Shared by an elementary school science teacher in Virginia.
Based upon Common Core Standard X.15
Use these Science Gizmos to teach Calculus!
Free Fall Tower
Recreate Galileo's famous experiment by dropping objects off the Tower of Pisa. You can drop ping pong balls, golf balls, soccer balls or watermelons. Objects can be dropped in air or no air, with or without a parachute. The speed of each object is shown on a speedometer and a graph.
Free-Fall Laboratory
Investigate the motion of an object as it falls to the ground. A variety of objects can be compared, and their motion can be observed in a vacuum, in normal air, and in denser air. The position, velocity, and acceleration are measured over time, and the forces on the object can be displayed. Using the manual settings, the mass, radius, height, and initial velocity of the object can be adjusted, as can the air density and wind.
Distance-Time and Velocity-Time Graphs
Create a graph of a runner's position versus time and watch the runner run a 40-yard dash based on the graph you made. Notice the connection between the slope of the line and the velocity of the runner. Add a second runner (a second graph) and connect real-world meaning to the intersection of two graphs. Also experiment with a graph of velocity versus time for the runners, and also distance traveled versus time.