Students will investigate motion along a straight line to differentiate stopping from moving with respect to a reference point. Note: This activity requires use of a motion sensor.

In this interactive module, students will investigate motion along a straight line to differentiate stopping from moving with respect to a reference point. Note: This activity requires use of a motion sensor.

In this lesson, students investigate motion graphs. Students predict what the distance-time and velocity-time graphs would look like for a student walking across the room for several different scenarios. Then students will use a motion detector to act out these scenarios and compare their predictions to those produced from the motion detector.

This assessment resource checks for student understanding of how graphs illustrate motion and show a change in position over time. This assessment is meant to be used after students complete the interactive module found at http://smartgraphs-activities.concord.org/activities/194-motion-toward-and-away/student_preview

Students explore how motion in two opposite directions appear on a position-time graph. Note: This activity requires use of a motion sensor.

In this interactive module, students explore how motion in two opposite directions appear on a position-time graph. Note: This activity requires use of a motion sensor.

Look at this slide deck to find some ideas for implementing engaging instruction about forces, motion, and the relationship between them.

Sample Learning Goals
Explain the Conservation of Mechanical Energy using kinetic, gravitational potential, and thermal energy.
Describe how changing the mass, friction, or gravity affects the skater's energy.
Predict position or estimate speed from energy bar graph or pie chart.
Calculate speed or height at one position from information about a different position.
Describe what happens to the energy in the system when the reference height changes.
Design a skate park using the concepts of mechanical energy and energy conservation.

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 7th Grade Science. 

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 7th Grade Science. 

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 7th Grade Science.  

Students will investigate constant and changing (accelerated) motion. They will calculate speed from distance and time measurements and observe the differences between the distance vs. time graph for each motion.

This applet simulates two runners moving along a track and creates a graph of the time-versus-distance relationship of their motion. Students then observe the simulated races as they happen and relate the changing positions of the two runners to dynamic representations that change as the events occur. Students can predict the effects on the graph of changing the starting position or the length of the stride of either runner. They can observe and analyze how a change in one variable, such as length of stride, relates to a change in speed. This computer simulation uses a familiar context that students understand from daily life, and the technology allows them to analyze the relationships in this context deeply because of the ease of manipulating the environment and observing the changes that occur.