Teaching about Force

5.2P.1 DESCRIBE HOW FRICTION, GRAVITY, AND MAGNETIC FORCES AFFECT OBJECTS ON OR NEAR THE EARTH.

Lesson 1 Friction

• A: Dirtmeister Investigates Friction

Engineering Connection

• Engineer a Sneaker – design a shoe
• Fascinating Friction – investigate lubrication between materials to understand friction
• Fancy Feet – design, build, and test a pair of wearable shoes

Lesson 2 – Invent a Pencil

• LET’S MAKE A PENCIL VIDEO
• pencil trivia

Lesson 3 Penny Spin

Lesson 4 Center of Gravity

Lesson 5 Penny Drop

• A: Spinning Blimps
• A: Running Stop–Inertia
• A: Animal Crash–Inertia
• A: Swing and Jump–Inertia
• A: Penny in a Glass–Inertia
• A: Coin Flick
• A: Reluctant Movers
• A: Inertia Demonstrations
• A: What Goes Up Investigation
• A: Butterfly Balancer

Lesson 5 Penny Drop

• A: Choosing a landing site on Mars
• A: Way Cool Tools for Mars Exploration

Lesson 7 Pendulums

• A: Make a Roly Poly

Lesson 8 Introduce Magnetism

• A: Push and Pull Magnets
• A: Experimenting with Magnets
• A: Magnetic Attraction
• AL Magnets 1 and Magnets 2 – ScienceNetLinks

Lesson 9 Magnetic Poles and Fields

• Discovering Magnetic Fields
• A: Making a Magnet Compass
• Finding Magnetic Fields of Earth

 

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A: Activities  TB: Teacher Background  SB: Student Background

V: Video  D: Diagram  L: Lots of Links

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Capable students

• Amusement Park Physics
• Engineering Connection: The Puck Stops Here

Engineering Connections

• Strawkets and Thrust – launch paper rockets using a straw
• Strawkets and Weight – launch paper rockets after changing the mass of the rockets
• Strawkets and Control – launch paper rockets with fins
• Pop Rockets – launch paper rockets using antacid tablets to provide thrust
• Swinging With Style – design timekeeping devices powered by human swinging
• Build an Electromagnet – test the strength of an electromagnet
• Wow! That Captures It! – learn how motion capture (mo-cap) enables animators to create realistic effects
• Engineering in Reverse! – take a toy apart to suggest ways to engineer it so its a better toy
• Heads Up – learn about parts of an airplane by making paper airplanes
• Better by Design – test a paper airplane’s control surfaces
• Balsa Glider Competition – test variables using a glider model
• How Far? – explore how different textures provide varying amounts of friction to objects moving across them
• Fascinating Friction! - use wood, wax paper and oil to investigate the importance of lubrication between materials and to understand the concept of friction