Teams of high school students use their understanding of projectile physics and fluid dynamics to calculate the water pressure in squirt guns by measuring the range of the water jets. They create graphs to analyze how the predicted pressure relates to the number of times they pump the water gun before shooting.

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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 9-12 | Comments Off on A Shot Under Pressure

Tags: Bernoulli, calculations, Class Activities, data analysis, fluid dynamics, forces and motion, Grades 9-12, graph, Mathematics, measurement, Physics, pressure, projectile, Super Soaker, variables, velocity, water gun

In this lesson to teach middle school students how a spacecraft gets from the surface of the Earth to Mars, students first investigate rockets and how they are able to get us into space, then discuss the nature of an orbit as well as how orbits enable us to get from planet to planet.

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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Get Me Off This Planet!

Tags: Aerospace, astronauts, calculations, Class Activities, forces, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Humans in Space, Lesson Plans, Mars, motions, NASA, Physics, trajectory