Physicist Teacher Resources

Physicists Herman Branson and Tannie Stovall provide young scholars with two very different perceptions of the status of African American physicists in the 1960s. After reading and comparing the bios of these two men, class members read...

Elmer Imes was not only a brilliant physicist but also a civil rights activist. After an introductory lecture, groups read two articles about a traffic accident that killed one Fisk University student and injured several others. The...

In this researching an American physicist activity, students discover the name, write a short report, and draw a picture of the developer of the nuclear reactor. Students complete three activities.

When we take things apart, we can learn how they work. Physicist Clifford Johnson explains how we break down all objects into elementary particles of matter and forces. Patterns have been identified with the particles, the existence dark...

The mobilization of soldiers for World War II resulted in a worker shortage in the defense industries, especially in the fields of physics and other sciences. The Engineering, Science, and Management War Training program (ESMWT) was...

Groups discover physics as they take an assigned scenario, perform research about different aspects of the subject matter, and present their findings to the class. From the presentations, learners must develop and support a point of view...

Trace the sequential process of the developing theories of atomic structure in the early 20th century, show, in historical development, how scientists "know" things, how experiments are set up and how interpretations are drawn from them,...

Name that physicist! In the video lesson, Mr. Andersen introduces scholars to the classical physicists that began the branch of science called physics. He also explains the different branches of physics and talks about how to use science...

A suggested sequence of events lays out five hands-on activities and four creative assessments on the conservation of momentum. Using spring scales and mail scales, junior physicists examine Newton's Third Law. After you have taught the...

The stage is set for you to guide future physicists through three forceful activities about motion. In the first, learners experiment with rolling carts to discover how objects interact. In the second, they inspect images of an object in...

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....

Physicists become Olympians in a competition using centripetal force. They ride a bicycle to comprehend relationships between linear and rotational motion. If you have an old-fashioned record player, it can be used to help pupils...

Engage your aspiring physicists in a series of lab activities directied at demonstrating the behavior of electric force. In completing these exercises, learners will explore Coulomb's and Gauss's Laws. Well-written directions to four...

Physicists of the future observe the behavior of current in relation to a magnet through several inquiry activities. They construct a generator and experiment with solenoid coils. They learn and apply electromagnetic laws, most often...

If you need to teach about power, this is an outstanding educational resource! It provides definitions of work and power, and gives examples to help junior physicists apply the information. The format is neat and the graphics are...

A simple, yet memorable, way of practicing with displacement vectors is described here. Divide your class into groups and assign each a different landmark on campus. They measure smaller legs of the path from the classroom to their...

Not meant to be shown in the classroom, this video teaches the teacher how to display Brownian motion using microsized polystyrene balls and how to model it with a speaker and Ping-Pong balls. When you use these vivid demonstrations,...

A half-hour introductory video on mechanics and the metric system was produced with beginning physicists in mind. Note-taking guides are provided, in addition to a follow-up metric worksheet. For the lab, learners construct paper frogs....

What flies faster than the speed of light? A time traveler! This video explains the time-speed-distance relationship, time dilation, and the theoretical possibilities of time travel in a way that is super engaging. Along with the video,...

A comprehensive lesson on acceleration awaits your physicists and engineers! Two YouTube videos pique their interest, then sample F=ma problems are worked and graphed. The highlight of the lesson is the building of a Lou-Vee air car!...

It's looking like the dark side is bigger than we thought! Physicists speculate that perhaps 96% of the universe consists of invisible dark matter and dark energy, while only 4% is what we can view with the aided eye. This flabbergasting...

Vintage cartoon graphics show the process of nuclear radiation and some of the history of nuclear knowledge. Though the animation is dated, the information is still relevant. This would make an entertaining introduction to nuclear...

Here is a high-quality presentation of how forces hold atoms together, but can be unstable in larger atoms. Fission and fusion are explained with colorful animated graphics and energy graphs. Explanations are elaborate, making this...

This is a continuation of Mr. Noon's demonstrations on the physics of sound. Watch part one to pick up some tips on how to teach sound to your high school physicists or get ideas for activities for them to try.