determine the relationship between the height of bounce of a ping-pong ball and the height from which it was dropped. They are assessed on the ability to record and interpret data, graph data, make predictions, and make...
Curated OER
Discovery Science Library: The Basics Physical Science
Young scholars examine friction and gravity. affect four sports. In this scientific discovery lesson, students examine how friction and gravity affect sports. They discuss, write, and illustrate the effect of different forces on various...
Curated OER
Bouncing Balls
Students make observations of a bouncing ball and study how it travels. In this height lesson students complete a lab activity and describe and explain the motion of the ball.
Curated OER
Frames of Reference: The Basics
Learners learn the concept of frames of reference in physics. They examine how two frames of reference, each moving with respect to the other with a constant velocity v (constant speed, constant direction).
Curated OER
Physics of Roller Coasters
Students design a roller coaster and demonstrate their knowledge of Potential and Kinetic Energy. They determine the average velocity a given marble travels on their roller coaster and apply their knowledge of various measurement systems...
American Chemical Society
Heat, Temperature, and Conduction
How does heat move from one item to another, even when the items are in different states of matter? Pupils experiment with adding washers to hot water and adding hot washers to room temperature water to observe the heat transfer.
EngageNY
Constant Rates Revisited
Find the faster rate. The resource tasks the class to compare proportional relationships represented in different ways. Pupils find the slope of the proportional relationships to determine the constant rates. They then analyze the rates...
American Chemical Society
Air, It's Really There
Love is in the air? Wrong — nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide are in the air. The final lesson plan in the series of five covers the impact of temperature on gases. Scholars view a demonstration of gas as a type of matter before...
Columbus City Schools
May the Force Be with You
You won't have to force your classes to complete these engaging activities! Through exploration, young scientists learn that force has both magnitude and direction. They draw force diagrams, investigate force models, and complete a...
EngageNY
Graphs of Piecewise Linear Functions
Everybody loves video day! Grab your class's attention with this well-designed and engaging resource about graphing. The video introduces a scenario that will be graphed with a piecewise function, then makes a connection to domain...
Virginia Department of Education
Sound
Add a little music to your next physics class. Pupils discuss how frequency determines pitch and take part in several activities designed to teach them more about sound, melody, resonance, and vibrations. They use materials to construct...
Discovery Education
Jets in Flight
This Discovery Education activity provides the information needed to understand the basics of flight. Before taking off, young pilots learn the eight stages of the engineering design process. Small groups then design and build an...
NASA
Measuring Dark Energy
You're only 10 minutes late? Do you know how much the universe has expanded in those 10 minutes? Scholars graph supernovae based on their redshift and see if the results verify Hubble's Law. If it does confirm it, the universe is...
Curated OER
Swinging Pendulum
Students engage in an activity which demonstrates how potential energy (PE) can be converted to kinetic energy (KE) and back again. Given a pendulum height, students calculate and predict how fast the pendulum will swing by understanding...
Noyce Foundation
Truffles
Knowing how to scale a recipe is an important skill. Young mathematicians determine the amount of ingredients they need to make a certain number of truffles when given a recipe. They determine a relationship between ingredients given a...
PBS
Invisible Force
Investigate invisible forces. Young engineers design a setup that changes the direction of a steel ball using a magnetic force. The purpose of the setup is to model the gravitational pull of spacecraft by planetary bodies.