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Watch It Fly
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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.
Physics in a Glass: Reversing Arrows
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In this simple activity, learners investigate refraction by placing a picture of an arrow behind a glass of water.
Physics Over the Sink: Water Glass Magic
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In this simple demonstration, learners investigate the properties of air pressure. Learners place an index card on top of a glass full of water, then invert the glass.
Physics in the Sky: Physics on a Plane
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On an airplane trip, learners have an opportunity to investigate the properties of air pressure at different altitudes.
Physics in the Kitchen: Sink or Swim Soda
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In the kitchen, learners can perform their own density investigation.
Doughy Physics
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Learners drop two different masses of play dough and observe how long it takes them to hit the ground.
Swinging Yo-Yo
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Learners build a pendulum from a yo-yo, and then design their own experiment to determine what affects the pendulum's period of swing.
Dancing Compasses
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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.
Disappearing Crystals
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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.
Physics in the Toy Room: Toppling Towers
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In this physics activity, learners use square blocks to explore how towers fall. Learners attach a piece of string to the side of a block and then construct a tall tower on top of this base block.
Twist & Shout
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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.
Physics by the Fire: Matchstick Rocket
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Learners build a small rocket using a matchstick and a piece of aluminum foil. A second, lit match launches the match rocket. This activity involves fire; adult supervision required.
Glow in the Dark
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Learners experiment to see which colors of light will cause a phosphorescent (glow-in-the-dark) material to glow.
Light and Dark
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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.
Shake It Up!
Source Institutions
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.
Magnet Powered Pinwheel
Source Institutions
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.