University of Tennessee
Potential Energy
Did you know a tennis ball has potential? Collaborative groups analyze the potential energy of a tennis ball based on its height. They measure its starting height and the height after its first bounce. Using a graphical analysis, they...
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Energy At Play
If you can find Tinker Toys™, then this may be a fun assignment for your physical science class. Using the construction set and a few other toys, they examine the forces involved when it they are being played with. For each, they...
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The Bouncing Ball
Students investigate potential energy. In this potential energy lesson, students do an experiment with a bouncing ball. Students mark how high the ball bounces when it is dropped and record their results. Students discuss potential...
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Bounce Back - The Long and Short of It
Upper elementary scientists test basketballs with differing amounts of air to find if inflation affects bounce height. The lesson introduction poses the question of whether or not the composition of a ball determines bounce height, but...
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Elastic Racquet
Students discover the science behind a tennis racket by looking at a simple toy that works in a similar way. After looking at the related mathematical equations, students experiment with the simple toy to find the spring constant k by...
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The Elastic Racquet
Students use this introductory lab using a tennis racquet, however it is very difficult to study because of the strings and the racquet stretch so little and so quickly during a match that students were unable to make simple...
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Collisions and Momentum: Bouncing Balls
Students explore the concepts of potential and kinetic energy by bouncing assorted balls on different surfaces and calculating the momentum for each ball. They give examples of collisions and momentum in sports and understand that...
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Determining Momentum and Energy Loss of Balls Colliding Against Different Surfaces
Young scholars experiment with the bounce of balls on various surfaces. In this physics lesson, students use various surfaces to bounce balls to study the momentum. This hands-on activity with the concepts of elasticity of surfaces which...
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Glass Transition in a Rubber Ball
Students illustrate the changes in the properties of a material at its glass transition point. They gather data which they use to construct graphs regarding elastic modules versus absorption modulus, tangent delta, and the effect of...
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The Sum of All Thrills
Learners make a bungee cord. In this potential and kinetic energy instructional activity, students work in groups to create a bungee cord for an egg. Learners evaluate and test their cord. After performing the experiment the students...
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Circle of Pong
Young scholars, in groups, use given materials to devise a way to deposit a ping-pong ball into a paper cup that is located in the middle of a 6-foot diameter circle, while standing outside the circle.
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Impulse/Momentum Lab
Students investigate the relationship between force and momentum using motion detectors and sensors. In this physics lesson, students graph experimental results. They calculate impulse using the area under the graph.
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Build Your Own Car
Students design and build their own cars. In this physics lesson, students test their car's speed and make changes when necessary. They graph data and analyze results.
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Investigation of Hooke's Law Lab
Young scholars determine the spring constant by conducting an investigation. In this physics lesson, students collect data and create a graph of force vs. displacement. They compare the results of two different methods to find spring...
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A Mysterious Roll-Back Can
Students explore Newton and his Second Law by observing a demonstration involving a can that rolls away, then rolls back to where it started. They construct their own Come Back Can and describe how the cans work.