Inquiring2Learn

This activity is an excellent student-centered, problem solving based project. This pairs great with the standards covered in NGSS MS-PS3. It has students build a roller coaster applying what they have learned about potential and kinetic energy. It can be used to supplement instruction on PE and KE, or could serve as a performance assessment. This project has always been one of the highlights for my 7th graders. The materials for this project are of minimal cost and include: pipe insulation tubi

This is an engineering project that I use as a culminating activity to the NGSS standard MS-PS2-2, which states, "Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object." Students have to design a balloon car, test it, and modify it before a class wide race day. The student report portion has students apply Newton's Laws as well as calculate the speed of their classmates' cars. This activity is al