Pushes on the Ice

Time, slide, pull, weigh, push and ride across an indoor ice rink on a working test bench, and find out what a speed measures, what starts things moving, what stops them, and what a floor, a jet and a cushion of air can push. Eight lessons for ages 12 and up, the first of two courses that lead into The Physics of the Hopping Roadster.

Course cover

How things move

Lesson 1

Faster Than Bolt? image

Faster Than Bolt?

A puck, a stopwatch and a cone every 10 metres, against the fastest 100 m ever run.

Lesson 2

The Puck That Wouldn't Stop image

The Puck That Wouldn't Stop

The same puck, the same shove, and one floor takes its speed away fifteen times faster.

Lesson 3

Twice the Load image

Twice the Load

A steady pull on a frictionless rink, and a speed that never settles.

What the floor does

Lesson 4

What the Scale Feels image

What the Scale Feels

The same sled, the same mass, and a reading that won't sit still.

Lesson 5

Stuck Until It Isn't image

Stuck Until It Isn't

A pull that grows and a sled that won't budge, until it suddenly does.

Lesson 6

Push Off image

Push Off

Two skaters on ice, one push between them, and nothing else to push on.

Pushing without a floor

Lesson 7

Ride the Extinguisher image

Ride the Extinguisher

No wheels, no oars, no floor to push on, and the sled still speeds across the rink.

Lesson 8

Floating on Air image

Floating on Air

A leaf blower, a sheet of plywood and a shower curtain, and a kid floats.

Review and assessment

Lesson 9

Test: Pushes on the Ice

Review the course ideas by applying them to new situations, with kind feedback after every answer.

Locked till you take the prior lesson