Ice cube spikes form when the exterior of the ice cube freezes first and the expanding water from the inside is forced out through a small hole or weak spot in the exterior. The phenomenon can be used to show the reversible change of freezing in elementary or the intermolecular forces between molecules in high school chemistry.

Play with one or two pendulums and discover how the period of a simple pendulum depends on the length of the string, the mass of the pendulum bob, the strength of gravity, and the amplitude of the swing. Observe the energy in the system in real-time, and vary the amount of friction. Measure the period using the stopwatch or period timer. Use the pendulum to find the value of g on Planet X. Notice the anharmonic behavior at large amplitude.

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.

Science Phenomena: HS Physical Science - Forces and Interactions - Asteroids have the potential to cause catastrophic loss of life on our planet upon impact. In 2013, the Chelyabinsk meteor injured 1500 people when it exploded over Russia. If researchers could identify potential asteroids early enough they could change their orbit to eliminate the threat to Earth. This phenomenon could be used to explore the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system or to gain a better understanding of gravitational forces and fields.

Science Phenomena: HS Physical Science - Waves and Information - The Rubens' tube was invented by German physicist Heinrich Rubens in 1905. It is a tube that is sealed at both ends in includes a flammable gas like propane. A speaker is attached to one end of the tube so sound waves can be transmitted thought the air/gas mixture. Small holes are drilled in the top of the tube and when the air/gas mixture emerges it creates a flame. As sound is played standing waves are created in the flames that change as the frequency of the waves is changed.

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.

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.

Science Phenomena: HS Physical Science - Forces and Interactions (Phys 1.3, 2.3, 2.4) - In this dramatic slow motion video a golf ball collides with a piece of steel showing a large amount of compression. Different golf balls are designed to have varying amounts of compression based on the desired behavior of the ball. In a kindergarten class golf balls or baseballs are great examples of pushes causing changes in the motion of an object. In the upper grades this could be a great example of a collision. Students could investigate the behavior of different golf balls (or clubs) and even do some designing themselves.

Watch different types of molecules form a solid, liquid, or gas. Add or remove heat and watch the phase change. Change the temperature or volume of a container and see a pressure-temperature diagram respond in real time. Relate the interaction potential to the forces between molecules.

Heat, cool and compress atoms and molecules and watch as they change between solid, liquid and gas phases.

Science Phenomena: HS Physical Science - Energy (Phys 2.1, 2.2) - Supercooling occurs when the temperature of a liquid is lowered below the freezing point without forming a solid. In the case of water it needs a seed crystal or a nucleation site to start forming ice. If the water has been filtered through reverse osmosis or chemical demineralization it can be safely cooled below the freezing point. Simply shaking the bottle forms solid ice.

Science Phenomena: HS Physical Science - Waves and Information (Phys 4.3, 4.4) - A trichroic prism splits light into three beams of light with different wavelengths (or colors). These prisms are used in some video cameras to send different colors of light to different color sensors. The prisms are coated with special coatings to filter and transmit different wavelengths of light. This device could be used to investigate interactions of light with various materials to in increasing complexity K-12.

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)

Explore vectors in 1D or 2D, and discover how vectors add together. Specify vectors in Cartesian or polar coordinates, and see the magnitude, angle, and components of each vector. Experiment with vector equations and compare vector sums and differences. This is good for teaching the skill of vector addition which will help in the learning of physics, but does not directly address any of the standards.

Science Phenomena: HS Physical Science - Waves and Information - The Rubens' tube was invented by German physicist Heinrich Rubens in 1905. It is a tube that is sealed at both ends in includes a flammable gas like propane. A speaker is attached to one end of the tube so sound waves can be transmitted thought the air/gas mixture. Small holes are drilled in the top of the tube and when the air/gas mixture emerges it creates a flame. As sound is played standing waves are created in the flames that change as the frequency of the waves is changed.

Make waves with a dripping faucet, audio speaker, or laser! Add a second source to create an interference pattern. Put up a barrier to explore single-slit diffraction and double-slit interference. Experiment with diffraction through elliptical, rectangular, or irregular apertures. (Phys 4.1, 4.2)

Explore the wonderful world of waves! Even observe a string vibrate in slow motion. Wiggle the end of the string and make waves, or adjust the frequency and amplitude of an oscillator.

Make waves with a dripping faucet, audio speaker, or laser! Adjust frequency and amplitude, and observe the effects. Hear the sound produced by the speaker, and discover what determines the color of light. (Phys 4.1, 4.2)