Stretching Rubber Bands
We can use common household objects to measure properties that match physical laws. This experiment takes a very common household item, the rubber band, and applies physical laws (Hooke’s Law and the Young’s Modulus) to them in a hands-on way.
Themes: Student Projects
Topics: Deformations, Experiments, Hooke's Law, Materials, and Young's Modulus
Grades: 11-12
Bats and the Doppler Shift
What compensation for Doppler shifts do bats perform to keep their echoes within their hearing range?
Themes: Animals, Biology & Medicine, and Waves
Topics: Biophysics and Sound
Grades: 11-12 and 8-10
Nerve Impulses
Why are eye-foot and eye-hand reaction times different?
Themes: Biology & Medicine and Human Body
Topics: Biophysics
Grades: 11-12 and 8-10
Wave Power – A Simple Analysis
How much power can we extract from ocean waves?
Themes: Energy and Environment and Renewable and Clean Energy
Topics: Energy and sustainability
Grades: 11-12
True, False, or Not Sure? Philosophy of Science in the 21st century
Whatever happened to objective reality? Why is anthropogenic climate change so hard to “prove”?
Topics: Climate, Energy, and Science Literacy
Grades: 11-12 and 8-10
Significant Figures
This tyrannosaurus is 70,000,003 years old. How many significant figures should I quote?
Themes: Skills and Techniques
Topics: Mathematics and Tools
Grades: 11-12 and 8-10
Energy and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Calculations
How much Chemistry and Biology do you need to understand to estimate energy and greenhouse gas production? Very little.
Themes: Non-renewable and non-clean energy
Topics: Climate, Energy, and Science Literacy
Grades: 11-12
Uncertainty estimates for physics labs
Are you SURE that a measurement is “right”? What does “right” even mean? Learn more about uncertainty, and what you can do about it.
Themes: Skills and Techniques
Topics: Science Literacy
Grades: 11-12
Simple Earth Climate Model: Single-Layer Imperfect Greenhouse Atmosphere
Why does the emission of carbon dioxide influence our climate?
Themes: Climate and Energy and Environment
Topics: Climate, Materials, and Planetary Science
Grades: 11-12
Thermal Radiation
All bodies emit radiation. So why don’t we all shine in the dark?
Themes: Climate, Energy and Environment, and Energy use at Home
Topics: Climate and Energy
Grades: 11-12 and 8-10