Acceleration Teacher Resources

Students discuss and view examples of acceleration. They work together to determine acceleration rates in two ways. They analyze their data and discuss.

Young scholars create an accelerometer and take measurements of acceleration in a moving car. They study the car speeding up in a straight line, slowing in a straight line and curving at constant speed. They prepare a lab report showing...

Students calculate acceleration due to gravity.

Students perform an experiment where a string is tied across the room. A straw is threaded onto the string, and a balloon attached to the straw. Students determine the speed of the balloon as it moves across the string. They repeat the...

In this velocity and acceleration instructional activity, students determine the distance walked and the displacement of a person who walks 15 m west and 20 m east. Then they determine the resultant velocity of a bicyclist who rides 10...

In this acceleration worksheet, students are given an explanation of the constant acceleration of a roller coaster as it travels up, down and around. Students calculate the acceleration of a roller coaster given its original velocity,...

In this Investigating force, acceleration and velocity worksheet, learners read story problems involving constant velocity and acceleration, create a diagram of the problem, and consider the forces acting upon the item discussed. They...

In this acceleration and velocity worksheet, students explain how long it would take a car to reach a speed of 100 m/s from resting. Then they determine the acceleration of a plane as it slows down to land if it is going at 75 m/s....

Sixth graders examine the relationship between mass and acceleration of an object.  In this mass lesson students work in groups and complete a lab. 

In this force and acceleration learning exercise, 8th graders answer ten questions based on two graphs. The first graph is a scatter plot, the second is a line graph.

Students discuss acceleration and deceleration and participate in brief demonstrations of the Second Law of Motion. They apply the law to a metal balance toy and a plastic balance toy by applying the same force then with different forces.

Go around and around in your physics class with this presentation on circular motion. Diagrams bring the definition to life. Formulas for angular acceleration, centripetal force, gravitation, and potential in a radial field are given....

Physics masters solve five sliding mass problems. For each, there are a few different values to be determined: normal force, force of friction, acceleration, velocity, coefficient of friction, or net force. Pupils must draw a force...

Provide the details about Felix Baumgartner's sky jump from the far reaches of our atmosphere, 39,045 meters up! Then get your physics free fallers to evaluate the factors that played a role in his acceleration, the time to reach maximum...

Discover the science of NASCAR! Young scholars rev up their learning as they explore aerodynamic principles. Hands-on activities help learners understand concepts of friction, kinetic energy, and potential energy.

Test your class' understanding of free falling objects with a video demonstration that shows two equal weights dropped simultaneously. One hits the ground first, which is contrary to what students understand about the acceleration due to...

Does space have its own gravity? And, if so, why do astronauts just float around in the space station? Science sleuths examine the forces acting upon astronauts in the International Space Station with help from the narrator. He...

For this graphing worksheet, students determine the speed vs. time and acceleration vs. time plots based on the velocity vs. time graph given. Students complete 2 graphs.

Eighth graders build and run mousetrap cars in order to measure distance, time, and mass for their cars. They use these measurements to calculate average speed and kinetic energy, then create a slide show to visually explain how the car...

Emerging engineers work in teams to design pipe insulation roller coasters for marbles that meet specific parameters. They are required to label along the track the areas where kinetic and potential energy are highest and lowest, where...

The mechanics of rollercoasters, and the acceleration and velocities reached with the different kinds, are outlined in this presentation. Although short, this would be a great starter for a class working with building rollercoasters or...

Beginning physicists imagine being aerospace engineers by solving seven centripetal force problems. They calculate the work, speed, time, and acceleration of objects in orbit: a satellite around Earth, and Earth around the sun. This is a...

Twelfth graders examine the physics of rocket flight. They build and launch model rockets to measure their performances.

A realistic simulation uses charts to show forces, position, velocity, and acceleration versus time based on how the simulation is set up. Once those concepts are mastered, scholars use free body diagrams to explain how each graph...