Physics Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 28)

Science With Your Smartphone : Decibel Meter

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Did you know that you can use your phone as a scientific instrument to explore the world around you? Your phone contains tons of built-in electronic sensors that can measure things like sound, light, motion, and more! In this project you’ll use your phone’s microphone to examine the loudness of different sounds in your environment. How quiet is a library? How loud is that truck roaring by? Try this activity to find out! Read more

Singing Science: How High and Low Can Your Voice Go?

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Do you enjoy getting together with family and friends to sing familiar holiday songs? It can be fun to do this time of year, gathered around a piano with a warm fireplace nearby, or bundled up together outside. Have you ever wondered what the highest note is that you can sing? How about the lowest? Or what about other people – do you think males and females can reach the same notes? How about children and adults? In this “note”-worth science activity, you’ll get to… Read more

Skipping Science: An Experiment in Jump Rope Lengths

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Have you ever wondered how you could do jump rope faster? The U.S. jump-rope record for the greatest number of jumps in one minute is 367! That's more than six jumps a second! How close do you think you can get to that number? What are some of the factors that will help you jump faster? One is the length of the jump rope! Read more

Slip Sliding Away: Experimenting with Friction

STEM Activity

Have you ever driven up a mountain, seen a sign reading "Hazard! Icy Roads Ahead," and wondered why ice makes roads dangerous to drive on? The answer has to do with friction—specifically, the lack of it. Specifically, in the case of driving a car down the road, the friction that allows the car to move occurs between the tires and the road. This friction normally allows the car to "grip" the road—keeping the tires in contact with the relatively rough road… Read more

Slippery Science: Explore Friction by Launching Stuff

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Have you ever tried to get a running start and slide across a smooth, wooden floor while wearing socks? What happens if you try the same thing on a carpeted floor, or while wearing shoes? The amount of friction between your feet and the floor surface determines how well you can slide. Some combinations of surfaces, like socks on a wooden floor, produce very little friction. Other combinations, like rubber soles on a wooden floor, produce much more friction. In this project you'll do a much… Read more

Slippery Slopes and the Angle of Repose

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Have you ever seen an avalanche or landslide roll down a hill? Why is it that at one moment, everything seems fine, then suddenly the mountain begins to slump? It has something to do with how the earth or snow is piled up on the mountain. Generally, granular materials such as snow or earth pile up relatively well. However, if the slope angle gets too steep, the materials will start to slide down the slope. This critical slope angle, also called the angle of repose, is different for different… Read more

Spare-Change Circus: Walking Coins on a (Vertical!) 'High Wire'

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Here is a project that is almost like a magic trick: with a strong magnet and a simple apparatus you can build yourself, you can make a coin "walk" up and down a wire coat hanger! This project is an interesting way to learn about the distance over which magnetic forces act on magnetic materials. Read more

Stick With It – Put Your Duct Tape To The Test!

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You may have heard of the space shuttle Apollo 13, or seen the movie about the amazing survival of the ship’s crew after an explosion aboard the ship. What you may not know, is that duct tape helped save the lives of the Apollo 13 crew! NASA had to figure out a way to keep the 3 crew members alive in a tiny lunar module that was only meant to hold 2 people for 36 hours. They instructed the crew to build life-saving air filters using cardboard, plastic bags, space suit parts and –… Read more

Suck it Up – with Cooling Air!

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You might know that many objects expand, or get bigger, when they get hot, and shrink when they cool down. For example, this is true for metals, wood, and concrete. But did you know that gases such as air can do the same? It is just difficult to see when it happens. This activity will let you “see” air contract using water! Read more

Swing Low: Investigate the Motion of a Pendulum

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Did you know that playground swings can provide a good lesson in physics—as well as lots of fun? The back-and-forth motion of a swing is an example of a pendulum. We see pendulums in other areas of our lives as well, such as in grandfather (also known as longcase) clocks. But pendulums can do more than provide fun at recess and help tell the time—among other scientific applications, they can show that the earth is huge! This is because the swinging motion of a pendulum is due to… Read more

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