A lab where the students study the density of pennies. They will discover the limitations of measurements and the value of multiple trials.

Students explore the densities and viscosities of fluids as they create a colorful 'rainbow' using household liquids. While letting the fluids in the rainbow settle, students conduct 'The Great Viscosity Race,' another short experiment that illustrates the difference between viscosity and density. Later, students record the density rainbow with sketches and/or photography.

This activity is a demonstration proving that carbon dioxide is more dense than air which leads to a deeper understanding of the term density.

Students acquire a basic understanding of the science and engineering of space travel as well as a brief history of space exploration. They learn about the scientists and engineers who made space travel possible and briefly examine some famous space missions. Finally, they learn the basics of rocket science (Newton's third law of motion), the main components of rockets and the U.S. space shuttle, and how engineers are involved in creating and launching spacecraft.

Students use two different methods to determine the densities of a variety of materials and objects. The first method involves direct measurement of the volumes of objects that have simple geometric shapes. The second is the water displacement method, used to determine the volumes of irregularly shaped objects. After the densities are determined, students create x-y scatter graphs of mass versus volume, which reveal that objects with densities less than water (floaters) lie above the graph's diagonal (representing the density of water), and those with densities greater than water (sinkers) lie below the diagonal.

In this field lab activity, students will determine the density, pH and water content of prairie soil, transition soil, woods soil, and riverbed soil and compare their findings.

In this optics activity, demonstrate diffraction using a candle or a small bright flashlight bulb and a slide made with two pencils. Learners will observe the diffraction pattern and learn that light has wavelike properties.

This activity is a guided inquiry on the density of two liquids and salt. Students will then create their own experiment to back their findings.

Students will become familiar with the properties of magnets. They will design a data collection sheet to show where magnets are hidden in a closed box with their explanation of their findings. They will also design a game or activity using magnets and present their activity to the class.

Created by Illuminations: Resources for Teaching Mathematics, this activity explores the dynamics of a sound wave produced by a string instrument using simulation. A simplified physical model highlights important scientific and mathematical features. The sound wave is controlled by two parameters: the amount of initial energy put into the string (initial displacement) and the amount of tension in the string. The animation of the string has been slowed down so that model of the wave can be observed clearly.

The Drawing Board consists of a marking pen that remains stationary and a platform that swings beneath the pen, acting as a pendulum. As the platform swings, the pen marks a sheet of paper that is fastened to the platform, generating beautiful repetitive patterns. These colorful designs contain hidden lessons in physics. This resource includes instructions for making a large-scale Drawing Board as well.

Students use a compass and a permanent magnet to trace the magnetic field lines produced by the magnet. By positioning the compass in enough spots around the magnet, the overall magnet field will be evident from the collection of arrows representing the direction of the compass needle. In activities 3 and 4 of this unit, students will use this information to design a way to solve the grand challenge of separating metal for a recycling company.

With this versatile resource a teacher can create a variety of materials to use with students: nets for three-dimensional shapes, graph paper, number lines, number grids, tessellations, two-dimensional shapes, and spinners. Each mode has flexible design options. The results can be downloaded as a printable PDF activity sheet or as a web-friendly JPEG image.

The Early Universe provides an introduction to modern cosmology. The first part of the course deals with the classical cosmology, and later part with modern particle physics and its recent impact on cosmology.

To gain an understanding of mixtures and the concept of separation of mixtures, students use strong magnets to find the element of iron in iron-fortified breakfast cereal flakes. Through this activity, they see how the iron component of this heterogeneous mixture (cereal) retains its properties and can thus be separated by physical means.

In this activity related to magnetism and electricity, learners discover that a magnet falls more slowly through a metallic tube than it does through a nonmetallic tube. Use this activity to illustrate how eddy currents in an electrical conductor create a magnetic field that exerts an opposing force on the falling magnet, which makes it fall at a slower rate. This activity guide also includes demonstration instructions involving two thick, flat pieces of aluminum to illustrate the same principle.

Students test the question, "Do eggs balance on the equinox?" Students develop their own procedure, analyze their data and come up with their own conclusions.

This course covers the role of physics and physicists during the 20th century, focusing on Einstein, Oppenheimer, and Feynman. Beyond just covering the scientific developments, institutional, cultural, and political contexts will also be examined.

In this activity about electricity, learners explore how static electricity can make electric "fleas" jump up and down. Learners use a piece of wool cloth or fur to charge a sheet of acrylic plastic. Then, they observe as tiny bits of Styrofoam, spices, ceiling glitter, or rice (aka "fleas") jump up to the plastic and then back down.