What difference does rotation make when it comes to lifting a mass over your head? Sometimes, it makes all the difference! Young physicists observe this concept in a gravity-defying video by Veritasium. The resource shows the behavior of a wheel attached to a one-meter rod at rest and also after being spun.

Concepts

gravity, rotations, mass, force, making observations, making predictions, angular momentum, gyroscopic precession

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Show the video, then have pupils predict what they think will happen; follow up with the explanation video that is included with the resource
• Perform a similar demonstration in class using a bicycle wheel; use the handy instructions in this lab
  

Classroom Considerations

• Learners should be very familiar with the concepts of force, velocity, and rotation to fully appreciate the video
  

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• The narrator illustrates how difficult it is to lift the wheel in a variety of ways before doing the demonstration, making for greater impact
• The explanations given are clear and appropriate for the high school classroom

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.9-10.2