High School, Physics Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 4)

2026 Ball Run Challenge for Grades 9-12

Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th

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Add a twist to a classic activity with this fun lesson plan. Your students will design and build a ball run for a ping pong ball using nothing but paper and tape. Their goal is to make the slowest ball run possible. How long can they make it take for the ball to go through their ball run? An optional variation is available if you would like to give students an extra challenge. The 2026 Engineering Challenge has ended. You can still do this challenge with students informally. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

High School - Science & Engineering Practices

A Simulator for Suborbital Spacecraft

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wished you could fly to space? Space flight is getting more accessible thanks to reusable rockets that make getting to space much cheaper. Civilian astronauts can even buy tickets for a few minutes in space! But exactly how high is "space"? How do engineers predict how high a rocket will go and figure out how to make it land safely? Find out in this project as you explore the physics of suborbital space flight. Read more

Build a Disk Siren

STEM Activity

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If you live in an urban area, you probably hear them almost every day: sirens. Police cars, ambulances, fire trucks—they all can come blaring. Their wailing sounds are piercingly loud to help alert others to clear the road in front of them. But have you ever thought about how this loud noise is generated? Make your own disk siren in this activity and find out for yourself. Read more

Candy Waterfalls: Can Candy Flow Like Water?

STEM Activity

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Have you ever poured sand out of a bucket, or poured cereal out of a box, and noticed it is a lot like pouring water? It is because sand and cereal are granular materials. This means they are made up of solid particles, but they can actually flow like liquids! Candies, like Skittles®, M&M's®, Nerds® candies and many others, are also granular materials. In this science activity, you will investigate how the size and shape of granular materials affect how they flow. And what… Read more

Distance and Constant Acceleration

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever dropped something and wondered how fast it was moving while falling? If it was something fragile, like a cell phone, you might not have been thinking about this at the time — you may have been too busy trying to grab the phone! But you probably wanted to find out just how hard it hit the ground afterwards. We know that gravity forces an object to fall, but how does this affect how quickly something falls and how hard it hits the ground? For example, did the phone move faster… Read more

Distance and Speed of Rolling Objects Measured from Video Recordings

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This project is an experiment in classical physics. You'll be following in Galileo's footsteps, and investigating Newton's laws of motion, but you'll be taking advantage of modern video recording technology to make your measurements. Sure, it's been done before, but if you do it yourself, you can get a firm understanding of these important concepts. Read more

Forces and Motion

Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th

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Students explore how force, mass, and acceleration are related in this hands-on lesson plan. By experimenting with pushing a box across the table while varying force and mass and measuring the box's acceleration with a mobile phone and a sensor app, students discover Newton's second law of motion for themselves. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

HS-PS2-1. Analyze data to support the claim that Newton's second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration.

Frequency-Dependent Sound Absorption

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Want to start a garage band, but Mom or Dad won't let you because it will make too much noise? This is a good project for someone who is interested in acoustics and likes to build things. Who knows, it might help you figure out how to make everyone happy. Read more

Investigating the 'Mpemba Effect': Can Hot Water Freeze Faster than Cold Water?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This physics project seems like it should have an easy answer. Instead, it turns out to be a great illustration of why it is important to base scientific conclusions on the outcome of controlled experiments. Things don't always turn out as we expect! Read more

Measuring the Surface Tension of Water

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Did you know that when you dip your finger in water and pull it out, the water is actually pulling back on you? Here's a way you can measure how much. Read more

High School, Physics Projects, Lessons, Activities (73 results)

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