Resources by Institute of Physics

Episode 213: Preparation for Work, Energy and Power Topic

From the Institute of Physics, this series of learning episodes explore work, energy and power. Students perform some useful experiments with trolleys, weights and pulleys. Students should have a simple understanding of energy, how it is transferred by a force and the idea of conservation of energy. In these...

Episode 214: Work Done by a Force

In this learning episode from the Institute of Physics, students tackle practical work looking at the efficiency of a ramp to think of force as a mechanism by which energy is transferred from one body to another. The activities include: • discussing students' current understanding of force, gravity, energy and work...

Episode 215: Forces on Vehicles

In this learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, students look at the forces involved when one vehicle impacts another object. This can be used to illustrate the forces, acceleration and deceleration involved. It considers the effect of the distance over which a force acts rather than the time of action of...

Episode 216: Energy Changes

This learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, looks at kinetic energy, work and velocity in relation to the braking distance of a vehicle. Two experiments are included, both of which connect work done in braking to the initial kinetic energy of the decelerating vehicle. The activities include: • discussion...

Episode 217: Conservation of Energy

From the Institute of Physics, although concerned with conservation of mechanical energy, this episode extends the principle to its wider context in order to give the students a full appreciation of the overarching nature of the principle when they meet it in different situations. The activities include: •...

Episode 218: Mechanical Power

From the Institute of Physics, this resource is concerned with the conservation of mechanical energy and the principle in its wider context.

Students look at the meaning of power, undertake sample calculations and the measurement of human power.

Activities include:
• discussing the meaning of...

Episode 219: Preparation for Momentum Topic

In this learning episode from the Institute of Physics, students develop their understanding of momentum through practical investigations and mathematical analysis.

There are three episodes in this topic:

Episode 220:  Momentum and...

Episode 220: Momentum and its Conservation

Produced by the Institute of Physics, this learning episode introduces the concepts of momentum and its conservation. A series of activities include: • an introduction to the conservation of momentum • investigating the conservation of momentum • application of the conservation of momentum in simple cases •...

Episode 221: Elastic Collisions

From the Institute of Physics, this learning episode extends the idea of conservation of momentum into elastic collisions, in which, because kinetic energy (KE) is conserved. Useful information can also be found by calculating the changes in KE of the colliding objects. The activities include: • introducing elastic...

Episode 222: Impulse of a Force

This learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, uses demonstrations and worked examples to examine the forces involved in changing momentum. It introduces the concept of impulse.

The activities in the learning episode include:
* showing that impulse equals change in momentum
* a...