Investigate how torque causes an object to rotate. Discover the relationships between angular acceleration, moment of inertia, angular momentum and torque.

The emergence of Western science: the systematization of natural knowledge in the ancient world, the transmission of the classical legacy to the Latin West, and the revolt from classical thought during the scientific revolution. Examines scientific concepts in light of their cultural and historical contexts.

This is an activity about cause and effect. Learners will calculate the approximate travel time of each solar wind event identified in the previous activity in this set to estimate the time at which the disturbance would have left the Sun. Then, they will examine solar images in an attempt to identify the event on the Sun that may have caused the specific solar wind episode. This is Activity 12 of the Space Weather Forecast curriculum.

Students learn about traffic lights and their importance in maintaining public safety and order. Using a Parallax® Basic Stamp 2 microcontroller, students work in teams on the engineering challenge to build a traffic light with a specific behavior. In the process, they learn about light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and how their use can save energy. Students also design their own requirements based on real-world observations as they learn about traffic safety and work towards an interesting goal within the realm of what is important in practice. Knowledge gained from the activity is directly transferrable to future activities, and skills learned are scalable to more ambitious class projects.

This lab introduces or reinforces the concept of specific heat and the transfer of heat amongst substances.

The activity presents an interactive lecture demonstration of the operation of a transformer using a simulation.

Students work as engineers to design and test trebuchets (in this case LEGO® MINDSTORMS® robots) that can launch objects. During the testing stage, they change one variable at a time to study its effect on the outcome of their designs. Specifically, they determine how far objects travel depending on their weights. As students learn about the different components of robot design and the specific function controls, they determine what design features are important for launching objects.

In this math meets life science lesson, learners measure the circumference of local trees in order to calculate diameters. Learners use this information and a growth rate table to estimate the age of the trees. This lesson guide includes questions for learners, assessment options, extensions, and reflection questions.

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, the cast tries to design and build a bridge made out of drinking straws that will support the weight of 200 pennies.

This activity is a classroom activity where students predict and test Newton's First Law of Motion as it applied to the movement of cargo in the bed of a truck.

Students work within constraints to construct model trusses and then test them to failure as a way to evaluate the relative strength of different truss configurations and construction styles. Each student group uses Popsicle sticks and hot glue to build a different truss configuration from a provided diagram of truss styles. Within each group, each student builds two exact copies of the team's truss configuration using his/her own construction method, one of which is tested under shear conditions and the other tested under compression conditions. Results are compiled and reviewed as a class to analyze the strength of different types of shapes and construction methods under the two types of loads. Students make and review predictions, and normalize strengths. Teams give brief presentations to recap their decisions, results and analysis.

This interactive activity, from the Building Big Web site, explores tunneling and the tools and methods used to do the job.

This video discusses how methane digesters turn waste from dairy cows, food garbage, and other organic matter into usable gases and other fuels.

This Java applet provides opportunities for creative problem solving while encouraging young students to estimate length and angle measure. Using the Turtle Pond Applet, students enter a sequence of commands to help the turtle get to the pond. Children can write their own solutions using LOGO commands and input them into the computer. The turtle will then move and leave a trail or path according to the instructions given. (N.B. the applet is an upgrade of one that supported the Lesson "Get the Turtle to the Pond," cataloged separately.)

This flow chart shows the sources and activities across the U.S. economy that produce greenhouse gas emissions.

Explore pressure under and above water. See how pressure changes as you change fluids, gravity, container shapes, and volume.

In this activity, students will learn the concept of half-life of a radioactive material. Students will create and be able to recognize a graph representing the half-life of an imaginary radioactive element.

This inteactive lecture and series of demonstrations develops the concepts and vocabulary of oscillatory motion as it relates to the motion of a mass on a spring.

This series of questions before instruction, in-class peer instruction as students come to understanding, and visualization of an important mathematical relationship allow students to iterate and improve their understanding of work incrementally.