This video clip is meant to serve as a writing or discussion prompt during a unit on forces and motion. This can be used at varied grade levels, with the expectation that student responses would be more complex in higher grade levels.

CK-12 Basic Physics - Second Edition updates CK-12 Basic Physics and is intended to be used as one small part of a multifaceted strategy to teach physics conceptually and mathematically.

This lesson will help students visualize barycenter and the relationship between the sun and the earth.  Students will use a solar system model to demonstrate barycenter and see the effects of adding other planets into the mix.

Students build their own small-scale model roller coasters using pipe insulation and marbles, and then analyze them using physics principles learned in the associated lesson. They examine conversions between kinetic and potential energy and frictional effects to design roller coasters that are completely driven by gravity. A class competition using different marbles types to represent different passenger loads determines the most innovative and successful roller coasters.

Working in teams of four, students build tetrahedral kites following specific instructions and using specific materials. They use the basic processes of manufacturing systems – cutting, shaping, forming, conditioning, assembling, joining, finishing, and quality control – to manufacture complete tetrahedral kites within a given time frame. Project evaluation takes into account team efficiency and the quality of the finished product.

Using third grade Michigan Science Standards students will learn about force and motion then design, describe, and create an arcade game for others to play.  Since this is a PBL, many ELA content standards are also included.

This video demonstrates how corn seedlings behave in the presence of both gravity and a central light source in an otherwise dark room.

After a discussion about what a parachute is and how it works, students create parachutes using different materials that they think will work best. They test their designs, and then contribute to a class discussion (and possible journal writing) to report which paper materials worked best.

Student groups are provided with a generic car base on which to design a device/enclosure to protect an egg on or in the car as it rolls down a ramp at increasing slopes. During this in-depth physics/science/technology activity, student teams design, build and test their creations to meet the design challenge, and are expected to perform basic mathematical calculations using collected data, including a summative cost to benefit ratio.

This is a children's science story about gravity (title translated: The World of Copocuqu: Queen Gravity and King Mass). Learners will read about the force of gravity and how it relates to the mass of a body. The story takes place in an asteroid in which all its inhabitants talk in the form of questions or the world of Copoqucu. The story ends with a magic secret (or learning capsule), which reflects in synopsis the science message that the child would take with him or her.

This online module/tutorial provides examples of free body diagrams: vertically stacked blocks; block, string, and pulley; block, string, and incline; hinged rod; rod and spherical shell.

This 52-page booklet provides an overview of the history, science and technology of this mission, including an introduction to Einstein's theory of curved spacetime. The guide also contains 18 pages of hands-on classroom activities related to gyroscopes, curved spacetime, frame-dragging and other concepts related to the GP-B experiment.

The Gravity Assist Simulator takes you through a series of simulated collisions to show how the New Horizon and Messenger spacecraft will use planned collisions to extend their missions.

In this activity, students play catch with a friend and observe what happens to the ball. Students then click on links to watch short video clips of balls being thrown and dropped. After predicting what will happen, students watch video clips of different sized balls being dropped and compare the dropping rates. Students analyze their observations with provided questions.

Students investigate the force of gravity and how all objects, regardless of their mass, fall to the ground at the same rate.

Students use water balloons and a length of string to understand how the force of gravity between two objects and the velocity of a spacecraft can balance to form an orbit. They see that when the velocity becomes too great for gravity to hold the spacecraft in orbit, the object escapes the orbit and travels further away from the planet.

Students learn about weight by building a spring scale and observing how it responds to objects with different masses.

This brief video lesson describes gravity and explains it as a pulling force that draws objects together. Discussion/assessment questions and suggested supplemental resources are also included.

This is an activity about orbital mechanics. Learners will investigate how lateral velocity affects the orbit of a spacecraft such as the ISS. Mathematical extensions are provided. This is science activity 1 of 2 found in the ISS L.A.B.S. Educator Resource Guide.

In this lesson, students will work in small groups to experience friction in action as they investigate the movement of toy cars. Students use the scientific process to hypothesize and then test how toy cars travel down ramps using differing variables such as mass and types of materials. They also review and share their results with the class.