Students are confronted with a scenario of a student who is texting and driving in the school parking lot and they are tasked to determine the effect of various parameters to see if a student will collide with a pedestrian. Students must begin by breaking the scenario down into more manageable parts to determine what must be studied about the situation. Through a series of labs and activities, students learn how to model and predict situations with constant velocity and acceleration. Then, coding a spreadsheet, students model the complex situation of a texting driver, reacting, and braking during a potentially hazardous situation to create an evidence-based argument.

This unit is centered on designing a shoe for a customer. Students decide on a particular type of shoe that they want to design and utilize ideas of force, impulse, and friction to meet the needs of a particular customer. Force plates are used study the relationship between force, time, and impulse to allow students to get the mathematical models that allow them to make data informed decisions about their shoe design.

By using the hook of Halley’s comet, dark matter, and dark energy students data mine Newton’s Law of Universal Gravity and build an and evaluate other arguments for the Big Bang.

Science Phenomena: HS Physical Science - Forces and Interactions - Special caution should be taken when sitting down or getting up from a bed of nails. In this video, Steve Spangler used a motor to lift the entire bed of nails up and down safely. Each of the nails is pushing on the participant but since there are so many nails the force is distributed safely between all of the nails. This demonstration could be used in any physics unit discussing forces and pressure.

Investigate simple collisions in 1D and more complex collisions in 2D. Experiment with the number of balls, masses, and initial conditions. Vary the elasticity and see how the total momentum and kinetic energy change during collisions.

Use an air hockey table to investigate simple collisions in 1D and more complex collisions in 2D. Experiment with the number of discs, masses, and initial conditions. Vary the elasticity and see how the total momentum and kinetic energy changes during collisions.

The goal of this lesson is to assist students to relate the forces acting upon particular objects and the “unseen” resolution of those forces. The video begins with a story line involving Adam, who helps his father in the garden by disposing of a garbage bag of leaves—the very act that involves resolution of forces. This lesson includes embedded video clips, animations, diagrams and inquiry-based experiments where students are required to work collaboratively and answer thought-provoking questions. The experiments will involve the study of the resolution of forces on objects placed on varying planes or on platforms of different angles, using materials that are easily found. Finally, students are required to discuss and apply what they have learned to determine whether it is easier to push or to pull a luggage bag with wheels. The lesson will take about 50 minutes to complete.

Explore the forces at work when pulling against a cart, and pushing a refrigerator, crate, or person. Create an applied force and see how it makes objects move. Change friction and see how it affects the motion of objects.

Genius Hour Unit plan created by Adam Barlow, adapted for an engineeirng design class.

This video lesson highlights how science can be learned from daily life experiences. It emphasizes the ways in which simple laws of physics can be understood from personal observations and experiences, and in fact it demonstrates that we use these laws as if they were built into our instincts. The video also introduces Newton's laws of motion. The title, Gravity at Work, comes from a fascinating example of two laborers working at a construction site in Pakistan. In this lesson, Newtonian equations of motion are used to determine the velocities and height achieved by the projectile in a very simple and basic manner.

In this video lesson, 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. Only some preliminary ideas of algebra are used here, and all the concepts presented can be found in any high-school level physics book. In terms of materials required, getting hold of large steel balls may not be easy, but large ball bearings can be procured easily. On the basis of what students have learned in the video, teachers can easily generate a large number of questions that relate to one's daily experiences, or which pose new challenges: for example, in a collision between a heavy and light vehicle, why do those inside the lighter one suffer less injury?

This video lesson explores Newton's Third Law of Motion through examination of several real world examples of this law in action, including that of a donkey cart - a site common in the streets of Pakistan. Students will understand that forces act on objects even if the objects appear to be static and that certain conditions - gravity in particular - affect how two objects interact. The time needed to complete this lesson is approximately 50-60 minutes, and students should be familiar with basic mechanics such as Newton's laws, levers, etc. The materials required are a couple of spring balances, a meter rule, tape, pencil, two desks, and some lab weights (few grams each). The types of in-class activities for between the video breaks include active discussions and participation by students in activities related to the Third Law.

The objective of this lesson is to illustrate how a common everyday experience (such as playing pool) can often provide a learning moment. In the example chosen, we use the game of pool to help explain some key concepts of physics. One of these concepts is the conservation of linear momentum since conservation laws play an extremely important role in many aspects of physics. The idea that a certain property of a system is maintained before and after something happens is quite central to many principles in physics and in the pool example, we concentrate on the conservation of linear momentum. The latter half of the video looks at angular momentum and friction, examining why certain objects roll, as opposed to slide. We do this by looking at how striking a ball with a cue stick at different locations produces different effects.

You are part of a team of engineers who have been given the challenge to design a bridge out of popsicle sticks and glue. Bridges must be able to hold at least 20 pounds. The bridge must span at least 14 inches in length. But, it must be longer than 14 inches because when it has been constructed, it will be placed between two desks so it is at least one foot above the floor for a weight-bearing test. In addition to meeting the structural and weight bearing requirements, the bridge will be judged on its aesthetics as well, so be creative! And, you are encouraged to use the fewest number of popsicles possible to achieve your goal.Budget: $20,000Materials:Popsicle Sticks: $200 eachGlue Sticks: $300 eachString: $50/inchYou will present your results to the class using Keynote and iMovie.

In this unit of study students learn that in the horizontal direction a projectile moves at a constant speed with nothing to cause acceleration. In the vertical direction a projectile accelerates due to the earth’s gravitational field. And combining these two type of motions together you can determine the parabolic arch of a projectile. This unit integrates nine STEM attributes and was developed as part of the South Metro-Salem STEM Partnership's Teacher Leadership Team. Any instructional materials are included within this unit of study.

Blast a car out of a cannon, and challenge yourself to hit a target! Learn about projectile motion by firing various objects. Set parameters such as angle, initial speed, and mass. Explore vector representations, and add air resistance to investigate the factors that influence drag.

The Science Core Guides are created to provide guidance for developing effective instruction aligned to the Utah Science with Engineering Education (SEEd) Standards. They are intended to support teachers, administrators, science specialists, instructional coaches, parents, and other stakeholders as they plan instruction at a local level.

The Core Guides are not intended to be read from cover to cover. They are meant as a resource document to be used, when needed, to support teacher professional learning and curriculum decisions. They are not meant to be used by students, and therefore they may not be written in student-friendly language. The Core Guides are meant to inform teachers and leaders as they make science curriculum decisions.

Flying kites is a popular hobby in Malaysia and very much part of the culture. This lesson looks at kite flying science to introduce basic ideas related to the dynamics of kite flying and can be used as an extension of a physics lesson, especially after the students have learned about forces. It will focus on some of the concepts such as weight, thrust, lift and drag. It is a fun way to introduce the forces acting upon a kite and the scientific principles that allow a kite to fly. The lesson is suitable for students in secondary school. It will help students relate to the effect of forces and gives an introduction to the science of flight. As an added value, the video will also share some information about Malaysian kites which are “tailless”. The Malaysian kite is called “Wau” (pronounced “wow”), and there are many distinctive designs since each Malaysian state has its own official Wau. Malaysia has 14 states. The break activities included are to be conducted in the classroom, and students are to work in small groups on the questions given in the lesson. Students are to carry out two simple experiments to study how air flows on a kite.

Physics SEEd textbook for the 2022-2023 school year. This textbook was developed to align to the Utah Science with Engineering Education (SEEd) Standards. (Added: June 8, 2022)