Students experiment with different substances (oil, water, ice) to determine which is most effective at slowing down the Superhero.

Science Friction!, a TI-Nspire™ math and science activity grounded in an enduring action comics and film genre, puts students in the role of an arch-villain’s minions who experiment with different substances to foil a STEM-tastic Superhero.

Appropriate for Physical Science and Algebra 1 students, the simulation lets them test oil, water and ice to determine which is most effective at slowing down the Superhero to keep him from saving the day.

The activity was developed in collaboration with Adam Weiner, a high school physics educator, public speaker, and the author of “Don’t Try This at Home! The Physics of Hollywood Movies.”

Science Friction! encourages students to explore Newton’s second and third laws of motion by engaging them in the STEM concepts of force and friction.

In the activity, students use TI-Nspire™ technology’s Data & Statistics application to determine the mass of an object from force and acceleration data and calculate the maximum static friction force for the various surfaces to explain what happens to the Superhero in the simulation.


About the author:

Adam Weiner, an educator, author and consultant with the National Academy of Sciences’ Science & Entertainment Exchange, collaborated with Texas Instruments to develop STEM Behind Hollywood‘s superhero and ghost activities.

As an educator, he leverages his interest in connections between popular culture and STEM education to engage his students in concepts and principles in physical science.

For instance, he analyzes movie scenes with his students to illustrate the magic of science on the screen. This experience led to his authoring the book “Don’t Try This at Home! The Physics of Hollywood Movies.”