Physics Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 20)

2022 Paper Ball Run Challenge for Grades 6-8

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

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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? The 2022 competition is over, but you can see what students built and learn about the winners on the 2022 Engineering Challenge summary page. Teachers, note that elementary and high school … Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

2022 Paper 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? The 2022 competition is over, but you can see what students built and learn about the winners on the 2022 Engineering Challenge summary page. Teachers, note that elementary and middle school … Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

High School - Science & Engineering Practices

A Simple Machine to Make Potato Holes

STEM Activity

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If you want a cool project that you can show to your friends, this activity is for you! Take a potato and a straw—maybe a pencil as well—and challenge your friends to drill holes into the potato with the least amount of effort. Chances are, they will not find a method that gets the job done with ease. The best method—the method that requires the least effort from you—will surprise them all! Experiment, investigate and have fun! Can you find a reliable way to get the job… Read more

An Infinite Number of Reflections? Really?

STEM Activity

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Can you imagine a bouncy ball bouncing back and forth between two walls, infinitely? Wouldn’t that be amazing? What if, instead of a ball, light was bouncing between two mirror walls; would it bounce back and forth forever? Imagine each light bounce added one reflection of you in the mirror; would it look like there were an infinite number of “you’s” in there? Can we create an infinite number of reflections? Try this activity and be amazed by the many… Read more

Baking Soda Weight Loss

STEM Activity

Baking soda is not only great for cooking; it is also a useful chemical for science projects. You have probably heard about and maybe even used the baking soda/vinegar reaction to make volcanos erupt, shoot bottle rockets up in the air, or to detect acids and bases. However, there are many more chemical reactions that you can explore with the help of baking soda. One of them is called a decomposition reaction, which makes baking soda lose weight! Want to find out how it works? Then try this… Read more

Balancing Act

STEM Activity

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What makes an object balanced? Look around you—most of the objects in the room are probably balanced and not on the verge of tipping over. If someone hands you an object and asks you to put it down, you probably know, without thinking about it too much, how to place it so it won't fall over. But what's the science behind how an object balances? Why do certain objects only balance on some sides and not others? Try this project to find out! Read more

Balloon Powered Sound! Build Your Own Balloon Amplifier

STEM Activity

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Have you ever watched an old movie, or a cartoon, where a character holds a cone to their ear in order to hear what people are saying? Believe it or not, those cones (known as ear trumpets) were the very first hearing aids and were very popular for a time. Even Ludwig Van Beethoven used one! They helped people hear by acting as a sound amplifier, collecting sound waves and focusing their energy into the ear. In today’s activity you are going to make a different type of sound amplifier… Read more

Be Seen After Dark—What Clothes Keep You Safe?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Did you know that the most likely time to be struck and killed by a car in the United States is at dusk, dawn, or at night? In 2014, 3 out of every 4 pedestrian fatalities happened in these types of poor light conditions. Is there something you could do to decrease the chances you, your friends, and your family members are safer when walking or biking at night? Do you think the types of clothes that you wear could make a difference in how visible you are to drivers? Explore the science of… Read more

Black in the Spotlight

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

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How does light interact with matter? In this fun hands-on lesson, your students explore how different materials transmit, absorb and/or reflect light. They create their own experiments to demonstrate these phenomena and use a phones' built-in light sensor and a sensor app to add quantitative data to their arguments. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations: