Students investigate different forms of hybrid engines as well as briefly conclude …
Students investigate different forms of hybrid engines as well as briefly conclude a look at the different forms of potential energy, which concludes the Research and Revise step of the legacy cycle. Students are introduced to basic circuit schematics and apply their understanding of the difference between series and parallel circuits to current research on hybrid cars.
Students measure and analyze forces that act on vehicles pulling heavy objects …
Students measure and analyze forces that act on vehicles pulling heavy objects while moving at a constant speed on a frictional surface. They study how the cars interact with their environments through forces, and discover which parameters in the design of the cars and environments could be altered to improve vehicles' pulling power. This LEGO® MINDSTORMS® based activity is geared towards, but not limited to, physics students.
Students do work by lifting a known mass over a period of …
Students do work by lifting a known mass over a period of time. The mass and measured distance and time is used to calculate force, work, energy and power in metric units. The students' power is then compared to horse power and the power required to light 60-watt light bulbs.
Through four lessons and four hands-on associated activities, this unit provides a …
Through four lessons and four hands-on associated activities, this unit provides a way to teach the overarching concept of energy as it relates to both kinetic and potential energy. Within these topics, students are exposed to gravitational potential, spring potential, the Carnot engine, temperature scales and simple magnets. During the module, students apply these scientific concepts to solve the following engineering challenge: "The rising price of gasoline has many effects on the US economy and the environment. You have been contracted by an engineering firm to help design a physical energy storage system for a new hybrid vehicle for Nissan. How would you go about solving this problem? What information would you consider to be important to know? You will create a small prototype of your design idea and make a sales pitch to Nissan at the end of the unit." This module is built around the Legacy Cycle, a format that incorporates findings from educational research on how people best learn. This module is written for a first-year algebra-based physics class, though it could easily be modified for conceptual physics.
Students are introduced to the concept of inertia and its application to …
Students are introduced to the concept of inertia and its application to a world without the force of friction acting on moving objects. When an object is in motion, friction tends to be the force that acts on this object to slow it down and eventually come to a stop. By severely limiting friction through the use of the hover pucks, students learn that the energy of one moving puck is transferred directly to another puck at rest when they collide. Students learn the concept of the conservation of energy via a "collision," and will realize that with friction, energy is converted primarily to heat to slow and stop an object in motion. In the associated activity, "The Puck Stops Here," students will investigate the frictional force of an object when different materials are placed between the object and the ground. This understanding will be used to design a new hockey puck for the National Hockey League.
After watching a 1940 film clip of the "Galloping Gertie" bridge collapse …
After watching a 1940 film clip of the "Galloping Gertie" bridge collapse and a teacher demo with a simple pendulum, student groups discuss and then research the idea of motion that repeats itself specifically the concepts of periodic and harmonic motion. They become aware of where and how these types of motion occur and affect them in everyday applications, both natural (seasons, tides, waves) and engineered (swings, clocks, mechanical systems). They learn the basic properties of this type of motion (period, amplitude, frequency) and how the rearrangement of the simple pendulum equation can be used to solve for gravitational acceleration, pendulum length and gravity. At lesson end, students are ready to conduct the associated activity during which they conduct experiments that utilize swinging Android® devices as pendulums.
This learning experience is where students launch a bottle rocket and compare …
This learning experience is where students launch a bottle rocket and compare how long the bottle was in the air to how much water is placed in the rocket.
This activity is a field investigation where students will gather data on …
This activity is a field investigation where students will gather data on speed, acceleration, gravity, friction, and forces. They will design and conduct an investigation.
This activity needs large linoleum, carpet and tar or asphalt space to …
This activity needs large linoleum, carpet and tar or asphalt space to race student constructed balloon powered cars. Students will learn that speed, velocity, and changes in velocity are the result of the action of forces on objects
This introduction to motion activity has students exploring speed and acceleration using …
This introduction to motion activity has students exploring speed and acceleration using a wheeled office chair and rope to pull a student a given distance and record the time. The results are graphed and different outcomes are predicted when variables are changed.
In this lab activity, students observe and describe motion from different frames …
In this lab activity, students observe and describe motion from different frames of reference and measure the time for the motion. They analyze their findings and develop a working definition of "frame of reference".
Open tube resonators of nearly identical length produce sound waves with frequencies …
Open tube resonators of nearly identical length produce sound waves with frequencies very close together. The difference between the two frequenciesy is the beat note frequency heard when two resonators (musical intruments)are slightly out-of-tune.
In this activity students will learn to calculate the speed and acceleration …
In this activity students will learn to calculate the speed and acceleration of an object using tornado tubes and determine if mass affects the speed of the object.
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