AP/IB/Honors Physics Activity Browse

Search for activities specifically designed for introductory college level physics courses. Refine this search by either clicking on the terms in boxes to the right or typing a term into the search box below. Activities include a description, background information, and necessary student documents.


Results 1 - 20 of 196 matches

Unit 3: Field Geophysical Measurements part of Evaluating the Health of an Urban Wetland Using Electrical Resistivity
Near-surface geophysical measurements are performed by moving sensors across the earth's surface. Active geophysical sensors transmit a signal into the earth and record a returned signal that contains ...

Unit 1: Exploring Harrier Meadow, an Urban Wetland System part of Evaluating the Health of an Urban Wetland Using Electrical Resistivity
Students will conduct a virtual exploration of Harrier Meadow, a salt marsh in the New Jersey Meadowlands. They will identify its vulnerability to pollution, its tidal connection to the Hackensack Estuary and the ...

Scaling sizes of sports field part of Teaching Computation with MATLAB:Past Workshops:MATLAB Workshop 2020:Activities
This is a MATLAB live script that guides students to learn about the kinematics of thrown balls in various sports. It helps the students learn about simple numerical methods to solve differential equations, as well ...

Physics: Permafrost part of PENGUIN:PENGUIN Modules
Students learn what permafrost is, the implications of permafrost thawing due to climate change, and how to calculate heat diffusion through permafrost. Student activities include watching a video about permafrost, ...

Unit 2: Geophysical Properties of the Subsurface part of Evaluating the Health of an Urban Wetland Using Electrical Resistivity
Archie (1950) defined the term petrophysics to describe the study of the physics of rocks, particularly with respect to the fluids they contain. Although originally focused on geophysical exploration, petrophysics ...

Unit 4: The Magic of Geophysical Inversion part of Evaluating the Health of an Urban Wetland Using Electrical Resistivity
This unit introduces the student to the concept of geophysical inversion, which is the process of estimating the geophysical properties of the subsurface from the geophysical observations. The basic mechanics of ...

Bouncing Ball Explorer part of Teaching Computation with MATLAB:Past Workshops:MATLAB Workshop October 2022:Activities
Exploration of the sound of a bouncing ball dropped on a hard surface, the sound recorded with a mobile phone or laptop microphone, is the basis for an accessible experiment in elementary mechanics. For ...

Unit 3: Codorus Creek Case Study: Measuring and Interpreting Seismic Refraction Data part of Measuring Depth to Bedrock Using Seismic Refraction
This unit presents an applied case study example and the associated concepts related to designing a seismic survey and analyzing the data. It discusses parts of the instrument and presents practical experience ...

Unit 5: Integrated Geophysical Interpretation and Comparison with Ground Truthing part of Evaluating the Health of an Urban Wetland Using Electrical Resistivity
In this unit, students explore spatial associations between the three-dimensional electromagnetic (EM) conductivity inversions and the visible patterns of Salicornia (pickleweed) introduced in Unit 1, Exploring ...

Unit 1: Introducing Shallow Seismology to Explore Our Subsurface Environment part of Measuring Depth to Bedrock Using Seismic Refraction
This introductory unit is designed to provide a standalone introduction to geophysical imaging of the shallow subsurface, motivate students to become invested in the topic, provide career context for these ...

Poleta Stratigraphy part of E-STEM:Field Course:ESTEM-PD Activities
Based on field observations at Little Poleta, students identify and describe sedimentary rock units and measure the thicknesses of 5 different stratigraphic units. They then establish the field site's major ...

Design a basketball shooting machine part of Teaching Computation with MATLAB:Past Workshops:MATLAB Workshop 2024:Activities
In this assignment, students will determine the appropriate exit velocity from a basketball shooting machine as it passes the ball back to the shooter on the free throw line. Students will simulate the trajectory ...

Deal or No Deal part of Teaching Computation with MATLAB:Past Workshops:MATLAB Workshop 2025:Activities
The popular game show Deal or No Deal offers a fun way to explore modeling real-world decision-making. In the game, contestants choose a briefcase filled with an unknown amount of money and then open other cases ...

Simulating a parachute fall part of Teaching Computation with MATLAB:Past Workshops:MATLAB Workshop 2025:Activities
In this activity, students will simulate a falling parachute. The overall goal is to determine the parachute diameter needed to have a "safe landing" at a reasonable terminal velocity. In order to ...

Poleta Bedrock Geologic Mapping part of E-STEM:Field Course:ESTEM-PD Activities
Students produce a bedrock geologic map of the Little Poleta field area from which they write a short interpretation of the paleoenvironment and geologic history of the region.

Groundwater Potentiometric Surface Mapping part of E-STEM:Field Course:ESTEM-PD Activities
In this exercise, students map the elevation of the water table in the Mammoth Groundwater Basin using water levels measured in Mammoth County Water District monitoring wells.

Botany Field Observations part of E-STEM:Field Course:ESTEM-PD Activities
Plants form the link between the abiotic features of landscape (rock, soils, water, etc.) and the biotic world. California has a very rich and complex flora, making species identification sometimes very difficult. ...

Botanical Transect Mapping part of E-STEM:Field Course:ESTEM-PD Activities
Students gain experience "reading" landscapes using geologic, hydrological, and botanical/ecological techniques. They learn two simple and widely used methods for quantitatively measuring the density of ...

Field Presentation part of E-STEM:Field Course:ESTEM-PD Activities
During the E-STEM Field Course, each student was responsible for a field presentation related to a geology, geomorphology, hydrology, and/or ecology topic specific to the Sierras or Owens Valley. Depending on the ...

Career Portfolio part of E-STEM:Field Course:ESTEM-PD Activities
This activity is an opportunity for students to document their interaction with environmental professionals with whom they interact during and after their environmental field course. Each career portfolio entry ...