The traditional Run the Football Field physics activity--in which students are timed as they move at different speeds on a football field to investigate displacement and velocity--has been updated for the 21st century. Nowadays, GPS-enabled tablets and smartphones replace the stopwatches and yard markers of the past, allowing students to collect…

Provides descriptions of Physics Olympics events in which physics students collect acceleration data while riding on amusement park rides. (MKR)

Describes a project in which students create wind machines to harness the wind's power and do mechanical work. Demonstrates kinetic and potential energy conversions and makes work and power calculations meaningful. Students conduct hands-on investigations with their machines. (DDR)

Details an investigation concerned with the composition of a grape to illustrate how food and nutrition topics can drive inquiry-oriented science learning. Students design experiments that surround the development of a fictitious new beverage. (DDR)

Presents a lesson involving the measurement of wood beams and the prediction and testing of their stress limits. Provides an example of a problem with multiple solutions, each with different consequences. (KHR)

Describes an inquiry activity in which students explore the variables that influence the amount of time it takes a ball to roll down an inclined plane. Relates features of the activity to recommendations in the NCTM Standards. (MKR)

Describes a simple circuit based on an inexpensive quad operational amplifier that permits a direct-reading temperature instrument to be constructed using silicon diodes. Encourages the use of this equipment in introductory thermal experiments. (DDR)

Presents a model for using the Internet to teach high school students about plasma physics and fusion energy. (Author/CCM)

This document is the laboratory manual for the Physics 152 course at Purdue University. It includes a laboratory introduction, hardware and software guide, and laboratory report guide. Labs include: (1) "Measurement Uncertainty and Propagation"; (2) "Introduction to Computer Data Acquisition and Relationships between Position,…

Argues that although differential equations are billed as applied mathematics, there is rarely any hands-on experience incorporated into the course. Presents a laboratory project that requires students to obtain data from a physics lab and use that data to compute the coefficients of the second order differential equation, which mathematically…

Reviews a simple theory that describes the bounce of an air-filled ball and predicts that the contact time should be independent of the speed of impact. Presents experimental results that disagree with the theory and an alternative model that agrees with experimental results. (DDR)

Surveys internet sites that provide resources for science teachers and their students. Focuses on topics related to science and society, sound, optics, professional development, and tips for searching the internet. (DDR)

Describes a hands-on lesson in magnetism designed to be used with upper elementary grade students. Emphasizes structured experiences which involve the student in measuring, data collecting, graphing, and extrapolating information. (TW)

Describes an activity to study the concepts of force and gravity. Students use trigonometry to measure the height of a water balloon shot into the air by a giant slingshot by two methods. A lesson plan provides materials needed, procedures, a chart to record data, and extensions for the activity. (MDH)

Presents two quantitative Faraday's law experiments using a computer-assisted data-logging system. (Author/ASK)