These clips from The Simpsons cartoons are intended for use by science teachers. They should be previewed before showing to ensure they are appropriate for the intended student audience. It is recommended that you download and archive each clip that you would like to use. To do this, right click on the clip and select “Save Video As…”. On a Mac, try control-click. They are a great way to liven up a slide presentation and should import into PowerPoint etc.. The posting and use of theses clips for educational purposes conforms with the fair use provisions of the copyright act.
Free fall from the Tree house (0:42) – Bart falls from the tree house. Time his fall to determine his impact velocity and height of the tree house. He is lucky to have just broken his leg.
Bowling Ball and Feather (0:18) – Chief Wiggums is amazed to learn that a bowling ball and a feather will fall at the same rate in a vacuum.
Skateboard Jump (0:41) – Bart demonstrates projectile motion and Newton’s First Law as he shows the Ogdenville newcomers “how the natives ride sky”. This clip is especially good at showing that Bart’s horizontal velocity remains constant during his jump over the cars.
Newton’s First Law (0:11) – Homer, playing Krusty the Clown for Milhouse’s birthday party, demonstrates a delayed version of Newton’s First Law.
Fork Lift Inertia (0:21) – Bart demonstrates Newton’s First Law with the help of Milhouse and a forklift. The clip is also a good example of why safety belts are important.
Newton’s Third Law (0:25) – Bart performs a classic physics demonstration in an abandoned warehouse. It never works this well for me. Clips also demonstrates Newton’s First and Second Laws.
Frictionless Floor (0:36) – Bart and Milhouse demonstrate what a world without friction might be like.
Oily Floor (0:40) – Homer’s attempt to injure himself at work fails but demonstrates Newton’s First Law quite nicely.
King Size Homer on a Scale (2:38) – While trying to exceed 300 pounds so he can be on disability, Homer finds out that a scale only reads the normal force which is sometimes not equal to the weight.
Inelastic Collision (0:11) – Homer saves the Simpson family home from the wrecking ball. Where did all the kinetic energy go?
Curling (1:06) – Marge must convert kinetic energy to potential energy to correct for Homer’s errant throw or they won’t make the Olympic team.
Centrifuge (0:44) – Barney and Homer train to be astronauts in a centrifuge. Are they facing the right way? Which way should they face?
Ball of Death (1:32) – Homer discovers the hard way that a minimum speed is needed to complete a vertical circular path on the Ball of Death.
Coriolis Effect (3:59) – Bart experiments with and researches the Coriolis effect after losing to Lisa in a stupid bathroom products race. One of the rare times that Lisa is wrong. Have your students do their own research by filling a sink at home, let it stand, then opening the drain.
Homer in Space (2:06) – Homer launches into space showing the affects of large acceleration on facial features. Once in orbit Homer adapts quickly to apparent weightlessness as he cleans up errant potato chips. I prefer to call apparent weightlessness “normalforcelessness”. Look it up.
Zero Gravity Plane (1:06) – Homer and Bart rent the entire Zero – g plane. It starts out with a great demonstration of Newton’s Third Law but ends with several flagrant violations by Bart as he outmaneuvers Homer in apparent weightlessness (normalforcelessness).
Mr. Plow and Torque (1:05) – Homer uses his knowledge of torque, static equilibrium, and radio tuners to keep from plunging over the cliff.
Angular Momentum (1:41) – Principal Skinner uses conservation of angular momentum to save Ralph from falling grand pianos. For once Nelson is nearly speechless.
Twirl King Yo-yo (3:02) – According to Halliday, Resnick, and Walker, yo-yos are a physics lab you can fit in your pocket. I show this clip while doing rotational dynamics problems and labs with yo-yos.