Students learn about the concept of pushing, as well as the relationship between force and mass. Students practice measurement skills using pan scales and rulers to make predictions about mass and distance. A LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robot is used to test their hypotheses. By the end of the activity, students have a better understanding of robotics, mass and friction and the concept of predicting.

Students learn how simple machines, including wedges, were used in building both ancient pyramids and present-day skyscrapers. In a hands-on activity, students test a variety of wedges on different materials (wax, soap, clay, foam). Students gain an understanding of how simple machines are used in engineering applications to make our lives and work easier.

Explore forces, energy and work as you push household objects up and down a ramp. Lower and raise the ramp to see how the angle of inclination affects the parallel forces acting on the file cabinet. Graphs show forces, energy and work.

Explore forces and motion as you push household objects up and down a ramp. Lower and raise the ramp to see how the angle of inclination affects the parallel forces. Graphs show forces, energy and work.

Building upon their understanding of forces and Newton's laws of motion, students learn about the force of friction, specifically with respect to cars. They explore the friction between tires and the road to learn how it affects the movement of cars while driving. In an associated literacy activity, students explore the theme of conflict in literature, and the difference between internal and external conflict, and various types of conflicts. Stories are used to discuss methods of managing and resolving conflict and interpersonal friction.

Students groups act as NASA/GM engineers challenged to design, build and test robotic hands, which are tactile feedback systems made from cloth gloves and force sensor circuits. Student groups construct force sensor circuits using electric components and FlexiForce sensors to which resistance changes based on the applied force. They conduct experiments to find the mathematical relationship between the force applied to the sensor and the output voltages of the circuit. They take several measurements force vs. resistance, force vs. voltage and use the data to find the best fit curve models for the sensor. Different weights applied to the sensor are used as a scalable force. Students use traditional methods and current technology (calculators) to plot the collected data and define the curve equations. Students test their gloves and use a line of best fit to determine the minimum force required to crack an egg held between the index finger and thumb. A PowerPoint(TM) file and many student handouts are included.

One of the exciting challenges for engineers is the idea of exploration. This lesson looks more closely at Spaceman Rohan, Spacewoman Tess, their daughter Maya, and their challenges with getting to space, setting up satellites, and exploring uncharted waters via a canoe. This lesson reinforces rockets as a vehicle that helps us explore outside the Earth's atmosphere (i.e., to move without air) by using the principles of Newton's third law of motion. Also, the ideas of thrust, control and weight all principles that engineers deal with when building a rocket are introduced.

Students learn how and why engineers design satellites to benefit life on Earth, as well as explore motion, rockets and rocket motion. Through six lessons and 10 associated hands-on activities, students discover that the motion of all objects everything from the flight of a rocket to the movement of a canoe is governed by Newton's three laws of motion. This unit introduces students to the challenges of getting into space for the purpose of exploration. The ideas of thrust, weight and control are explored, helping students to fully understand what goes into the design of rockets and the value of understanding these scientific concepts. After learning how and why the experts make specific engineering choices, students also learn about the iterative engineering design process as they design and construct their own model rockets. Then students explore triangulation, a concept that is fundamental to the navigation of satellites and global positioning systems designed by engineers; by investigating these technologies, they learn how people can determine their positions and the locations of others.

A simple experimental apparatus made of rubber band and books is used by student teams challenged with demonstrating the concepts of friction, force, and inertia. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

Students develop an understanding of the concepts of "push" and "pull" as they "save" stuffed animals from danger using LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots. After learning more about the concepts through a robot demonstration, students explore the concepts themselves in the context of saving stuffed animala from the table edges. They choose to either push or pull the animal to safety, depending on the orientation of the robot and toy. They see the consequences of their choices, learning the importance of understanding these force concepts and the differences between them.

Attached is a powerpoint on forces and motion. It includes gravity, mass and weight.

Students use data acquisition equipment to learn about force and displacement in regard to simple and complex machines. In the engineering world, materials and systems are tested by applying forces and measuring the resulting displacements. The relationship between the force applied on a material, and its resulting displacement, is a distinct property of the material, which is measured in order to evaluate the material for correct use in structures and machines.

Welcome to Secondary Science Implementation Support. This site from the Ministry of Education in SK has a huge collection of excellent supports for High School Science.

There are currently over 500 supports available.

Select "Support Materials" from the menu on the left.

This site houses materials developed to support teachers' implementation of secondary science courses. The Support Materials section contains materials that have been developed and refined by each of the course-specific Secondary Implementation Support teams. Teachers are free to use these materials as they wish.
Any teacher may post questions in the Discussion Board and/or share their materials. Note that copyright must be respected in all cases.

Support materials for Science 10, Health Science 20, Environmental Science 20, Physical Science 20, Chemistry 30, Physics 30, Biology 30, Earth Science 30, Computer Science 20 and Computer Science 30 have been posted.

You must be logged into Blackboard to see the supports.

This resource can help you access Blackboard as a SK Teacher if you are having difficulty: https://s3.amazonaws.com/sws.oercommons.org/media/editor/30/Accessing_Blackboard.pdf (Copy and paste this url into a browser).

Please note: You will need to click "Open this in a new window" to view the resource when the message appears.

Students investigate the critical nature of foundations as they learn differences between shallow and deep foundations, including the concepts of bearing pressure and settlement. Using models representing a shallow foundation and a deep pile foundation, they test, see and feel the effects in a cardboard box test bed composed of layers of pebbles, soil and sand. They also make bearing pressure calculations and recommendations for which type of foundations to use in various engineering scenarios.

Students apply the mechanical advantages and problem-solving capabilities of six types of simple machines (wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, pulley) as they discuss modern structures in the spirit of the engineers and builders of the great pyramids. While learning the steps of the engineering design process, students practice teamwork, creativity and problem solving.

Students examine collisions between two skateboards with different masses to learn about conservation of momentum in collisions.

Skyscrapers are one of the most glorified products of Civil Engineering and contain an interesting history of progress and development. In this lesson, the students will learn about the history of the world's tallest free standing structures and the basic design principles behind their success. Students will build their own newspaper skyscrapers with limited materials and time, trying to achieve a maximum height and the ability to withstand a "hurricane wind" force. Discussion will concentrate on materials, forces that a skyscraper needs to withstand, and basic structural design.

Students explore building a pyramid, learning about the simple machine called an inclined plane. They also learn about another simple machine, the screw, and how it is used as a lifting or fastening device. During a hands-on activity, students see how the angle of inclination and pull force can make it easier (or harder) to pull an object up an inclined plane.

In the culminating activity of the unit, students explore and apply their knowledge of forces, friction, acceleration and gravity in a two-part experiment. First, student groups measure the average acceleration of a textbook pulled along a table by varying weights (with optional extensions, such as with the addition of a pulley or an inclined plane). Then, with a simple modification to the same experimental setup, teams test different surfaces for the effects of friction, graphing and analyzing their results. Students also consider the real-world applications for high- and low-friction surfaces for different situations and purposes, seeing how forces play a role in engineering design and material choices.

Working as if they were engineers, students design and construct model solar sails made of aluminum foil to move cardboard tube satellites through “space” on a string. Working in teams, they follow the engineering design thinking steps—empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test, redesign—to design and test small-scale solar sails for satellites and space probes. During the process, learn about Newton’s laws of motion and the transfer of energy from wave energy to mechanical energy. A student activity worksheet is provided.