It's About Time
Center of Mass
Lead your class on an exploration as they locate the center of mass in several oddly shaped two-dimensional objects they create from their imaginations. Pupils also determine the location of the center of mass in three-dimensional...
Exploratorium
Balancing Stick
Have some physical science fun when studying the center of gravity or center of mass. Simply have balancing artists stand a dowel on one finger and keep it from falling over! A lump of clay is added and moved up along the dowel over a...
Curated OER
The Center of Mass
Students determine the center of mass of two irregularly shaped objects, determine when the center of mass is inside or outside the boundaries of the object, determine when and/or why an object is stable, balanced, unstable or unbalanced.
Science 4 Inquiry
Maintaining Mass
Can you disprove the law of conservation of mass? Pupils observe the teacher weigh each part of a reaction. Then, the teacher weighs the result of the reaction and everyone sees that the products do not equal the reactants. Then they...
Curated OER
The Influence of Initiator Concentration on the Molecular Weight of Polystyrene
This in-depth organic chemistry lab walks learners through an investigation of the effect of initiator concentration on the resulting molecular weight of polystyrene. It is important that you use this instructional activity with...
Baylor College
Body Mass Index (BMI)
How do you calculate your Body Mass Index, and why is this information a valuable indicator of health? Class members discover not only what BMI is and practice calculating it using the height and weight of six fictitious individuals, but...
Curated OER
Determining the Molar Mass of a Gas
Students determine the molar mass of a gas. In this molar mass of a gas lesson plan, students use the vapor density of an organic solvent to determine its molar mass. They vaporize the solvent and collect the vapor. Once it is cooled...
DiscoverE
Build a Bobsled Racer
Host a design challenge of Olympic proportion! Junior engineers build their own bobsleds using simple materials. The activity focuses on kinetic and potential energy and how the center of mass affects motion on a downhill track....
Curated OER
Inertial Mass, Weight, and Newton's Second Law of Motion
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...
Urbana School District
Projectile and Circular Motion, Torque
Introduce your young scholars to the concepts of circular motion, projectile motion, angular speed, simple harmonic motion, torque, center of mass, centripetal force, and Hooke's Law with a 86-slide presentation. The circular motion...
K20 LEARN
This Is How the World Ends: Coronal Mass Ejections/Space Storms
Is this the end of the world as we know it? Pupils prepare for a coronal mass ejection during a instructional activity from the K20 Center. The activity combines video and Internet research in a collaborative assignment that focuses on...
Curated OER
Matter and Energy
Does the change in energy of matter lead to a change in mass? Upcoming chemists compare the mass of equal-volume, but different-temperature liquids and materials both before and after a chemical reaction has occurred. In another...
Curated OER
Chemical Formulas for Molecules
Newcomers to chemistry compare hydrogen peroxide to water, realizing that the difference of one oxygen atom significantly affects the chemical properties. Other pairs of compounds and their formulas are also examined. A few chemical...
Curated OER
Tightrope Trials
Students research the concepts of center of mass and how to make different things balance. They make symmetrical cut-outs of different "creatures" and experiment with how they balance on a tightrope of string.
Curated OER
TE Activity: Wow! That Captures It!
Learners examine how motion capture technology allows computer based animators to design realistic effects in animation. They study how the center of gravity contributes to animation and how to use the center of gravity to write an...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Gravity & Inertia
Is it possible to defy gravity? Not really. With force and inertia, we can act against it for a little while, but, eventually, gravitational force will pull us back to Earth. The relationships among mass, force, and inertia are all...
Curated OER
Terror in Space
Students view a video clip about the role of satellites in space. They examine the concept of center of mass. They participate in an experiment showing how altering the location of an object's center of mass can change its motion.
Curated OER
Paper Towers
Young scholars have the opportunity to use model-building as a way to help comprehend the forces and phenomena at work in the world around them. They describe gravity as a universal force that pulls everything toward the center of the...
Curated OER
Hovercraft
Students assess human impact on water quality. They determine how the force of friction retards motion. Pupils describe and measure quantities that characterize moving objects and their interactions within a system: Time, Distance,...
Curated OER
Balancing The Day Away In Grade 2
Second graders sped the day exploring about balance by playing with and making balancing toys. They discover how varying the amount and position of mass affects the toys' balance. Pupils explore gravity and balance while playing with the...
Curated OER
#17 Determining the Accuracy of Selected Laboratory Glassware
Students calculate the volume of a specific mass of water placed in selected pieces of common laboratory glassware, using the density formula. They then determine the accuracy of the volumetric measurement for selected pieces of...
NASA
Space Shuttle Ascent: Mass vs. Time
Set the stage for groups of rocket scientists to explore the change in mass of the space shuttle during ascent. Teams work together to graph actual launch data in order to determine the rate of propellent burn.
Curated OER
The Mass of the Moon
In this mass of the Moon worksheet, learners use the lunar orbit and the orbit period to determine the mass of the Moon. They solve 4 problems including finding the mass of the Moon, determining the ratio of the Moon's mass to the...
Curated OER
Finding Mass in the Cosmos
In this finding mass in the cosmos learning exercise, students use the equations for the force of gravity, the centrifugal force pushing a planet outwards and the speed of a planet to solve 2 problems. They find the mass of primary...