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Students will investigate and describe different types of forces. They will complete an engineering design to build the fastest roller coaster. Students will use variables (distance and time) that change in relationship to each other to solve a real world problem.

Type: Lesson Plan

This Word document contains a STEM lesson in which students investigate how unbalanced forces change the speed and/or direction of motion in relationship to the mass of an object, using ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world problems (with a force, speed, and mass connections). 

Type: Lesson Plan

In this MEA, students will select the robots that are more efficient at doing a certain type of job. They will have to analyze data tables that include force, force units, mass, mass units, and friction.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will investigate inertia and Newton's laws of motion by completing an engineering challenge. Students will first investigate how mass affects the inertia of a person riding in a car that comes to a sudden stop. After analyzing the data and discussing the results, students will be asked to design a seat belt that will keep their clay person in the car without sustaining an "injury."

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson investigates Newton's First and Second Laws of Motion by observation and interpretation of graphs. It includes a stop motion motion video and graphs based on measurements of a skateboard propelled by an electric leaf blower with different sized forces and masses. It allows students to investigate the effects of forces produced by touch, magnetism and gravity. It introduces the concepts that acceleration increases with force and decreases with mass.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will participate in an inquiry lesson where they work in groups to launch straw rockets to the classroom ceiling using balloons as engines. Once the group is successful in reaching the ceiling with their rockets, they are tasked with modifying their rockets to carry paper clip passengers to the ceiling.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students explore and define Newton's First Law and inertia. Students will develop their own skit to demonstrate the properties inertia and how common experiences with unbalanced forces help us understand Newton's First Law.

Type: Lesson Plan

This STEM lesson is a lesson to be done over 3-4 sessions of 45 minutes, possibly longer for inclusion students who will need more direction. It involves lots of collaboration and the Engineering Design Process.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will be able to determine the net force of an object, identify the change in motion, and conclude if it is balanced or unbalanced.

Type: Lesson Plan

From making breakfast in the Mary Poppins movie to the OK GO video "This Too Shall Pass" to the Target commercial, we've all seen those crazy, wacky machines that use multiple machines to complete a single task!! Challenge your students to graduate from using dominoes to knock over a cup to building their own Rube Goldberg machine!

During this lesson students will rise the challenge of building their own Rube Goldberg machine. Without even realizing it, students will incorporate their own sense of style of while applying science knowledge to complete this lesson.

Resources and documents are available for the daily lessons, teaching strategies, and any necessary worksheets. As well as a copy of the full (20 pages) lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

• This lesson helps students understand that forces affect motion and that some forces can be manipulated to be balanced or unbalanced with respect to motion. In the lesson, students use their knowledge of types of forces and free body diagrams to do an inquiry activity where they attempt to make a film canister neutrally buoyant in a 10 gal tank full of fresh water. (I have also used 2 L bottles with tops cut off and an empty pie pan to collect spillage.) Students need to predict, observe, and explain along the way as well as collect and record data to help quantify their results.
• After the lesson, students apply their new knowledge gained through experiential learning to real life scenarios in an abstract way as a formative assessment.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will design specific nose cones for a water bottle rocket. They will test them to find out and rate which one is most effective in terms of accuracy, speed, distance, and cost effectiveness. This information will be used as criteria for a company that designs nose cones for orbitary missions.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students are asked to evaluate and test several rocket fin designs to determine the most effective design. After launch, the students are asked to test an additional design and also design their own rocket fin. Additionally, students will record and graph their results.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is an engaging way to strengthen students understanding of balanced and unbalanced forces and how these forces change an objects direction of motion. Students will participate in an actual tug of war and determine what factors create an unbalanced force. The lesson not only supports science benchmarks but Math and Language Arts as well.

Type: Lesson Plan

This MEA uses prior knowledge of Newton's Three Laws of Motion and has students design the best skateboard for different clients.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will explore motion related to an object in terms of its change in position over time compared to a reference point.

Students will be given a variety of simple materials to create and test their very own land yachts to explore motion.

Type: Lesson Plan

The students will engage in an open inquiry developing an experiment pertaining to unbalanced forces.

The students will create an experiment and test their hypothesis.

Content Statement: Tell me if an unbalanced force affects speed, direction or both.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson will help students clarify the difference between balanced and unbalanced forces and the students will be able to demonstrate the forces through the game tug-of-war. Students will be engaged in whole group discussion about their proir knowledge. They will also be engaged in small group discussion sharing examples they created and described about balanced and unbalanced forces. This lesson will allow the students to collect and record data from the different grouping scenerios of tug-of-war and answer conclusion questions based on the data collected. Students should gain a solid foundation about these concepts after the completion of this lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

The attached engineering design lesson plan elaborates on the PBS Kids online resource and will probably take from 4-5 class periods. It takes the students through the engineering design process which includes the following components: Identify the Problem, Brainstorm and Design a Solution, Test and Evaluate, Redesign, Reflect and Share the Solution.

Type: Lesson Plan

The students will be asked to help a company choose a design to market for their new business. The company gives students four prototypes to begin with, but asks the students to create one of their own if they wish to further the research. After choosing one of the models and writing a report to declare their findings and explain their reasoning, students will then be given restrictions to the parachute. They are asked to find a material that is light yet strong, and resistant to tearing and breaking. Students will have to create parachutes using the chosen model but made with different materials to establish the best overall material.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

The lesson is designed to provide and understanding the concept of unbalanced forces. The students also learn that velocity can change as a result of an unbalanced force. If the students can complete the inquiry based activity, as well as, the short writing summary to reinforce what they learned, they will have gained an excellent foundation for unbalanced force and how velocity is affected.

Type: Lesson Plan

Learn how unbalanced forces cause a change in speed, direction or both using sports-themed, interactive tutorial. 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Lofty ideas about kites helped power a kayak from California to Hawaii.

Related Resources:
KROS Pacific Ocean Kayak Journey: GPS Data Set[.XLSX]
KROS Pacific Ocean Kayak Journey: Path Visualization for Google Earth[.KML]

Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.

Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast

Feeling off-balance when it comes to motion? Try this idea.

Type: Perspectives Video: Teaching Idea

Don't get too carried away, but make sure you are having fun while learning about how hurricane researchers gather data! Produced with funding from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.

Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.

Type: Perspectives Video: Teaching Idea

Let's get rolling and explore the physics behind rolling cars! Make sure you stay on track. Produced with funding from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.

Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.

Type: Perspectives Video: Teaching Idea

Students will correlate Newton's Laws to various animal behaviors.

Type: Teaching Idea

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. The text describes the science behind baseball by analyzing an actual pitch that took place in a Royals vs. Tigers game. The text describes how Newton's First Law affects the pitch and then describes how energy is transferred from ball to bat. Finally, the text explains how scientists use several methods to analyze the physics of a pitch.

Type: Text Resource

Explore the basic principles of forces and motion with this interactive simulator.

Type: Virtual Manipulative

The students must apply force to a given object and try to push it up the ramp. They will see the forces being applied to the object at all times.

Type: Virtual Manipulative