Science Struck
Science Struck: Guide to Free Body Diagrams in Physics
A detailed explanation of the different types of forces that can be applied to an object and how to represent them in a free body diagram. Includes examples and some practice problems to try, with solutions provided.
Society for Science and the Public
Science News for Students: Baseball: From Pitch to Hits
This article explains some of the science behind baseball. Also includes a list of vocabulary words from the article.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Friction, Drag, and Elasticity: Problems and Exercises
This is a list of 43 problems/exercises that cover the content of Chapter 5: Further Applications of Newton's Laws: Friction, Drag, and Elasticity from the AP Physics online text.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: 5.2 Further Applications of Newton's Laws: Drag Forces
By the end of this section, you will be able to define drag force and model it mathematically, discuss the applications of drag force, define terminal velocity, and perform calculations to find terminal velocity.
OpenStax
Open Stax: College Physics: Drag Forces
In the following tutorial, students will learn how to express mathematically the drag force and also discuss its applications. They will also define terminal velocity and determine the terminal velocity given mass.
NASA
Nasa: Gas Properties Definitions
Use this site to learn about basic gas properties including motion, viscosity, and compressibility. Includes links to activities for all ages.
Children's Museum
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis: Curious Scientific Investigators: Flight Adventures
Students will make paper rockets, parachutes, and foam gliders to experience how objects move through the air. Explore topics such as thrust, weight, gravity, force, and lift through fun activities and stories and cutting-edge work done...
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Go With the Flow
This lesson plan is a great way to observe the flow of water. Kids can do this experiment at home by following this easy procedure, complete with pictures.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating Forces: Balloon Car Activity
In this activity, teams of young scholars build a car out of common materials which is then propelled by the release of air out of a balloon and must travel a minimum distance. The activity is then extended to a competition to build the...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Engineered Sports
Students work in teams to investigate how aerospace engineering relates to sports, especially golf ball design and the physics of bounce. They use this information to determine whether these aerospace principles can be applied to...
Other
University of Alaska: Terminal Velocity
University of Alaska physics professor site explaining the concept of terminal velocity. Uses the terminal velocities of humans and cats for comparison. Site contains an interesting graph of the percent fatalities versus stories fallen.
South Carolina Educational Television
Etv: Nasa Online: Flight: Thrust
An introduction to thrust and how it relates to airplanes, told in an animated format.
Other
Transtronics: Viscosity
This site provides extensive information on viscosity. Different formulas and examples are given with regards to viscosity.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What a Drag!
The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how drag affects falling objects. Students will make a variety of shapes out of paper and see how size and shape affects the speed with which their paper shapes fall. They will also be able...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Heavy Helicopters
Students learn about weight and drag forces by making paper helicopters and measuring how adding more weight affects the time it takes for the helicopters to fall to the ground.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Blow and Go Parachute
Students make a skydiver and parachute contraption to demonstrate how drag caused by air resistance slows the descent of skydivers as they travel back to Earth. Gravity pulls the skydiver toward the Earth, while the air trapped by the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Strawkets and Control
In this activity, students investigate the effect that fins have on rocket flight. Students construct two paper rockets that they can launch themselves by blowing through a straw. One "strawket" has wings and the other has fins. Students...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Design a Parachute
After a discussion about what a parachute is and how it works, students will create a parachute using different materials that they think will work best. The students will test their designs, which will be followed by a class discussion...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Lift
Students revisit Bernoulli's Principle (Lesson 1 of the Airplanes unit) and learn how engineers use this principle to design airplane wings. Airplane wings create lift by changing the pressure of the air around it. This is the first of...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Drag
This instructional activity explores the drag force on airplanes. The students will be introduced to the concept of conservation of energy and how it relates to drag. Students will explore the relationship between drag and the shape,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Take Off With Paper Airplanes
This lesson introduces students to the art of designing an airplane through paper airplane constructions. The goal is that students will learn important aircraft design considerations and how engineers must iterate their designs to...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What a Drag
Students learn about friction and drag - two different forces that convert energy of motion to heat. Both forces can act on a moving object and decrease its velocity. Students learn examples of friction and drag, and suggest ways to...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Makes Airplanes Fly?
Students begin to explore the idea of a force. To further their understanding of drag, gravity and weight, they conduct activities that model the behavior of parachutes and helicopters. An associated literacy activity engages the class...
Physics Classroom
The Physics Classroom: Free Fall and Air Resistance
This lesson in high school physics on Newton's Second Law of Motion provides a discussion of free fall and air resistance, and answers, "Why do objects which encounter air resistance ultimately reach a terminal velocity?" and "In...