Students design a simple behavioral survey, and learn basic protocol for primary research, survey design and report writing. Note: The literacy activities for the Mechanics unit are based on physical themes that have broad application to our experience in the world concepts of rhythm, balance, spin, gravity, levity, inertia, momentum, friction, stress and tension.

Student groups are provided with a generic car base. The groups then design a device/enclosure that will protect an egg on or in the car as it is rolled down a ramp at increasing slopes. Students will be expected to perform basic mathematical calculations using their data.

Forces and friction effect the motion and changes of motion of objects, like small robots.

Students will observe the movement of Foucault’s pendulum in order to witness the Earth’s rotation.

Students are introduced to the concept of inertia and its application to a world without the force of friction acting on moving objects. When an object is in motion, friction tends to be the force that acts on this object to slow it down and eventually come to a stop. By severely limiting friction through the use of the hover pucks, students learn that the energy of one moving puck is transferred directly to another puck at rest when they collide. Students learn the concept of the conservation of energy via a "collision," and will realize that with friction, energy is converted primarily to heat to slow and stop an object in motion. In the associated activity, "The Puck Stops Here," students will investigate the frictional force of an object when different materials are placed between the object and the ground. This understanding will be used to design a new hockey puck for the National Hockey League.

This course will survey physics concepts and their respective applications; it is intended as a basic introduction to the current physical understanding of our universe. In this course, the student will study physics from the ground up, learning the basic principles of physical law, their application to the behavior of objects, and the use of the scientific method in driving advances in this knowledge. This course focuses on Newtonian mechanics--how objects move and interact--rather than Electromagnetism or Quantum Mechanics. While mathematics is the language of physics, the student need only be familiar with high school-level algebra, geometry, and trigonometry; the small amount of additional math needed will be developed during the course. (Physics 101; See also: Biology 109, Chemistry 001, Mechanical Engineering 005)

This activity is an investigation regarding rotational inertia and factors that affect it.

Mechanics studies how forces affect bodies in motion--how, for example, a bullet is fired from a gun, or a top is set in motion by the flick of a wrist. This course will introduce the student to the core concepts of mechanics as applied to design, testing, and manufacture of safe and reliable products. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Identify and use units, notations, and vectors used in mechanics; Identify and explain the concepts of forces, couples, and moments; Use the concept of forces and moments to compute resultants and equivalent systems in mechanics; Analyze mechanics of rigid bodies, such as trusses, frames, and machines; Identify and explain the concepts of friction and internal forces; Compute material properties of solid bodies, such as moments of inertia and mass moments of inertia; Compute strain and stress and understand the relationship of stress and strain for both elastic and plastic bodies; Compute stresses and strain in bodies subjected to tension and torsion; Compute stresses and strain in pressure vessels and composites; Identify and explain the concept of stress tensor and the constitutive relationship between strain and stress; Compute stresses and strain in simple and composite beams due to bending; Explain how stress is computed experimentally or using finite element formulations; Identify and explain material failure scenarios, such as fracture, fatigue, creep, and buckling. (Mechanical Engineering 102)

Students learn why and how motion occurs and what governs changes in motion, as described by Newton's three laws of motion. They gain hands-on experience with the concepts of forces, changes in motion, and action and reaction. In an associated literacy activity, students design a behavioral survey and learn basic protocol for primary research, survey design and report writing.

The sheet revises the use of the Perpendicular Axes Theorem in finding Moments of Inertia.

NBC's Lester Holt looks at Newton's First Law of Motion and the role that unbalanced forces play whenever a ball carrier goes head to head with a defender. "Science of NFL Football" is a 10-part video series funded by the National Science Foundation and produced in partnership with the National Football League.

Students learn what a pendulum is and how it works in the context of amusement park rides. While exploring the physics of pendulums, they are also introduced to Newton's first law of motion about continuous motion and inertia.