This activity promotes the learning of basic physics principle by viewing cartoon videos where these principles are bent of broken.

Introduction to Quantum Physics concepts with an activity demonstrating Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, wave/particle duality, Planck's Constant, de Broglie wavelength, and how Newton's Laws go right out the window on a quantum level.

Students explore the physics utilized by engineers in designing today's roller coasters, including potential and kinetic energy, friction, and gravity. First, students learn that all true roller coasters are completely driven by the force of gravity and that the conversion between potential and kinetic energy is essential to all roller coasters. Second, they also consider the role of friction in slowing down cars in roller coasters. Finally, they examine the acceleration of roller coaster cars as they travel around the track. During the associated activity, the students design, build, and analyze a roller coaster for marbles out of foam tubing.

This activity is a method of tying a multitude of physical (and chemical) properties together showing what makes a substance unique and identifiable. This activity is a great way to lead the students into developing their procedures, their further investigations, and yet giving them the feeling of responsibility and ownership for their learning.

This activity is an investigation of free fall and projectile motion through a track and field situation.

This task requires students to answer questions about the structure of an expression.

This page is part of NASA's Earth Observatory website. It features text and a scientific illustration to describe how the ocean interacts with the atmosphere, physically exchanging heat, water, and momentum. It also includes links to related data sets, other ocean fact sheets, and relevant satellite missions.

This activity is a hands on investigation in which students will construct, and launch a trebuchet.

Students are introduced to the physics concepts of air resistance and launch angle as they apply to catapults. This includes the basic concepts of position, velocity and acceleration and their relationships to one another. They use algebra to solve for one variable given two variables.

If you build it carefully, this crazy contraption demonstrates one of the basic laws of nature.

This activity is a classroom lab where students will conduct a controlled activity resulting in the growth of salt crystals, showing a dramatic physical change.

This activity uses cooperative learning to identify minerals in hand sample based on physical properties. The "Jigsaw" pedagogy upon which this lab is based provides the environment for four succeeding labs in which the students learn the megascopic characteristic properties, chemical composition, and a geologic significance for each of approximately 100 minerals.

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From drinking fountains at playgrounds, water systems in homes, and working bathrooms at schools to hydraulic bridges and levee systems, fluid mechanics are an essential part of daily life. Fluid mechanics, the study of how forces are applied to fluids, is outlined in this unit as a sequence of two lessons and three corresponding activities. The first lesson provides a basic introduction to Pascal's law, Archimedes' principle and Bernoulli's principle and presents fundamental definitions, equations and problems to solve with students, as well as engineering applications. The second lesson provides a basic introduction to above-ground storage tanks, their pervasive use in the Houston Ship Channel, and different types of storage tank failure in major storms and hurricanes. The unit concludes with students applying what they have learned to determine the stability of individual above-ground storage tanks given specific storm conditions so they can analyze their stability in changing storm conditions, followed by a project to design their own storage tanks to address the issues of uplift, displacement and buckling in storm conditions.

In this activity, students will learn about Newton's 2nd Law of Motion. They will learn that the force required to move a book is proportional to the weight of the book. Engineers use this relationship to determine how much force they need to move an airplane.

Students learn about video motion capture technology, becoming familiar with concepts such as vector components, magnitudes and directions, position, velocity, and acceleration. They use a (free) classroom data collection and processing tool—the ARK Mirror—to visualize and record 3-D motion. The Augmented Reality Kinematics (ARK) Mirror software collects data via a motion detector. Using an Orbbec Astra Pro 3D camera or Microsoft Kinect (see note below), students can visualize and record a robust set of data and interpret them using statistical and graphical methods. This lesson introduces students to just one possible application of the ARK Mirror software—in the context of a high school physics class. Note: The ARK Mirror is ported to operate on an Orbbec platform. It may also be used with a Microsoft Kinect, although that Microsoft hardware has been discontinued. Refer to the Using ARK Mirror and Microsoft Kinect attachment for how to use the ARK MIrror software with Microsoft Kinect.

Students review and score a concept map for physical weathering using a grading rubric. They are then asked to reorganize or redraw the diagram to a form that you believe is appropriate to earn the highest score on the rubric.

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This optional field trip is designed to augment the in-class learning experience in introductory physical geology by providing students the opportunity to see firsthand local geological features and understand their context in the long-term tectonic evolution of the western United States. The university is conveniently located in a portion of the American west where a plethora of geological features are readily accessible over a total field trip duration of 6 hours. Over a total of 6 field stops, students are presented with an opportunity to observe features relevant to topics learned in class involving rock types, volcanic features (lava flows and ash fall deposits), faults and folds, mass wasting features, catastrophic flood deposits (Bonneville and Missoula floods), and loess deposits.

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In this classroom guided inquiry lesson, students will complete a serious of tests using five different mystery powders. Student will develop hypotheses, make observations, and draw conclusions about what each powder is and the physical and chemical reactions that occur when heat, water, iodine, and vinegar are added to each substance.

Students will use science skills of observing, describing and measuring in the context of Making Ice Cream. Students will understand the concept that physical properties can change.

The purpose of the activity is to get students out of the traditional classroom setting and to spend several hours navigating their way between various localities on campus where different rock types are used for a variety of purposes. Students are encouraged to bring along their introductory geology laboratory manuals to remind them of the techniques used to correctly identify rock types. The activity is designed to promote enjoyment of the task (clues need to be "solved" to figure out the location of the next outcrop in the sequence) and to encourage students to follow the task through to completion. As a result, students invariably spend many hours engaged in the activity despite the fact that it is completely optional.

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The concept and name of "lecture tutorials" are not original but come from Lecture Tutorials for Introductory Geoscience (2012) by Kortz and Smay. These authors define a lecture tutorial as "a short worksheet that students complete in class, making the lecture more interactive."
Tutorials were added to a specific course to incorporate interactivity, hold student attention throughout a class session, improve student understanding, and increase attendance. The results are presented in more detail in the Instructors Notes, but adding tutorials to lectures has generally accomplished the goals listed above. The number of lectures with tutorials has increased since the first term of use.
This activity contains 26 tutorials, one for each lecture in the course. However, not every tutorial is used in every semester; they are rotated from year to year. Some tutorials are used but not collected for grading.
The accompanying PowerPoint slides may be incorporated into the lectures. These slides are written for the clicker option but can also be used with physical handouts after some modification.

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The activity consists of a story and two experiments demonstrating how push and pull can make objects move.

This activity is an investigation where students use tools to determine how the length of a sound source affects its pitch.

Read this blog post for background information about the relationship between the physical environment and life processes and systems in Fast Plants. Growing healthy Fast Plants is easy if you understand how the environment can affect growth and development. Three broad categories of environmental factors influence how an individual plant matures through its life cycle:  1) the physical environment, 2) the chemical environment, 3) the biological environment. Based on this information about standard conditions for optimal Fast Plants growth, one could easily design a wide variety of controlled experiments. Questions naturally arise while reading about optimal conditions that could be investigated by designing an experiment to how varying one condition affects growth, development and/or reproduction. This blog post is part of a series explaining how key environmental factors "physical, chemical, and biological" can impact the growth of Wisconsin Fast Plants.

This activity is a classroom lab where students observe and classify chemical and physical changes using the five characteristics of a chemical change, interpret their findings, and use evidence to support their findings.

Students gain an intuitive understanding of strain and deformation through a series of physical model activities using everyday materials such as bungee cords, rubber bands, fabric, index cards, silly putty, sand, and more. Can be run to fill an entire lab session exploring multiple materials or as a shorter exercise using just rubber bands and stretchy fabric. An addendum provides mathematical content (vectors, matrices, multidimensional strain) that can be used by instructors interested in building student quantitative skills.

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Not online recommended: Exercise uses variety of physical models that would be hard to duplicate at home. The first part of the "basic" version of the exercise (as opposed to "extended") does use rubber bands and could potentially be done remotely.

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To prepare for the activity, students do background reading on rheology from structural geology textbook. In the lab, students are provided with the required analogue model materials (rubber sheets attached to aluminum grips, silicon goo, and straw). Their task is to apply specific type of deformations on the materials, make measurements, and calculate properties of the deformation.

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The class is divided into small groups of three or four students. Each group is given a globe approximately 1 foot in diameter and asked to formulate a hypothesis for the structure and/or composition of the interior of the globe without looking inside it. Students are provided with several tools with which to analyze the globe, including acoustic sensors (their ears), magnets, paperclips (susceptible to magnetism), strip thermometers, small light bulbs with 9 volt batteries and wires.

Each globe has been designed by the instructor to highlight one or more aspects of geophysics. In the Acoustic Globe, various objects are added to the globe that will generate vibrations when the globe is shaken. These may include pennies, nuts, bolts, glass marbles, or ball bearings. The vibrations generated are analogous to seismic waves generated by a sledge hammer, a shot gun blast, or an earthquake. The seismic waves are recorded at the land surface by a seismometer, or in this case the students' ear drums, and an interpretation is generated. Advanced globes can contain cardboard dividers with small holes that allow the passage of all or some of the internal objects. Students can then interpret the internal structure of the globe.

In the Magnetic Globe, magnets or strips of iron are taped to the inside surface of the globe. The students will use magnets and paperclips to identify changes in the magnetic field of the globe caused by the heterogeneous composition of the surface of the globe, which is analogous to a magnetic survey. This globe could be combined with the Acoustic Globe if some of the objects inside the globe contain iron and some do not.

To create a Thermal Globe, the instructor can fix a gel cool pack to the inside wall of the globe and place the globe in a freezer until an hour before class. Students will used the strip thermometer to map regions of different temperature along the surface of the globe which may be used to infer convective processes occurring within the globe. This globe could easily be combined with either of the previous globes.

Finally, a Conductive Globe is designed by stringing the interior of the globe with wires of different compositions (copper, soldering wire, aluminum foil). The ends of each wire are connected iron nails which extend through the globe and are exposed on the globe surface. When the student completes the circuit using the wire, the 9 volt battery and the small light bulb, the light bulb will turn on. The intensity of the light will be different for each different type of conducting material. Through experimentation, the students can determine regions of homogeneous composition on the surface of the globe similar to an electrical conductivity or resistivity survey.

At the end of the exercise, each team will give an oral presentation to the class that describes their globe. Students should describe:
the methods used to investigate the globe,
the findings of their investigation; and
their interpretation of the interior of the globe.
Students should also discuss one way the same methodology could be used to explore the interior of the Earth.
This activity has minimal/no quantitative component.

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This project is modeled after scientific meetings where scientists exchange information via poster presentations. The challenge is to present varied and interesting data accurately, concisely, and attractively in a limited format. For the project, each student prepares a poster showing an analysis of geological data using a spreadsheet. Topics must be approved by the instructor. Students find a data set online, graph some aspect of the data, and summarize the results on a standard poster board (56 x 71 cm or 22 x 28 in). No oral presentation is involved. Posters are graded on their geological content, use of a spreadsheet, use of graphics, and organization.
Every poster must incorporate the following elements: an informative title; a table with at least 50 data points, formatted and printed using Microsoft Excel; a graph of the data, created using Microsoft Excel; a 1-page summary of the overall project; at least one picture; at least one map; and three or more references.
There are intermediate deadlines during the semester for parts of the poster: the topic and data source; the table and graph; the summary; and the references cited. The poster itself is due at the scheduled final exam time, a three-hour period used as the Poster Review Session where students display their posters for the rest of the class to read.
During the Poster Review Session, students read five posters of their choice and answer a series of questions about each one, including a subjective evaluation of Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor. Reviews affect the grade of the student filling them out but do not affect the grades assigned to the posters themselves; all posters are graded by the instructor.

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Students download the software needed to create Arduino programs and make sure their Arduino microcontrollers work correctly. Then, they connect an LED to the Arduino and type up and upload programs to the Arduino board to 1) make the LED blink on and off and 2) make the LED fade (brighten and then dim). Throughout, students reflect on what they've accomplished by answering questions and modifying the original programs and circuits in order to achieve new outcomes. A design challenge gives students a chance to demonstrate their understanding of actuators and Arduinos; they design a functioning system using an Arduino, at least three actuators and either a buzzer or toy motor. For their designs, students sketch, create and turn in a user's manual for the system (text description, commented program, detailed hardware diagram). Numerous worksheets and handouts are provided.

This activity is a guided inquiry where students will find their own lichen and classify it into one of three categories. They will collect, analyze, and present their finding to the class.

Teaching students about viscosity is easy, effective and fun. It is a topic that is conducive to a range of teaching and learning styles, and allows for the integration of theory, experiments, and calculations. During the course of this exercise, students are required to make predictions about the outcomes of experiments, quantitatively document the results of their experiments, calculate viscosities using the Jeffreys equation (Jeffreys 1925; Nichols 1939; Cas and Wright 1987), and extrapolate the concepts learned from their laboratory results to natural conditions appropriate for silicate magmas and lavas. Students are also introduced to Ken Wohletz's freeware program MAGMA (no longer available), which allows them to determine viscosities for magma and lava compositions, and are required to do some simple graphical analysis of the effects of composition, dissolved H2O, and % solids on magma and lava viscosity using the MAGMA calculations. Viscosity is important for students at all levels of earth science to understand because it is a critical control on morphologies of volcanoes, velocities of lava flows, eruptive styles (effusive versus explosive), and ascent velocities of magmas within the earth.

The objectives of the lab are for students to:

learn about the rheological property called viscosity and some of the factors that affect it;
think about and discuss ways in which viscosity controls styles of eruptions and relates to volcanic hazards; and
practice quantitative skills.

I have used the viscosity experiments as a classroom demonstration in introductory geology courses, as one part of a more extensive lab on volcanoes in introductory geology courses, and as a more intensive viscosity lab for introductory petrology courses. Generally the students do this exercise after they have had at least one introductory lecture on volcanoes, so that they are familiar with several basic terms, including viscosity, lava, magma, as well as some basic igneous rock terms (basalt, andesite, rhyolite). Over the fives years that I have been using the experiments, students at all levels have commented that the experiments are some of the most memorable, interesting and fun parts of my courses. I would welcome any direct student or instructor feedback for improvements or additions to the exercises (edwardsb AT dickinson.edu).

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The Central American volcanic arc displays large arc-parallel variations in chemical composition that yield important clues concerning the complex origin of magmas in subduction zones. In this exercise, students use data compiled for the NSF MARGINS program to compare heights, volumes, and whole-rock compositions of 39 Quaternary volcanic centers along the Central American arc, together with crustal thicknesses, to assess the possible sources of the magmas and the petrologic processes that have modified them prior to eruption.

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The Central American volcanic arc displays large arc-parallel variations in chemical composition that yield important clues concerning the complex origin of magmas in subduction zones. In this exercise, students use data compiled for the NSF MARGINS program to compare heights, volumes, and whole-rock compositions of 41 Quaternary volcanic centers along the Central American arc, together with crustal thicknesses, to assess the possible sources of the magmas and the petrologic processes that have modified them prior to eruption.

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In this lab, students map extensional crack arrays, at full-scale, using long pieces of inexpensive craft paper and markers. I had previously tried this lab having students draw at a reduced-scale in their field notebooks; they seemed to focus on dealing with the scale factor, rather than recognizing patterns. Mapping at full scale obviates this problem. Students then highlight or color segments of their maps to emphasize the patterns they recognize; e.g., zones of right-stepping cracks; zones of left-stepping cracks; relay ramp crack connections, strike-slip fault connections, etc. Students work in groups of two. In addition to the maps, I ask them to draw one cross-section and to think about and talk about the underlying kinematics and dynamics. We then lay out all of the maps on the ground, then walk through and discuss them group-by-group. Each group talks the class through the descriptive, kinematic, and dynamic (sometimes speculative) aspects of their "study area".

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In this activity, student teams learn about research design and design a controlled experiment exploring the relationship between a hypothetical planet, an energy source, and distance. They analyze the data and derive an equation to describe the observations. Includes student data sheets, a teacher's guide, and a tutorial on how to use the spreadsheet program Excel. This is Activity A in module 3, titled "Using Mathematic Models to Investigate Planetary Habitability," of the resource, Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate? The course aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales.

This task is an example of applying geometric methods to solve design problems and satisfy physical constraints. This task models a satellite orbiting the earth in communication with two control stations located miles apart on earthsŐ surface.

This high level task is an example of applying geometric methods to solve design problems and satisfy physical constraints. This task is accessible to all students. In this task, a typographic grid system serves as the background for a standard paper clip.

Students gain experience using a spreadsheet and working with others to decide how to conduct their model 'experiments' with the NASA GEEBITT (Global Equilibrium Energy Balance Interactive Tinker Toy). This activity helps students become more familiar with the physical processes that made Earth's early climate so different from that of today. Students also acquire first-hand experience with a limitation in modeling, specifically, parameterization of critical processes.

In this activity, students use a piano keyboard to model spectral lines as musical chords. It is designed to aid student understanding of spectral analysis, what the patterns mean, how elements are involved, and how this relates to stars. Traditionally, spectral images are two dimensional, and related to text. This auditory activity allows students to "hear" differences in patterns of various elements (e.g., nickel or helium). This activity is part of the "What is Your Cosmic Connection to the Elements" information and activity booklet. The booklet includes photos, teachers notes and instructions, and a link to a color image pdf of visible light spectra that can be printed and used to do the activity. This activity requires a piano keyboard, color printout or construction paper and/or toothpicks (to mark spectral lines of elements).