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Rolling Resistance Physics Lab

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Submitted by Rich on Thu, 11/14/2019 - 17:56

Rolling Resistance

Rolling resistance is a force that opposes the motion when an object rolls along a surface.There are many examples of objects experiencing rolling resistance: car or bicycle tires on pavement, skateboard wheels on a half pipe ramp, steel wheels on a railroad track, ball bearings in a pulley, bowling balls on a bowling lane, and carts rolling on a dynamics track, just to mention a few. Many factors can affect the magnitude of the forces associated with rolling resistance.

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Moment of Inertia Challenge

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Submitted by Rich on Sun, 11/10/2019 - 17:58

The Moment of Inertia Challenge

Determinig the moment of inertia about the center of mass mathematically of an object with complex geometry is not an easy task.  Consider, for example, the empty 3D filament reel shown in Figure 1, an empty 1-kg Polymaker Polylite PLA reel.  With its holes and intricate axle design, the best way to determine the moment-of-inertia about its center of mass is via a laboratory experiment.  Voyager (or PocketLab One) is mounted to the reel for data collection.  

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Kinematics of Translational and Rotational Motion

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Submitted by Rich on Thu, 11/07/2019 - 19:14

Introduction

Empty 3D filament reels are great devices to use in the physics classroom.  There's a good chance that you and your students could come up with some interesting physics lab investigations using these reels.  Attach Voyager or PocketLab One to the reel as shown in Figure 1, and the possibilities are endless!  This lesson describes a lab in which your students study the kinematics of both translational and rotational motion when the reel rolls down a ramp on its axle.  Students are often surprised when they see the reel speed up upon reaching the floor on which

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Moment of Inertia of a 3D Filament Reel About Its CM

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Submitted by Rich on Mon, 11/04/2019 - 16:37

Introduction

Your school can put all of those empty 3D filament reels to good use in the physics classroom.  There's a good chance that you and your students could come up with some interesting physics lab investigations using these reels.  As shown in Figure 1, attach Voyager or PocketLab One to the reel, and the possibilities are endless!  This lesson describes a lab in which your students determine the moment of inertia of an empty 3D filament reel about its center-of-mass.  They will accomplish this using two independent methods.  One method has the reel acting as a p

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Unrolling Spool Problem Quantitative Experiment

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Submitted by Rich on Wed, 10/30/2019 - 22:26

Introduction

Think twice before discarding your school's empty 3D filament reels.  There's a good chance that you and your students could come up with some interesting physics lab investigations using these reels.  As shown in Figure 1, attach Voyager or PocketLab One to the reel, and the possibilities are endless!  This lesson describes a quantititive experiment that your students can perform in a study of the classic "unrolling spool problem".

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Polarized Light

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Submitted by DaveBakker on Thu, 10/24/2019 - 22:57

Light travels in waves, but unlike waves on the ocean, they are much too small for us to see with the naked eye. A polarizer is a light filter that only allows light waves that are moving in one direction to pass through, letting us indirectly observe some of the wave properties of light. This aligned light that passed through a polarizer is called polarized light.
 

Grade Level

Periodic Motion of an Empty 3D Filament Reel

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Submitted by Rich on Mon, 10/21/2019 - 23:23

Introduction

Don't discard your school's empty 3D filament reels.  There's a good chance that you and your students could come up with some interesting physics lab investigations using these reels.  Attach Voyager or PocketLab One to the reel and the possibilities are endless!  This lesson describes a unique experiment in which periodic motion is investigated using an empty 3D filament reel.  Depending on the teacher's goals and amount of detail in the analysis of collected data, this lab could be used from the 4th grade through high school.  The

NGSS Seismic Basketball Challenge

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Submitted by Rich on Sat, 09/28/2019 - 14:43

The NGSS Seismic Basketball Challenge

This NGSS seismic basketball challenge fits well in the study of motion for high school physics students.  Here is a statement describing the challenge:

Place PocketLab Voyager on a wood floor with accelerometer data being captured. Drop a basketball onto the floor near Voyager and let it bounce several times, being careful to not let it hit Voyager.  From the recorded accelerometer data, determine the original height from which the basketball was released.  

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Calibration Lesson: Intelino Smart Train and Voyager

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Submitted by Rich on Mon, 09/23/2019 - 19:24

Introduction to Calibration

Sensor-based inquiry is a dominant force in today’s science education, with the calibration of sensors being essential for high-quality measurement.  Wikipedia® defines calibration as “the comparison of measurement values delivered by a device under test with those of a calibration standard of known accuracy.”  In this lesson students will study the process of calibration in an experiment to determine the speed of the intelino engine as the accelerator is incremented in ten equally spaced steps  from zero to full throt

Grade Level

Intelino / Voyager: Angular Velocity vs. Speed in Circular Motion

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Submitted by Rich on Wed, 09/11/2019 - 19:46

Introduction

Have you ever felt like you are going in circles?  In this lesson you will have PocketLab Voyager going in circles while riding an intelino smart train engine.  If you are not familiar with intelino, here is a quick overview.  Designed for all ages, intelino is intuitive with its app, has built-in sensors to provide an interactive experience for the user, and is easily programmed with color snaps that allow the user to control intelino's actions.  Most elementary and junior high school students enjoy playing with trains.  So why not sneak some physic

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