Physics Learning Resources
Making Waves
These activities are perfect for your physics curriculum, serving as captivating prelude activities or post-learning explorations. Dive into the captivating world of waves and broaden your understanding of the universe!
Key question: What are wave diffraction and refraction?
Key question: What is the difference between red light and blue light?
Key question: How does using different wavelengths of light allow multiple messages to be sent in a single channel at the same time?
Key question: What are the properties of waves that makes one different from another?
Introduction to the World of Quantum
Explore the wonderful world of quantum mechanics and learn more about the life and work of Dr. Deborah Jin, a quantum scientist who used lasers and magnets to cool atoms to make new states of matter. Students will learn about creating models, the behavior of light, and how the strange world of atoms can be harnessed to create a new type of computer.
Key questions: What models best explain the behavior of light? Does light behave like a wave, a particle, neither, or both?
Key question: How are quantum logic gates different from the logic gates used in normal computers?
Force and Motion
Discover the incredible life and work of NASA’s Katherine Johnson with activities based on force and motion. Students will learn the physics of falling, swinging, flinging, and the basics of orbital motion that Katherine Johnson used to help put the first Americans in space.
Key questions: What happens to an object moving in a circular motion? What happens when the centripetal force is removed?
Key question: How does the mass of a projectile and its initial velocity affect how far it flies and how fast it drops?