The Science In The City Book
Teaching science can be a difficult task. It requires a unique understanding of science content, student culture, and language.
Physics
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A Tornado In a Bottle
Air can be among the most powerful substances in existence. The powerful results of air movements can lead to hurricanes and tornados. The question is how does a hurricane work. The mixture of circular rapid air movements and a voice of space in between allows the air movement to be enhance and powerful by reducing resistance. This lesson plan and laboratory will help provide students a model for how tornados function.
Square Bubbles – Surface Tension
Who doesn’t love bubbles! The things with bubbles is that they offer a quick and easy way to view how electrostatic forces impact small interactions. In the bubbles we see, there is an interesting effect, where the maximum distance of the surface tension is a globe. However, have you ever seen bubbles in different shapes. This lesson explores how making square bubbles might be an option.
Smoke Rings – Air Vortex Movements
A vortex ring is a circular shaped ring of spinning gasses that move together as a unit. A vortex ring can happen in liquid or gasses, but are rarely seen because they happen inside of liquids or gases. When a vortex ring happens inside of suspended particles—as in the smoke rings which are often produced by smoke they can be seen. Visible vortex rings can also be formed by the firing of certain artillery, in mushroom clouds, and in microbursts.[1][2]
A vortex ring usually tends to move in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the ring and such that the inner edge of the ring moves faster forward than the outer edge. Within a stationary body of fluid, a vortex ring can travel for relatively long distance, carrying the spinning fluid with it.
The Simplest Electric Motor
Flick a switch and get instant power—We loved to use electric motors even when we don’t know we are using them! You can find them in everything from electric lights to to remote-controlled cars—and you might be surprised how common they are. How many electric motors are there in the room with you right now? There are probably two in your computer for starters, one spinning your hard drive around and another one powering the cooling fan.
Floating Ping Pong Ball
Students explore Bernoulli’s Principle in relation to atmospheric pressure and volume in this lesson.
Fidget Spinners
Inertia and centripetal force are hard topics for students to learn. Through this lesson, students will explore these topics in relation to changing designs of Fidget Spinners with different weights (mass).
Fan Propelled Car
By making cars that are propelled by a fan, students in this lesson learn about motion, force, and circuits. This lesson also leverages engineering design skills for students to iteratively think about how some designs work ‘better’ than others.
Egg in a Bottle
By exploring the influence pressure has on a closed system, students in this lesson will gain a better understanding of air pressure.
Cartesian Diver
By observing changes in density, students in this lesson gain a more complex understanding of air pressure and density.
Can Crushing
By making observations about the impact temperature has on heated gases, students in this lesson are provided with a phenomenon-based learning experience to gain a more complex understanding of gases in relation to temperature and volume.
Sports Science – The Physics of Landing (Newton’s 2nd Law)
Sports and dance provide a wealth of opportunities to learn science. This introductory physics lesson explores the physics of landing. Many young people experience traumatic injuries that are the result of landing from a jump. The impact of their bodies hitting the ground after accelerating from a height magnifies the weight of their body onto…