This page lists my YouTube videos showing teachers how to do various physics demonstrations and labs. Many of the demos can be shown directly to students but I highly recommend you do the demo yourself if you have the resources.
I do this one the first week of school to emphasize the difference between observation and inference. Also demonstrates the power of preconceived notions, something that must be constantly addressed in a physics class.
Example problem showing how changing the starting point and exploiting symmetry can make it easier to solve. Doing stunts like this helps make student look forward to your class and wonder what is going to happen next.
A simple demo that gets students to think more about what causes a normal force.
I put a sail on a fan cart to show that can prevent it from moving. But what about a curved sail or one with a hole in it?
Showing what it takes to lift someone with a pulley versus having them lift themselves. A scale that can measure the tension in the rope adds to the understanding. This demo is probably best watched on video as most classrooms would not have a sturdy enough attachment point.
An alternative bungee jumping idea that is usually easier for students to understand because the spring (bungee) starts to stretch as soon as the cart is released. It is a good preparation for simple harmonic motion.
How to use a force plate to determine the height of a jump. Force plates are great for physics classes and you can do a lot with just one. The ones sold by PASCO and Vernier or best suited for class use.
Instructional video for rocket lab. Students measure the force vs time of a model rocket engine and determine the impulse. When compared to other groups they discover the impulse doubles as you go from an A to a B to a C engine. Could collect data as a class, then share out the files for each group to analyze.
Demonstrates difference between an inelastic and elastic collision regarding the momentum transferred in a collision.
Dramatic way to show that in an elastic collision between equal mass objects they exchange velocities.
Finding the tension in a rope swing as someone swings through the bottom. Shows why so many people are unable to hold onto the rope when they try.
Lab based on an AP Physics problem. Students predict minimum angular speed to keep rider stuck to the wall. Lazy Susan version could be used as a demo or in a station lab.
Fun way to show that torque can be increased by either more force or a longer lever arm.
After many years of trying different things I finally found a way to demonstrate an Atwood machine with significant rotational inertia that I was happy with and was easy to set up.
Students have trouble believing that the point of contact of an object that is rolling without slipping has zero velocity. This is my way of helping them understand it, not just an excuse to buy a toy tank!
Complex rotational dynamics problem with a dramatic conclusion.
A conceptual way to explain this surprising behavior.
Easy way to show that we didn’t make up the right hand rule just to torture students. It can actually be used predict what will happen in a complex situation.
Another angular momentum demonstration. Sadly, the bucket gyro dies the year after I made this video. Inside was a squirrel cage fan attached to an AC motor.
Slo-mo video of a classic center of mass demonstration. The long track is balanced on a board that is about 1 cm wide.
Puzzling center of mass demo that forms the basis of many magician tricks. Assembled the hinged board with scrap wood when I was student teaching. Still use it for sentimental reasons.
One of my favorite discrepant events. It is definitely worth it to buy some broom handles and do this live for all of your classes.
Dramatic way to show them the importance of accounting for the torque produced from the weight of objects. After this they do the same thing with a meter stick and a known mass to find the mass of the meter stick.
Not really a lab but a tool to facilitate students to work together on complex statics problems. It also helps because they can use a protractor to measure angles that they worked out on paper
Another stunt that helps make students look forward to class and pay attention because they know they will miss something if they don’t.
This one always comes up when I ask students to name their favorite activity from the year. It is simple to do and worth the small amount of trouble and expense. It does not need to be done from this great a height. Much less effective and possibly counter-productive when done as a teacher demonstration. This is because the cup falls along with the water that has already come out. It is not easy to tell the water stopped coming out unless you are the one dropping it.
Students will look forward all year to the day you turn your gravity switch off. Leads to a deep discussion with some surprising results.
My favorite simple harmonic motion problem. Its complex nature resulted in the development of this stunt to help keep their interest. There is an error on the board as called out in the description of the video on YouTube. If you had caught it as a student in my class, you would have received a Smartie candy.
I super-sized this common refraction activity for the 2017 total eclipse event sponsored by Lowell Observatory. We used it as an analogy for the Sun’s gravity bending starlight. I switched to using a larger opaque bucket because the light shining through the bucket was distracting. Search for “submersible LED lights”.
These are surprisingly expensive as is the high frequency hand-held generator so I made a video for others to use.