Skip to main content

High School Physics

Prepare your students for real-world problem solving and open-ended lab experiments. Experienced educators and curriculum specialists have developed each of these lessons, and we have tested them in real classrooms. PocketLab physics lessons cover introductory and advanced topics from one-dimensional motion to electricity and magnetism to simple harmonic motion. Browse all the high school and AP-level physics lessons below or use the filters to search for specific content.

Filter by:

PocketLab Voyager: Moment of Inertia and Conservation of Angular Momentum

Profile picture for user Rich
Submitted by Rich on Fri, 08/11/2017 - 21:32

As shown in the image accompanying this lesson, conservation of angular momentum can be investigated using a Lazy Susan (LS), PocketLab, and a compact weight.   Voyager is mounted to the LS.  The LS is given a spin and gradually slows down from friction.   The compact weight is dropped just above the edge of the LS.  The resultant sudden decrease in angular velocity is recorded by Voyager.  The accompanying video shows all of this action.  Taking into account the moment of inertia of the LS, and

Subject
Grade Level

Voyager & Ozobot: NGSS Science and Engineering Practices Challenge

Profile picture for user Rich
Submitted by Rich on Fri, 08/04/2017 - 21:02

This lesson provides a challenge that incorporates all eight of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) science and engineering practices.  Although this lesson makes use of both Ozobot and Voyager, neither of these is required, as all data have been collected and are supplied.  Students match several geometric shapes with their corresponding angular velocity vs. time data obtained as Voyager/Ozobot travel around the shapes.  Students are also provided with angular momentum data from an unknown geometric shape and asked to sketch the shape from their analysis. 

Subject
Grade Level

PocketLab Voyager: Double Slit Diffraction Interference & The Wavelength of Light

Profile picture for user Rich
Submitted by Rich on Fri, 07/28/2017 - 02:52

A classic way to demonstrate the wave nature of light is to pass a coherent beam of light from a laser through a double slit.  In this lesson, students study the intensity of light in the resultant interference pattern using the light intensity sensor of PocketLab Voyager.  Students also compare intensity to theoretical predictions.  In addition, the wavelength of the light can be calculated from knowledge of slit separation, distances between bright fringes in the interference pattern, and distance from the double slit to the pattern. 

Subject
Grade Level

Voyager & Ozobot: A STEM Team to Study Circular Motion

Profile picture for user Rich
Submitted by Rich on Wed, 07/26/2017 - 15:44

Ozobot “Evo” (ozobot.com) is a tiny one-inch diameter robot that can be quickly programmed to follow lines using a Google Blockly dialect known as OzoBlockly (ozoblockly.com).  This lesson combines the ability to program Ozobot to follow a circle at constant speed with Voyager’s ability to sense the resulting motion through its angular velocity sensor.  The purpose of this project is to show that if speed is kept constant and the same fo

Subject
Grade Level

PocketLab Voyager: A Study of Rolling Resistance

Profile picture for user Rich
Submitted by Rich on Fri, 07/21/2017 - 17:19

In this experiment a coasting cart on a flat surface gradually slows down and stops due to rolling resistance.  Two very different surfaces are compared—a carpeted floor and a wood floor.  The purpose of this experiment is three-fold:  (1) to determine the force of rolling resistance, (2) to determine the coefficient of rolling resistance between the cart the surface on which it rolls, and (3) to gain a practical understanding of the meaning of this coefficient.  Voyager's range finder is used to collect data.

Subject
Grade Level

PocketLab Voyager: The Effect of Area on Terminal Velocity of a Falling Object

Profile picture for user Rich
Submitted by Rich on Tue, 07/18/2017 - 18:10

The effect of mass on the terminal velocity of an object falling in air is commonly done using basket coffee filters.  But how could we study the effect of area on the terminal velocity of a falling object?  One way to do this is to use PocketLab Voyager and its range finder along with a single piece of cardstock as the object to be dropped.  In this lesson, students discover a relationship between area and terminal velocity and compare their results to a common model of air resistance (aka drag).  

Subject
Grade Level

PocketLab Voyager: Polarization and Malus's Law

Profile picture for user Rich
Submitted by Rich on Sun, 07/16/2017 - 16:14

One of the most well-known physical laws related to polarization is Malus’s Law.  This law states that the intensity of plane-polarized light passing through a rotatable polarizer analyzer varies as the square of the cosine of the angle through which the analyzer is rotated from the position giving maximum intensity.  The lesson described here allows you to verify Malus’s Law using PocketLab Voyager and one of the light polarizers contained in the PocketLab Scientist Kit.

Subject
Grade Level

PocketLab Voyager: The Inverse Square Law of Light--Quick and Easy

Profile picture for user Rich
Submitted by Rich on Fri, 07/14/2017 - 18:17

Virtually every student of physics has done an experiment to verify the inverse square law of lightlight intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source of the light.  With PocketLab Voyager this is a quick and easy experiment that is also a lot of fun to perform!

Position Vs. Time Investigation

Submitted by lessemj on Wed, 06/28/2017 - 20:59

Hello All,

I'm an AP Calculus teacher, and I used the attached lab to introduce position vs. time graphs to my students. My school doesn't offer physics after freshmen year and historically students have struggled to translate graphs into the actual motion that they represent. This year, using PocketLab and some magnets, the students were able to create their own position vs. time graphs, and concept mastery has been significantly higher. I'm definitely planning on repeating this lab next year!

Subject
Grade Level

PocketLab on a Skier's Edge Machine

Profile picture for user Rich
Submitted by Rich on Wed, 06/28/2017 - 04:00

The PocketLab is an ideal device for measuring user performance for a variety of exercise equipment.  One example of such equipment is the Skier's Edge, whose company was founded in 1987.  This machine was designed for non-impact lateral conditioning that simulates the experience of downhill skiing.  The photo below shows the skiing machine.  The skier stands on the two black platforms, holding poles and moves the carriage back-and-forth on the curved white tracks.

Subject
Grade Level

To access this free lesson, please sign up to receive communications from us: