Search Results

Learners use compasses to detect the magnetic field created by current moving through a wire. This is one of four activities learners can complete related to PhysicsQuest 2008.

Learners use the current flowing in a wire to create a magnetic field that turns a magnet. Learners can use this property of electromagnetism to build a magnet-powered pinwheel.

Learners examine what happens when a tube spins in two directions at once. They push on a cardboard tube causing it to spin along its length while at the same time turning from end-to-end.

Learners examine the properties of light by experimenting with an LED-flashlight and polarizing filters. When two polarizers are used, they block all light when they are placed at right angles.

Learners drop two different masses of play dough and observe how long it takes them to hit the ground.

Learners experiment to see which colors of light will cause a phosphorescent (glow-in-the-dark) material to glow.

Learners observe projectile motion by launching wooden balls off of a table top. They set up a rubber-band launcher so that each ball experiences a consistent amount of force.

Learners experiment with water gel crystals, or sodium polyacrylate crystals, which absorb hundreds of times their weight in water. When in pure water, the water gel crystals cannot be seen.

Learners shine the light of a laser pointer through sheets of fabric that all have a different number of threads per inch.

Learners drop a magnet through a coil of wire to create electric current in a circuit. LEDs in the circuit allow learners to detect the direction of current flow.

Learners build a pendulum from a yo-yo, and then design their own experiment to determine what affects the pendulum's period of swing.

In this activity on page 13 of the PDF, learners use a laser pointer (with known wavelength of light) to measure the thickness of a human hair.