Lead your class in this exciting activity to learn more about motion and its importance. Pupils learn about a centripetal and why it is required to maintain a constant speed in a circulating moving mass. They apply the equation for...

Do you understand the science behind hitting a hockey puck to control the direction it moves? Pupils experiment by telling a hockey player how to hit the puck so it moves in a circular direction. Through manipulating the velocity and...

Take a look at acceleration within the context of automotive technology. They vary the mass on a toy car and run it down a ramp, exploring Newton's second law of motion. Though this is a classic lab activity, you will appreciate the...

Explore the relationship between the distance and the force of charged particles. Scholars adjust the location of charged particles to change the path of a launched particle. By displaying the electric field, they can make a connection...

Just how do astronauts stay safe during moon landings? Here's an activity that allows investigators to use the engineering process to explore how shock absorbers protect astronauts during landing. Applying knowledge of gravity, force,...

A nine-page physics resource supports your lesson on acceleration. A step-by-step lesson plan walks you through the materials you need, the background information, steps for leading experimentation, and the explanation of the results....

Explore the world of motion and force with an activity for kindergarten and first grade. After determining how people can make balls or bikes move slower, kids use a cardboard tube and a marble to experiment with motion and speed. A...

Make solutions to projectile motion problems magically appear using equations. Pupils watch a clip from a Harry Potter movie and find the length of time it takes for a remembrall to fall into Harry's hands. They use a projectile motion...

Students explore the drawings of Rube Goldberg to design and construct a simple machine. They discuss simple machines, and using various materials and toy parts, design and construct a "Rube Goldberg" style machine to ring a bell.

When asked to list everyday objects that require energy, most people list technology that use batteries or electricity. Through hands-on exploration, young scientists discover energy is much more than just circuitry. They play with...

Fourth graders apply concepts of Newton's Laws in scientific inquiries. Use this lesson to have your charges test and identify the characteristics of objects that make them easier or harder to push. After a teacher-led demonstration,...

Do you weigh slightly less when an elevator first starts its descent? The simulation teaches the change in the force based on the acceleration, constant speed, or deceleration of an elevator. Scholars control the mass and acceleration...

Why do planets orbit the sun in ellipses when moons orbit their planet in circles? Pupils control the semi-major axis, eccentricity of the orbit, and position angle. The resulting orbital appears with the related force vectors as...

Young scholars explore the concepts of force and effort by observing simple machines. In this physics lesson, students attempt to sharpen a pencil without any help, bite into an orange with their lips curled over their teeth, and other...

Swimmers know to float by turning their bodies horizontally rather than vertically, but why does that make a difference? In an interesting lesson, scholars explore buoyancy and the properties of air and water. They test cups to see which...

Students explore force and friction. In this force and friction lesson plan, students discover everyday examples of how  friction helps and hinders things we do. Students create a ramp to test the speed of their car. Students use...

Start your engines! This five-lesson unit introduces physics and Newton's laws through automobile racing. Each lesson includes background information, a student worksheet, and an answer key. There are also culminating...

Small groups use rubber bands to accelerate an Android device along a track of books. They collect the acceleration data and analyze it in order to determine the device's velocity. 

Explore how sound travels as waves with a straightforward lesson that explains the basics of waves in relation to sound. The presentation considers sound waves in both open and closed pipes and shows how to calculate wavelength and...

Blast off! How do satellites, space shuttles, and space stations escape Earth's gravity and achieve orbit? Young astronauts study rocket science (literally) with an interactive lesson. They discover the four main uses for satellites, how...

Students explore the basic underlying concepts of Newton's first law of motion. They discuss forces and brainstorm different examples of force and what they act on. Students examine force by observing springs and gravity. They discuss...

Students demonstrate force and motion by rolling a ball through a tube. In this motion lesson students explore what happens to the ball when it is rolled with other balls of various sizes, weights, and textures.

Most water fountains are designed to keep the water inside the fountain, but how are they designed to shoot up and out without the water leaving the fountain? Scholars vary the launch angle, fountain height, launch speed, and...

Introduce third graders to energy waves with a hands-on geology activity, in which they answer questions and compare seismograms in the San Francisco Bay area. After a demonstration that shows how bigger waves indicate a...