Devon Heath

Students always seem to confuse the fact that a bounced object experiences a larger change in momentum than an object that sticks. This lab asks students to bounce 3 different balls to see how the mass influences the amount of impulse experienced by each ball.

This activity asks students to drop a ball initially to determine the height from which it was dropped. Using that height, they then throw the ball downwards and find the initial velocity that it was thrown with. Then, they throw the ball upwards and solve for the initial velocity it was thrown with. All three trials can be down off a balcony or in a stairwell, and the students find it fun to drop a ball from high up. It tests their knowledge of the acceleration of gravity, vertical kinematics,

This worksheet asks students to algebraically solve more and more complex physics equations. They don't need to know anything about the variables in the equations, but the exercise shows what they do or don't know about algebra. It helps elucidate where they will have future errors in the math of the course. The equations F = ma, P = E/t, and y=0.5at2 + Vit are used to test their ability to solve for an 'x' variable in different positions in an equation.