Phillips Physics

This lab activity is a wonderful way to start off your school year in any science class. There are a few objectives. Objectives: Determine the appropriate number of significant figures for a measurement with a   specific measuring device Calculate the uncertainty in a measurementUnderstand the difference between accuracy and precision As every science teacher knows, students love to write down as many digits as the calculator shows them. In this lab activity you can begin the discussio

This is a great short introduction to a momentum or collision unit. The students make a claim about what factors affect collisions. This is a simple way for students to observe that raising the height of the ramp increases the velocity. This gives the marble(s) more momentum. They can see that this increases the distance that the cup moves. They can use a ruler to measure this distance and can create a graph of height of ramp vs distance cup moves. I have them focus on the fact that raising the

This is a quick lab activity that lets the students see the force difference between a bungee jump and a jump with a non elastic cord. If your lab has force sensors with graphing ability then this is great, if not though you can use a spring scale and some type of slow motion video capture (lots of apps for phones have this feature). The students then need to sketch a graph. For my students, I was not worried about how precise the graphs are, just a sketch to see the difference in time and forc

This is a great guided assignment for Calculus based Physics students. Here are the objectives of the assignment. Introduce how to find the Derivative of a FunctionDifferentiate Position Functions to get a Function for VelocityShow the Velocity Graph represents the slope of the Position Graph.The assignment has a lot of content embedded in with an assortment of practice problems and graphing. The Calculus is very basic. It simply focuses on the method to find the derivative, without a long Calc

The Martian Engineering Mission PresentationIn this project, students will research and choose an engineering mission based on a real problem faced by Mark Watney, the crew, or NASA in the movie The Martian. After choosing a challenge, students will create a Google Slides or PowerPoint presentation (individually or in groups) that follows this structure: State the Problem - Clearly describe the challenge from the movie in scientific terms.Explain the Solution - Use scientific literacy to exp

This is a very engaging hands on activity! You will need to have sets of two carts. The ones I use have a bouncy plunger on one of the sides of a cart, and the other has a strike plate, and then the other sides each have opposite sides of Velcro. The set up just need to be done so that one side bounces, and the other side sticks when they collide. I use a brick for the heavy mass because it fits great on my carts, but you could use any large mass. The great thing about this activity is that

This is a wonderful engaging lab to do with students when studying motion. First students are encouraged to use creativity and prior knowledge to find the value for the speed of a toy car. Then they are lead towards a method of collecting multiple data points and graphing to show a more scientific approach then what they may have doe first. I used the term speed in this document, not velocity. I teach this lesson early on, and it is before we get into the distinction between speed and velocity

This is a great way to first introduce average speed by getting your students up and moving! Great first week activity! I find that the students have so much prior knowledge and gut instinct about speed that there needs to be very little direct instruction prior to this minilab. I do not even give the students an equation for speed prior to this activity. Most figure it out on their own. A discussion of units prior would be very helpful. There is an analysis question on unit conversions, but

This lab is a great way for students to discover which variables affect the period of a pendulum. The set up is easy, any mass can be tied to a string and then hung off a ring stand, or tie onto a meter stick and place the meter stick between two desks. Then the students use the timer to measure the period. It is best if the students time for 5 complete cycles and then divide the total time by 5 to get the period. Once the lab activity is done, students should arrive to the conclusion

This is a great worksheet for students who have already has an introductory lesson on Hooke's law. This worksheet starts with questions based on scientific literacy involving Hooke's law. It then has a few questions that are focused on the fact that the force is directly proportional to the spring constant and the distance stretched and compressed. (ie, what happens to the restoring force when you change the distance stretched or the spring constant). The final page has a few multi-part questio