By Janet Pinto, Chief Academic Officer & Chief Marketing Officer, Curriki
If you happen to live near a body of water, your summer days might consist of watching sailboats go by, buoyed by a warm breeze. But in addition to providing a wonderful ride, sailboats provide an awesome opportunity to learn about physics.
We know that a sailboat can travel with the wind, but what really makes a sailboat move? Curriki has put together a fascinating collection of resources to help you and your students learn about the physics of sailing. Here are a few:
- Physics of Sailing Educator Guide – We know that a sailboat can travel with the wind, but what really makes a sailboat move?
- Science of Sailing 101 – How can a wind-powered sailboat move faster than the wind? Why do the America’s Cup sails look like airplane wings? With the beginner in mind, Exploratorium senior scientist Paul Doherty introduces the basic physics of sailing and sail design.
- The Physics of Sailing – This video about the science of sailing covers friction, buoyancy, Bernoulli’s Principle, Newton’s Second Law, and Newton’s Third Law.
- The Physics of Sailing – KQED QUEST – Northern California has a 500-year history of sailing, but scientists and boat designers learn more each day about what makes a sailboat move.
- Exploratorium Science at America’s Cup: “Sailing 101” – How can a wind-powered sailboat move faster than the wind? Why do the America’s Cup sails look like airplane wings? Learn with Exploratorium senior scientist Paul Doherty.
- How Does A Sailboat Actually Work? – This lesson covers the concept of lift.
- Sailing Physics – Explore how drag, friction, buoyancy, kinetic energy, normal force, and gravitational force act on a sailboat. Vector addition is also discussed.
- Points of Sail – This video takes a multi-view approach to understanding wind direction and the sailing terminology associated with it.
- Oracle Team USA – Racing on the Bay – Watch Oracle Team USA race in the 34th America’s Cup on San Francisco Bay.
- Intro to Sailing Game – Intro to Sailing is a game designed to teach the fundamentals of sailboat racing.
- The Physics of Sailing Web Tutorial & Puzzle – This lesson covers Newton’s laws, vector subtraction, Archimedes’ principle and other crucial concepts.
This is just a taste of the many resources in Curriki’s collection The Physics of Sailing. Check it out!
Janet Pinto, Chief Academic Officer & Chief Marketing Officer, leads and manages all of Curriki’s content development, user experience, and academic direction. Learn more at Curriki.org.
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Physics is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, aimed at understanding how the universe behaves. It’s one of the oldest and most fundamental scientific disciplines. It’s also extremely difficult, especially for Advanced Placement (AP) students!
The 