Students will explore several striking and unusual properties of bouncing superballs. They will measure and understand the elasticity coefficient of a bouncing superball and understand the role of energy conservation in relation to bouncing balls.
Students will be able to:PS Phy.6 Understand the relationship among work, energy and power.6.1 Use models to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the kinetic and potential energy in a system.
In this interactive building experience, students will design and construct a complex machine to do a fairly simple task. Students will calculate several kinetic quantities of different parts of their machine. Students will create an engineering manual that provides a step-by-step method of building the machine and also calculates costs associated with the machine's production. Students will brainstorm ideas to increase the effectiveness of their machine while decreasing the costs of its production.
This student handout is a supplemental resource to be used with the "Kinetic Energy Lab." The purpose of this lab is to investigate the relationship between mass, speed and energy.
In this activity, students use an energy drink can to investigate and calculate potential and kinetic energy.
This student handout is a supplemental resource to be used with the "Kinetic Energy Lab." The purpose of this lab is to investigate the relationship between mass, speed and energy.
Students will explore the definition of energy by making careful observations about simple toys that illustrate basic principles of energy.
Students study the effects of friction in a simple mechanical system.
In this activity, students isolate the factors that determine the period of a pendulum. The students test hypotheses and also do a data match to see if their experimental results come close to the mathematical results.
In this project-based unit, students build a working catapult and prepare an extensive lab report explaining the physics behind its design and implementation.
Students investigate the relationship between mass, speed, and energy.
In this lab activity, students investigate what variables in the construction of a marble run affect the velocity and kinetic energy of the marble at the end of the run. They construct various runs using different combinations of tubes, slides, and ramps of different slopes, and they compare the final velocity and kinetic energy of the marble at the end of each run. Students share their data with the class and work together to identify the factors that affected final velocity. They complete a lab report summarizing their findings.
In this activity, students analyze a Direct Measurement Video of a pendulum using Vernier LoggerPro. Students plot position and time using LoggerPro video analysis tools, and then make calculated columns that show gravitational potential and kinetic energies. Students see a clear graphical representation of the relationship between the motion of the pendulum and the mechanical energies.
The concept of momentum applied to hard-body collisions is explained using a number of simple demonstrations, all of which can be repeated in the classroom. Understanding Newton's Laws is fundamental to all of physics, and this lesson introduces the vital concepts of momentum and energy, and their conservation.
This series of simple activities introduce students to the concept of potential energy and demonstrate the effect of height and weight on potential energy.
Students predict where a ball will land when released using knowledge of projectile motion and potential and kinetic energy.
In this STEM activity, students are challenged to solve a real-world problem that is part of the space program using creativity, cleverness, and scientific knowledge, while learning about forces, structures, and energy transfer. The goal is to construct a launcher that can withstand the force of repeatedly launching a one-kilogram bottle of water one meter into the air.
In this activity students use technology to investigate conservation of energy, Hooke's Law, and transfers of energy. Students will use previous knowledge of Hooke's Law, but will be using simulations on PhET Colorado's website to analyze energy conservation. Ultimately, students will be using a video and taking direct measurements to analyze energy conservation. Their final analysis on the video will provide a topic for further discussion on energy lost to friction.
In this lab activity, students are given a curved ramp and a sphere which is rolled down the ramp until it leaves the edge of the lab table horizontally and then are asked to predict where the sphere will land by making measurements and completing calculations.
Students will demonstrate that work equals force times distance and investigate the connection between work and potential energy, kinetic energy, and heat.