Archive for March 2009
Pulley Lab – Mechanical Advantage
Posted by: Scott on: March 19, 2009
I’ve been doing this lab for a number of years, but it needed a make-over. I did that today, it’s beefed up a little and I added a data sheet. I’ve gotten away from the lab notebooks because they are just too hard for me to collect and take home, and I never seem to [...]
Fun with Dry Ice
Posted by: Scott on: March 18, 2009
Long story short, we went to Penn State, visited the nuclear reactor, toured the school, ate lunch, and purchased two coolers full of ice cream. It’s a 3+ hour ride home, so we also purchased dry ice for $0.75 per pound. The next day, there was still quite a bit of dry ice left over, [...]
Measuring the Coefficient of Friction
Posted by: Scott on: March 18, 2009
I developed this lab for my physical science classes, but I wish I had thought of it for my physics classes. Since we do more with the coefficient of friction in physics, I will be upgrading and adding this lab to my course for next year. In this lab, the students pull various objects across [...]
Torque Lab
Posted by: Scott on: March 18, 2009
We just did this lab yesterday and today. It took the whole 50 minute period yesterday plus about 20 minutes today. The feedback I got from the students was really great. We studied torque in the classroom first, solved some problems, then did this lab. They felt that they understood torque after completing the lab. [...]
The Spool and String and Torque
Posted by: Scott on: March 18, 2009
This is one of my favorite simple demonstrations. I have a plastic spool that came from a pack of rope lights. The spool is about a foot across and I use it regularly to demonstrate a constant horizontal velocity. When we study torque, I attach a pink mason line to the spool and wind it [...]
Projectile Motion Activity
Posted by: Scott on: March 1, 2009
I’ve been searching for a projectile motion activity/lab for my physical science class. I completely forgot about this one, and I’ve done it for years. We are going to make catapults from popsicle sticks, hot glue, rubber bands, and a spoon. I like this lab because the hot glue allows for rapid build and repair, [...]
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