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FORCES, MOTION, AND ENERGY
Eighth graders engage in a variety of activities in order to investigate the basic concepts of physics. They read and answer questions in a written text. This is only one type of activity that is part of many others.
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May The Force Be With You
Eighth graders investigate Newton's Laws of Motion. They use the example of a roller coaster for illustration purposes. A force associated with a roller coaster is tested, data graphed, and a conclusion is drawn. They use excel in order...
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E3 Ret Lesson Plan
Students explore friction. In this physics lesson plan, students will cover metal blocks with film to determine the changes caused by static and kinetic friction.
University of Arizona
The Exotic Vacation
Students explain the concepts and vocabulary of Earth's rotation. They plan imaginary vacations based on the seasons in different locations. This is a very creative lesson plan, which students enjoy.
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Perpetual Motion
Middle schoolers discuss movement of air currents and then experiment to create visible models of air currents. Students connect the model to weather patterns.
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F = a, Inertia, and Friction
Fourth graders use a matchbox car to push across a hard surface and observe what happens. They then push the car across a soft or rough surface and discover what happens. The two ideas are discusses as Newton's First and Second Laws of...
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Disney Mambo #5 Warm-up
When the music starts to play, everyone wants to get up and move to this song. Teach your class some basic steps and body moves to the beat of this mambo song. Each of the movements is repeated, which means that youngsters are not having...
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Telecommunication
Each of these slides has notes for a teacher to support the activities that are planned for the students. The slides give details and facts about sound waves. Although this slide show delivers useful information about the sound waves,...
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Rover Landing Design Challenge
Students examine the concepts of forces and motion. They work together to design protective devices for their egg rovers as they are dropped from a specific height. They record their observations and discuss.
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Putting the Ice in Hockey
Eighth grade physical science classes examine why the ice on which hockey is played is slippery. They do so by discussing phases of matter and the molecular motion in each. They read an article on a website and write out answers to...
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Take a Leap!
Eighth graders discuss the flight of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. They study artwork of various sculptors showing the concept of flight. They write a paragraph and design a papier-mache' sculpture that shows movement.
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Energy Transformation with Balance Toys
Students explore and identify the concepts of potential and kinetic energy. They define kinetic and potential energy and discuss examples of each. Students then play a game involving balance toys, demonstrating both kinetic and potential...
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Rocks Up!
Students will design and build a structure to support a rock. Students will use their knowledge of movement of objects to determine the proper base to be built to support their rock. Students will explore their natural area for...
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Keep It Hot
Pupils design and conduct an experiment to explore the insulating abilities of different materials for keeping a liquid in a paper cup warm. A small group of lab partners test four different materials: black paper, white paper, aluminum...
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Simple Machines
First graders discuss work, force, and energy. They study how work is done. Students discuss various types of work that are done. They act out how work is done. Student draw pictures of types of work they have done.
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Helium Balloon Race
Students determine the force of a helium balloon that allows it to rise a specific distance. In this helium lesson students calculate the amount of paper needed to construct a weight and determine the density of a piece of...
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Charting Seasonal Changes
Students research the Earth's patterns of rotation and revolution, create a chart and graph of these patterns and use them to explain the causes of night and day and summer and winter.
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That's the Way the Ball Bounces
High schoolers investigate and compare the bouncing ability of the materials from which four different balls are made. They determine which material performs the best for use as a basketball. After collecting data in a small group they...
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Sports Science
Students explore athletes and how they perform. In this physics lesson, students investigate how physics is involved in sports. Students go online to interactive sites that explain physics and biomechanics. Students also research...
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Vectors
Students differentiate distance and displacement. In this physics lesson plan, students use formulas to calculate for displacement. They draw vectors using the grid.
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The Concept of Energy
In this energy worksheet, students read about the discoveries of Galileo and how different philosophers contributed to our understanding of energy. Then students complete 4 short answer questions.
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Motions and Forces
Sixth graders investigate the construction of a magnet and the force it produces. They identify various materials as magnetic or non-magnetic, discuss the properties of magnetic properties, and conduct an experiment with a compass and...
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Crash Course in Flight
High school physicists demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle by blowing on different items and finding that they do not move in the expected direction! They apply Bernoulli's equation to the flight of an airplane. This well-organized lesson...
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Free Up the Ketchup!
Students, in teams, use given materials and their knowledge of Newton's First Law to create a device that will remove a sticky ping pong ball from a 16-oz. cup (which represents ketchup stuck in a bottle.)