Inform students to bring a pencil, ruler, pen and protractor. Distribute modeling clay lumps and typing paper to each student. Students should lay their paper flat on the table and place their clay on top, near the center of the page. Measure pencils from point tip to eraser end. Press the eraser end into the lump of clay. Mold the clay around the pencil so it rests at an angle. Place the ruler upright and move it close to the pencil tip. Record the mark on the ruler at which the tip is pointing. Measure the length of each side of the triangle and the angles formed using a protractor. Ask students to identify the x and y components, as well as the vertical and horizontal distances spanned by the vector, while discussing magnitude and displacement.
Instructors should assign students in partners. Give one student a rubber band and the other a stopwatch. The first person should hold the rubber band by one end at nose height. The person with the stopwatch will time how long it takes the band to touch the floor when it is released. During the second experiment phase, the first person will shoot the rubber band from nose height across the room. Compare the difference in time elapsed and distance traveled. Discuss the concepts of free fall and parabolic motion.
Assign students a partner and give each pair a beanbag. One partner starts from one end on a sidewalk holding the beanbag and runs toward their partner waiting near the other end. Upon passing their partners, runners should drop the beanbag. The partner should mark the place where the bag landed with a small rock. Repeat the experiment, but when the runner passes, the partner should knock the beanbag out of the runner's hand and mark its landing position. In the third experiment, the partner who is standing still should hold the beanbag and drop it when the runner passes and mark the place it falls. Measure the distance between the three rocks and use the data collected to discuss inertia.
Physics instructors will need to provide elevator access and a bathroom scale that is not digital to conduct an experiment about Newton's Second Law of Motion. Send students into the elevator in groups of five. Instruct them to place the scale on the floor of the elevator and choose one student to stand on the scale. Press the elevator button for the top floor and watch the scale during travel. Record the maximum and minimum weights displayed on the scale. When the elevator stops, return to the ground floor, again recording minimum and maximum weight readings. Teachers should lead a discussion on normal force, mass, acceleration and weight following the conclusion of the experiment.