Grade Level

High School

Topics

Physics

Authors

Kelsey Lucas, Kristen L. Cacciatore

Lesson Summary

Students will apply the conservation of momentum to dolphin swimming. They will examine the concept of a closed system as it relates to a dolphin and the water surrounding it. Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:

  • explain and use the momentum equation (p=mv);
  • describe the differences between closed and open systems; and
  • apply the conservation of momentum to determine an unknown velocity or unknown mass.

 

Standards

Science and Engineering Practices:

SP5

MA Science and Technology/Engineering (2016):

HS-PS2-2

NGSS (2013):

HS-PS2-2

Common Core Math/Language Arts Standards:

 

Tags

closed system, conservation of momentum, conserved, mass, momentum, velocity, vortices

Educator SoundBites

"I love being able to give my students real world applications of the physics concepts they learn in class, and it helps them to apply their computational skills to novel situations. I got a lot of 'today was actually really fun,' comments from kiddos who were getting a little burned out on exam review."
Marlene Moxness, STEM Prep HS, Nashville, TN

Lesson Documents

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