Masses & Springs

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In this online activity, learners use a realistic mass and spring laboratory. They hang masses from springs and adjust the spring stiffness and damping. Learners can even slow time and transport the lab to different planets! A chart shows the kinetic, potential, and thermal energy for each spring. Use this activity for a lesson on Hooke's Law and Conservation of Energy. This activity includes an online simulation, sample learning goals, a teacher's guide, and translations in over 30 languages.

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
10 to 30 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
free per student
Age Range:
Ages 8 - adult
Resource Types:
Activity, Experiment/Lab Activity, Simulation
Language:
Arabic, Basque, Chinese, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Turkish, Vietnamese

Materials List (per student)

  • Computer with online access, current Macromedia Flash software, and mouse

Keywords

Subjects

  • Mathematics
    • Data Analysis and Probability
      • Data Analysis
      • Data Collection
      • Data Representation
    • Measurement
      • Units of Measurement
      • Size and Scale
  • Physical Sciences
    • Energy
      • Potential and Kinetic Energy
      • Energy and Power
      • Work and Machines
    • Motion and Forces
      • Machines
      • Gravity
      • Momentum and Velocity
      • Acceleration
      • Newton's Laws
    • Structure and Properties of Matter
      • Mass and Weight
  • The Nature of Science
    • The Scientific Process
      • Conducting Investigations
      • Gathering Data

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • read
  • use mouse

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Foreign language versions of this resource:

Components that are part of this resource:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

  • Dubson, Michael ; Perkins, Kathy ; Adams, Wendy

Rights:

Funding Sources:

  • The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
  • National Science Foundation
  • Excellence Center of Science and Mathematics Education at King Saud University
  • O'Donnell Foundation
  • The Mortenson Family Foundation