Investigate collisions on an air hockey table. Set up your own experiments: vary the number of discs, masses and initial conditions. Is momentum conserved? Is kinetic energy conserved? Vary the elasticity and see what happens.

This demonstration shows that similar-appearing lights can be distinctly different, suggesting that the light emitted is generated in different ways. It requires some advance preparation/setup by the teacher and three recommended sources of orange light, that can be purchased at a hardware or department store. Includes extensions and additional background information on light generation in a section on underlying principles. 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.

This is an activity about the electromagnetic spectrum and how light is split into its component frequencies or colors. Using a diffraction grating, learners will observe four different light sources and sketch their spectra. This activity requires access to a sodium vapor or mercury vapor light and two neon signs of differing color, as well as diffraction grating material. This is Astronomy Activity 2 in the Space Update collection of activities.

The ComPADRE Digital Library is a network of free online resource collections supporting faculty, students, and teachers in Physics and Astronomy Education. Each collection contains materials designed for a specific community.

Select teaching resources to start exploring. Also select resources from the top menu to find more options - including for students.

This is an activity about electromagnetism. Learners will set up a simple circuit using a battery, wire, and knife switch, and then use a compass to map the magnetic field lines surrounding the wire. Next, they will add a coil of wire to the simple circuit and map the magnetic fields again. This is the second lesson in the second session of the Exploring Magnetism teachers guide.

The Comprehensive Demonstration of Learning (CDL) is a full semester project
where the students showcase their learning over the term in the form of a Google
site or blog. At the beginning of the CDL project, the criteria are co-created by the
students and myself. Students then need to demonstrate how they achieved or met
the outcomes in the course. Students’ then check in periodically over the course of
the term to discuss how the CDL process is going and I provide feedback on the
submissions to their CDL’s.

For a semester-length course, all seven chapters can be covered. For a shorter course, the book is designed so that chapters 1, 2, and 5 are the only ones that are required for continuity; any of the others can be included or omitted at the instructor’s discretion, with the only constraint being that chapter 6 requires chapter 4.

Experiment with conductivity in metals, plastics and photoconductors. See why metals conduct and plastics don't, and why some materials conduct only when you shine a flashlight on them.

In this lesson, students will explain CRaTER's purpose and how it works. They will also design (using paper and pencil) a cosmic ray detector to answer their own questions. CRaTER's purpose is to identify safe landing sites for future human missions to the moon; discover potential resources on the Moon; and characterize the radiation environment of the Moon. The lesson includes background information for the teacher, questions, and information about student preconceptions. This is lesson 4 of 4 from "The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation."

This 10-minute video lesson provides a basic introduction to light and electromagnetic radiation. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 68 of 85]

This 12-minute video lesson clarifies the effect of axial precession on the calendar and the date of perihelion and aphelion. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 73 of 85]

In our first episode of Crash Course Engineering, Shini explains what engineering is, and gives a brief overview of its four main branches (civil, mechanical, electrical, and chemical) as well as a look at some of the other fields of engineering.

Students will explore Newton's laws of motion through a variety of activities, including an investigation that involves collisions.

Students will use Sphero 2.0 to impart a collision to study force, motion, and momentum in physical systems.

This lesson examines the different roles scientists play in discoveries. Students will research various satellites and their uses. In addition, they will explore the different careers associated with the development of satellites, as well as, the technology used to communicate the scientific discoveries from those satellites. This is one of several activities available in the Swift: Eyes through Time collection on the Teachers' Domain website.

Students perform DNA forensics using food coloring to enhance their understanding of DNA fingerprinting, restriction enzymes, genotyping and DNA gel electrophoresis. They place small drops of different food coloring ("water-based paint") on strips of filter paper and then place one paper strip end in water. As water travels along the paper strips, students observe the pigments that compose the paint decompose into their color components. This is an example of the chromatography concept applied to DNA forensics, with the pigments in the paint that define the color being analogous to DNA fragments of different lengths.

This lesson incorporates sea surface data collected by NASA satellites. Data for three surface characteristics- height, temperature and speed- are used for several activities. Students examine the differences in speed of currents relative to distance from the Equator. Sea surface data anomalies are charted and further analyzed. In addition, surface current data is presented to examine patterns related to El Ni̱o. Note that this is lesson three of five on the Ocean Motion website. Each lesson investigates ocean surface circulation using satellite and model data and can be done independently. See Related URL's for links to the Ocean Motion Website that provide science background information, data resources, teacher material, student guides and a lesson matrix.

Simulate the original experiment that proved that electrons can behave as waves. Watch electrons diffract off a crystal of atoms, interfering with themselves to create peaks and troughs of probability.

This feature article from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observatory discusses the use of satellite imagery to evaluate desertification which is occurring in the Sahel, a region of central African savannah that forms the boundary between the Sahara Desert to the north and the wetter, more fertile regions to the south. Topics include the use of Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) data, obtained from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) meteorological satellites, to develop a vegetation index, and exactly how the term 'desertification' should be defined in order to distinguish temporarily degraded land from that which has permanently lost productivity.

This is a game which focuses on the challenge of moving a "rubble pile" asteroid. Players have the option of using bombs, impactors, or "pusher" ships. It is a simpler version of Rubble! and part of the Killer Asteroids Web Site. The site also features a background overview of the differences between asteroids and comets, information on different types of asteroids (rubble piles vs monoliths), and a discussion of how at risk Earth really is to an asteroid or comet impact.