Physics

A Concept Builder is an interactive learning activity that targets student understanding of a discrete concept.  Each Concept Builder presents learners with carefully crafted questions that target various aspects of the concept. There are typically multiple levels of difficulty or multiple activities. And there is an effort to track learner progress at each level or in each activity.

Using the PhET simulation Alpha Decay students should be able to explain the alpha decay process and what half life means in terms of single particles and larger samples.

Alpha Decay Simulation Link

Topics

• Position
• Velocity
• Acceleration

Description

Learn about position, velocity, and acceleration graphs. Move the little man back and forth with the mouse and plot his motion. Set the position, velocity, or acceleration and let the simulation move the man for you.

Sample Learning Goals

• Interpret, predict, and draw charts (position, velocity and acceleration)for common situations.
• Describe his/her reasoning used to make sense of the charts.

Link to Lesson

Using PhET Simulation States of Matter students will begin to understand differences and similarities between monatomic, diatomic, and polyatomic particles and how changing the pressure or temperature can change the state of matter.

States of Matter Simulation Link

This activity students use Phet Simulation Beta Decay to better understand natural/artificial transmutation and nuclear fission.

Beta Decay Simulation Link

Learning Objectives for this activity include: 1. Draw models that show atoms or ions. 2. Use information about the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons to • Identify an element and its position on the periodic table • Draw models of atoms • Determine if the model is for a atom or an ion. 3. Predict how changing the number protons, neutrons, or electrons will change the element, the charge, and the mass of an atom or ion.

Build an Atom Simulation Link

This lab was designed specifically for students working remotely with guided inquiry. Learning Goals Describe what happens to light when it shines on a medium. Explain light direction changes at the interface between two media and what determines the angle. Describe the effect of varying wavelength on the angle of refraction. Explain why a prism creates a rainbow. Apply Snell’s law to a laser beam incident on the interface between media.

Bending Light Simulation Link

Topics

• Fission
• Chain Reaction
• Atomic Nuclei

Description

Start a chain reaction, or introduce non-radioactive isotopes to prevent one. Control energy production in a nuclear reactor! (Previously part of the Nuclear Physics simulation - now there are separate Alpha Decay and Nuclear Fission sims.)

Sample Learning Goals

• Describe how a neutron can give energy to a nucleus and cause it to fission.
• Explain the byproducts of a fission event.
• Explain how a chain reaction works, and describe the requirements for a sustained chain reaction large enough to make a bomb.
• Explain how a nuclear reactor works and how control rods can be used to slow down the reaction.

Link to Lessons

Hovercrafts use pressurized air to travel smoothly on land or water. They are used for search and rescue efforts and to train astronauts for space missions. Hovercrafts can even transition from land to water, making them an exciting amphibious vehicle. In this activity, students will investigate the relationship between friction and motion by building a simple hovercraft.

Projectile motion is a form of motion where an object moves in a bilaterally symmetrical, parabolic path. The path that the object follows is called its trajectory. Projectile motion only occurs when there is one force applied at the beginning on the trajectory, after which the only interference is from gravity.  In this activity students will dive into this activity with diagrams, formulas and example problems.

Video Link: Hank's Physics of Projectiles

In this activity, students will:

• Work individually or in teams of two to construct and launch paper rockets using a teacher-built PVC-pipe launcher.
• Following the flight of their rocket, calculate the altitude their rocket achieved.
• Based on the flight performance of their rockets, analyze their rocket designs, modify or rebuild them, launch again, and calculate the altitude achieved to determine if their changes affected the performance of the rocket.
• Conclude the activity by writing a post-flight mission report.

STOMP ROCKETS LINK

In this video adapted from QUEST, take a sailing lesson from a San Francisco-based sailing club and learn what it takes to get a sailboat moving in the water. With the help of some of the Bay Area’s top aerospace engineers, the QUEST team learns that sailboats don’t simply rely on wind to push them forward but that there are other invisible forces that are fundamental to the process. In fact, the physical elements that make a sail boat sail are the same ones that make an airplane fly.

Video Link

Activity Link

This lesson provides a remote lab for students working individually at home. Using the game is part of the lab, but if you have studied torque already, you may want to use just the Game lesson. Learning Goals: Students will be able to: Describe the factors that determine whether two objects will balance each other Predict how changing the position of a mass on the balance will affect the motion of the balance Use a balance to the find the masses of unknown objects.

Balance Act Simulation Link

Explore the forces at work when pulling against a cart, and pushing a refrigerator, crate, or person. Create an applied force and see how it makes objects move. Change friction and see how it affects the motion of objects.

Forces and Motion: Basics Simulation Link

Topics

• Collisions
• Momentum
• Velocity

Description

Use an air hockey table to investigate simple collisions in 1D and more complex collisions in 2D. Experiment with the number of discs, masses, and initial conditions. Vary the elasticity and see how the total momentum and kinetic energy changes during collisions.

Sample Learning Goals

• Draw "before-and-after" pictures of collisions.
• Construct momentum vector representations of "before-and-after" collisions.
• Apply law of conservation of momentum to solve problems of collisions.
• Explain why energy is not conserved and varies in some collisions.
• Determine the change in mechanical energy in collisions of varying “elasticity”.
• What does “elasticity” mean?

In this investigation, students will design three different circuit arrangements with a switch capable of lighting a small light bulb. Then, students will draw circuit diagrams for each method that works. After discussing the energy transformations that take place within a circuit, they will use a simulation to explore the effect of multiple lights connected in series and parallel and compare the power output (light intensity) of each configuration. They will use the results of this investigation to determine the best configuration for wiring holiday lights.

Hovercrafts use pressurized air to travel smoothly on land or water. They are used for search and rescue efforts and to train astronauts for space missions. Hovercrafts can even transition from land to water, making them an exciting amphibious vehicle. In this activity, students will investigate the relationship between friction and motion by building a simple hovercraft.

Topics

• Position
• Velocity
• Acceleration

Description

Learn about position, velocity and acceleration vectors. Move the ladybug by setting the position, velocity or acceleration, and see how the vectors change. Choose linear, circular or elliptical motion, and record and playback the motion to analyze the behavior.

Sample Learning Goals

• Draw motion vectors (position, velocity, or acceleration) for an object moving in 2D. Interpret position, velocity, and acceleration vectors for an object moving in 2D.
• Explain how velocity affects position.
• Explain how acceleration affects velocity.
• Explain why the velocity and acceleration vectors behave as they do for linear, circular, and elliptical motion.

This module contains several labs intended for use in an 11th grade Algebra/Trigonometry (Algebra II) course as well as a 12th grade physics course. The labs can be adapted for teaching mathematical applications and graphical analysis in Algebra II, and are scalable to courses in applied statistics or basic algebra. The physics portion can be scaled down to fit in physical science or and equivalent level general science course.

This lab is inquiry based lab for students working remotely: students will be able to make waves in water, sound, and light and see how they are related; discuss wave properties using common vocabulary; explain how changing the frequency and amplitude affects the characteristics of the wave; design an experiment that measure the speed of the wave.

Link to Lesson

Many countries around the world are looking to meet their transportation demands for the future with sustainable and environmentally friendly systems. Magnetic levitation (Maglev) trains are a transportation technology that makes use of electromagnetic suspension (EMS). It relies on high powered electromagnets that produce magnetic fields that force the train above its track and propel it forward without friction. In this activity, studentswill investigate how electricity and magnetism are closely related by building and testing their own electromagnets.

This activity can be done in an Advanced Algebra 1 class, Algebra 2 class, Trig Class, or Physics class. The final goal is to determine the acceleration due to gravity (g) which on earth should be near 9.8 m/s². Topics reviewed: linear functions, power functions, regression, r² values, solving a literal equation, graphing points, modeling with functions, direct variation, and period of a simple pendulum.

Part A: Students will draw and explain a molecular model showing what happens to the skater's molecules at the microscopic level as thermal energy increases, then relate this to what is happening at the macroscopic level of the skater on the ramp.

Part B: Students will describe energy changes in a system over time using both words and graphical representations and explain how each model (bar graph and pie chart) shows the total amount of energy available in the system, and draw each model for a situation with a different amount of initial energy.

Part C: Students will build, explain, and justify (with the sim) equations for total energy, and conservation of energy; draw scaled graphical models of energy for an object at a specific position using your energy equations; and write equations for the total energy of an object at a specific position using scaled graphical models.

Link to Activity

Activities that ask students to look at natural science phenomenon and asking them to find claims, evidence and reasons for their ideas.

TED-Ed is a great option for a flipped classroom or on days you may have a substitute. It is free to create an account and you can use lessons that have already been created or you can use any video off of YouTube and make your own lesson. Easy directions here.

In this activity students will explain the behavior of Fortune Telling Fish using the Scientific Method.  This is a fillable PDF that can be used with your learning management system.

These are a series of activities for students to understand the basic of science with claims, evidence and reasoning.  These can be used for introductory activities or to fill in with different concepts.  The link below will take you to the original blog posts.

Link to Activities