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Teaching Resources

The Physics Classroom has been devoted to helping students, teachers, and classrooms since the 1990s. We are as passionate about that mission now as we have ever been. If you are a teacher of Physics or Physical Science, we encourage you to use our Video Tutorial with your students. And we also encourage you to consider the use of other resources on our website that coordinate with the video. We have listed a few below to help you get started.


This video tutorial provides an explanation of free fall (falling under the sole influence of gravity) using Newton's second law. There are numerous resources on our website that pertain to free fall, Newton's second law, and even air resistance and terminal velocity. Because there will likely be a wide variance among Physics teachers as to how they would incorporate this video into their classroom, we have included numerous resources here to assist in the wide range of implemenations.


Teacher Toolkits

Teacher Toolkits provide teachers a collection of annotated links to vetted resources on the internet that are standards-based and multimedia reliant. We are providing links to three of our toolkits that might be useful to teachers who are planning lessons on topics related to this video:

Free Fall and the Acceleration of Gravity || Newton's Second Law || Air Resistance and Terminal Velocity
 


Curriculum Corner: Newton's Laws Chapter

The Curriculum Corner provides classroom-ready Think Sheets that fuel great in-class discussions. The following think sheets may be particularly useful:

Newton's Second Law of Motion || Net Force and Acceleration || Newton's Second Law

The Elephant and the Feather || Air Resistance and Terminal Velocity || Skydiving
 
 

 

Physics Interactives

Our Interactives section provides short simulations that allow students to manipulate a variable and observe its impact upon a motion. Our Force Interactive is perfect for exploring the force-mass-acceleration relationship. It comes with two classroom-ready activity sheets. Our Skydiving Interactive focuses more on the effect of air resistance on the falling motion of an object.
  


Concept Builders

Students love Concept Builders. Teachers do also. They provide a great way to solidify your learning on a topic. They typically have three levels of difficulty or three different activities. This allows teachers to differentiate among students and among courses that they teach. Here are six that blend well with this video tutorial.

Net Force (and Acceleration) Ranking Tasks || Equations as a Guide to Thinking || Fnet = m•a

Air Resistance and Skydiving || Free Fall.|| Up and Down
 
 


Minds On Physics, Part 2: Newton's Laws Module, Missions NL10 and NL11

For serious learners of Physics, Minds On Physics will provide a rigorous mental challenge. This program is available on phones and tablets and will give students the workout they need to strengthen their Physics muscles and wrap their mind securely around concepts.
 
 

Physics Classroom Tutorial

Our written Tutorial is a reliable location to quickly brush up on a topic. The following pages provide a great complement to this video tutorial. Teachers often include a link to our Tutorial on their course page.

Newton's Second Law || Free Fall and Air Resistance || Acceleration of Gravity