Acids and Bases: Testing Rocket Cars

In this ZOOM video segment, cast members make bottle rocket cars using lemon juice and baking soda, and experiment with different ways of launching the cars.

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Beyond Einstein

NASA scientists describe some of the ways current science is addressing several of Einstein's fundamental questions and theories in this video adapted from NASA.

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Center of Gravity: Pencil Balance

Watch the ZOOM cast learn about center of gravity by trying to balance a pencil on their fingers and noses.

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Defy Gravity! Centripetal Force

How can you keep a ball from falling out of a jar if the jar is upside down? Watch the ZOOM cast use centripetal force to meet this challenge.

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Defy Gravity! Upside Down Ping Pong Ball

In this video segment, the ZOOM cast is challenged to keep a ping pong ball in a funnel while the funnel is held upside down, seemingly defying gravity.

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The Deployable Energy Absorber

Watch how engineers stage a crash to test a new helicopter safety design technology in this video from NASA.

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Design a Liquid Fuel Rocket Engine

Learn about rocket engines, and then design and launch a liquid fuel rocket in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.

Energy in a Roller Coaster Ride

See potential energy convert to kinetic energy in this interactive activity from WGBH that shows a roller coaster in action.

Experimenting with a Pendulum

In this video segment, members of the ZOOM cast experiment with a pendulum and discover what they need to do to make the pendulum complete one back-and-forth swing in five seconds.

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Force and Motion

This video segment from IdahoPTV's D4K explains and gives examples of Sir Isaac Newton's 3 Laws of Motion using the rides at an amusement part.

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Galileo on the Moon

Watch Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott perform Galileo's falling objects experiment on the Moon in this video segment from NASA.

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Galileo's Big Mistake

Scientists don't always get it right. This video segment adapted from NOVA looks at Galileo's failed theory for the motion of the tides.

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Glory: The Rough Road to Space

This video adapted from NASA describes the various factors engineers must consider when designing a spacecraft that can withstand the extreme conditions in space.

Gravity

This video segment from IdahoPTV's D4K demonstrates how gravity, mass, matter, and weight are related and how astronauts can overcome earth's gravity to fly to space.

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Gravity at Earth's Center

In this video segment from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about the effects of gravity as astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson falls through a virtual hole through Earth's center.

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Gravity on Earth and in Space

This collection of images compares the effects of gravity on Earth and in space.

Growing Plants in Space

Learn about the challenges and benefits of growing plants in space from plant biologist Dr. Ray Wheeler in this video from NASA.

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Hoover Dam

This video segment from Building Big: "Dams," demonstrates the basic principals at work in the Hoover Dam, a concrete gravity dam that also makes use of the properties of the arch.

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How Do You Get to the Moon?

This video, adapted from NOVA, showcases the competing engineering plans designed for landing a person on the Moon for the first time.

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How Would You Turn a Bolt in Space?

In this fast-paced NASA Brain Bites™ video, an astronaut demonstrates the impact of microgravity on the use of tools in space.

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Inverse Square Law

This animation from KET's distance learning physics course demonstrates the mathematical formula for a scientific law as it applies to light.

Invisible Force Challenge

In this video from Design Squad Nation, kids design and build systems that use magnets to control the speed and direction of a rolling ball. They also learn how NASA uses gravity to direct a spacecraft.

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Lift and Drag

In this interactive activity from NOVA, learn about the aerodynamic forces of lift and drag and how critical they are to the operation of all sorts of devices.

Masses and Springs

In this interactive simulation adapted from the University of Colorado's Physics Education Technology project, hang various masses from different springs and see the kinetic, potential, and thermal energy of each spring system. You can even slow time or move your demonstration to another planet.

Mass vs. Weight: Accelerating Mass

Astronauts on the International Space Station demonstrate Newton’s Second Law of Motion in this video from NASA's Teaching From Space initiative.

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Mass vs. Weight: Air Powered Mass

In this video from NASA's Teaching From Space initiative, astronauts on board the International Space Station conduct an experiment using an air gun to exert a consistent force on two difference masses -- an empty water bag and a full water bag.

Mass vs. Weight: Introduction

Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) describe mass and weight and the differences between the two in this video from NASA’s Teaching From Space initiative.

Mass vs. Weight: Stretching Mass

In this video from NASA's Teaching From Space series, an astronaut on board the International Space Station demonstrates weightlessness by comparing two water bags - one full and one empty - tethered to a line by stretchable bands.

Newton's Third Law of Motion: Astronauts in Outer Space

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, NASA learns hard lessons from the first American attempt to do work while "walking" in space. The video also explores Newton's third law of motion.

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Pantheon Dome

This video segment adapted from Building Big: "Domes" illustrates how the design of the Pantheon Dome emerged out of another form, the arch.

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Projectile Motion

In this interactive simulation adapted from University of Colorado’s Physics Education Technology project, learn about projectile motion by firing various objects from a virtual cannon into the air. Experiment with the settings and try to hit a target.

Raising an Obelisk: An Engineering Puzzle

This video segment adapted from NOVA follows two teams as they each test a different engineering design in an effort to explain how ancient Egyptians raised a giant stone obelisk.

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Rotations in Space

Learn about rotational forces by watching astronaut Jeffrey Williams spin objects onboard the International Space Station in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.

Segway Technology: What's Newton Got to Do with It?

What do the laws of physics have to do with engineering? Find out in this video segment featuring inventor Dean Kamen and his inventions, the IBOT and the Segway.

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Soft Landing Challenge

In this video from Design Squad Nation, kids model NASA’s airbag landing system. They design and build protective covers made of balloons to protect an egg dropped from a height of three feet.

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Thank Goodness for Gravity

In this video adapted from the Lexington, KY Public Library, a young boy learns about Earth’s rotation from a librarian, a pendulum, and Leon Foucault.

What Is "Weightlessness"?

This video segment, adapted from ZOOM, shows how dropping a cup of water can both demonstrate gravity and create "weightlessness" here on Earth.

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