Episode 404: Gravitational Potential Energy

From the Institute of Physics, this resource uses discussion, worked examples and modelling to help students appreciate the energy changes that take place as a body moves in a gravitational field. The learning episode is quite extended and gives a good grounding in these ideas.

The activities look at:...

Episode 403: Orbital Motion

Through discussion and worked examples, this learning episode from the Institute of Physics, enables students to combine concepts of circular motion with Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation to understand the motion of satellites. It includes an explanation of Kepler’s third law.

The activities look at:...

Episode 402: Fields, Field Lines and Field Strength

This learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, introduces the notion of a field of force and how it can be diagrammatically represented using field lines. The actual strength of the field at a point in space is defined by the field strength. The activities include: • discussing fields and field lines •...

Episode 401: Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

In this learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, students discuss and see worked examples that introduce Newton’s law of universal gravitation for point and spherical masses.

Students practice calculations of the force between objects. The meaning of the inverse square law is discussed.

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Episode 400: Preparation for Gravitational Fields Topic *suitable for home teaching*

This series of sessions, produced by the Institute of Physics, develops the idea that Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation is precisely that; universal. Every single object with a mass in the universe gravitationally attracts every other object with mass. By following the learning episodes in this topic, students...

Playing with Toys in Space *suitable for home teaching*

Looking for a clip to illustrate momentum? Footagevault has provided this footage of astronaut Jeff Hoffman playing with a red toy car on a looped race track on board the Space Shuttle. The car's...

Astronauts on 'Space Walk' from the International Space Station

This vertiginous video clip , from Footagevault, shows an astronaut emerging from the Quest airlock on board the International Space Station. Further views recorded from a small camera mounted on the astronaut's helmet show the astronaut-eye view of his spacewalk, looking around the outside of the Space Station...

Apollo 1 Fire - the Aftermath

This historic footage, from Footagevault, was recorded at the top of the Apollo 1 rocket stack shortly after the fire which claimed the lives of the first Apollo astronauts. The film shows how ferociously things burn in a high pressure pure oxygen environment. The engineers running this Apollo test procedure had...

Astronauts Leaping on the Moon

This footage, from Footagevault, documents the locomotion of humans on the moon under reduced gravity conditions. It can be used with Key Stage Three and Four students to start discussions about forces. This clip shows Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan leaping towards the camera with great big kangaroo hops.

The Hammer and the Feather on the Moon

This classic Apollo 15 clip, from Footagevault, demonstrates that the mass of an object does not affect the time it takes to fall when dropped in a vacuum. The clip could be used in Key Stage Three and Four lessons on forces.