Students practice calculating average velocity, average speed, and acceleration. They will also calculate force and weight.

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.

In this activity, students will analyze a video featuring an airplane on a string. The tension in the string can be read from an on-screen scale, timing measurements can be made from the frame-counter, and the angle of the string can be determined from an overlaid protractor. While this doesn't seem like enough information, it's actually enough to allow students to calculate the angular and linear velocity of the plane, the mass of the plane, the radius of its circular path, and the length of the string. It is an engaging problem that forces students to think clearly about some concepts that they frequently find confusing, like tension, circular motion, and centripetal acceleration.

In this lesson, student teams compete to construct the fastest car, using their knowledge of physics.

In this unit, students will review Newton's second law and learn how physics can be applied to real world problems. Lessons in this unit include: Newton's Second Law Revisited; Amusement Park Physics; and Athletics. This unit includes animations and mini quizzes to check for understanding and facilitate learning.

In this unit students will learn about gravity. Lessons in this unit include: Gravity is more than a Name; The Apple, the Moon, and the Inverse Square Law; Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation; Cavendish and the Value of G; and The Value of g. This unit includes videos, animations, and mini quizzes to check for understanding and facilitate learning.

This activity is a part of the lesson plan "Shoes Under Pressure". In this activity students will design and build shoe prototypes that convert between high heels and athletic shoes. They apply their knowledge about the mechanics of walking and running as well as shoe design (as learned in the associated lesson) to design a multifunctional shoe that is both fashionable and functional.

In this lab activity, students build a container to safely deliver 2 eggs from the top of the school to the pavement below. Students will use the mass of the container and the time it takes to fall to calculate average velocity, acceleration, momentum, and force as it hits the ground.

Students observe and understand motion of a projectile launched horizontally. They will apply kinematics equations to data to determine the time of flight, velocity with which the ball leaves the table, and the acceleration on the ramp.

In this activity, students view a Direct Measurement Video that applies Newtonian mechanics to a model of an amusement park ride. An Einstein "action figure" (doll) is pinned against a vertical wall on a rotating platform. As the platform slows its rotation, Einstein slips down the vertical surface. Students can make measurements and calculations to determine the minimum speed that will keep Einstein from sliding, and calculate the coefficient of static friction between Einstein and the wall. In addition, students can develop an experiment that will let them determine the coefficient of sliding friction as Einstein slides down the vertical surface.

In this lesson students will learn about the motion of the pendulum and how it proves the earth is rotating. There is a teacher's answer key to go along with the student activity sheet.

Students will learn about the four forces which include weight, lift, thrust, and drag. These four forces affect things that fly.

This article provides several challenges that students will be able to solve by applying simple physics principles. Solutions are provided.

This resource is a compilation of text and other elements that serves as a multimedia learning experience for students. The resource reviews gravity and how it affects our solar system.

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.

We owe our lives to gravity. It holds the atmosphere to Earth and keeps us all from falling off into space. Not to mention that without gravity, the stars and planets—including Earth—wouldn't even exist! This Moveable Museum article, available as a nine-page printable PDF file, introduces the key concepts of gravity, orbits, weight, and weightlessness.

Students will explore how much they would weigh on a different world/planet and why their weight would be different.

This activity is a part of the lesson plan "Red Light, Green Light". In this activity students will gain first hand experience on how friction affects motion. Students will build a hovercraft with a balloon and CD (compact disk), learning that a bed of air under an object significantly reduces the friction as it slides over a surface.

This activity goes along with the lesson "May the Force Be With You". The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate Newton's 3rd Law of Motion, which is the physical law that governs thrust in aircraft. Students will do several activities that show that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

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.