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Joe Cossette

@cossettej.bsky.social
661 followers 227 following 1.1K posts

High School Physics Teacher • #iteachphysics • Bow Tie Enthusiast • he/him passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com

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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Just found out that the new budget electronic balances that we got can measure up to 5 kg and display in newtons!! Makes for some significantly simpler force stations than I had been doing :) #ITeachPhysics Amazon Link: amzn.to/4xL3t8y
Mystery mass supported by a spring scale and a balance displaying NEWTONS!!
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I introduced buoyant force today with a student paced lab walking through the PHET buoyancy simulation. I think it does a nice job of allowing students to "discover" what buoyant force is 😀 Files posted here for anyone that is interested www.passionatelycurious.info/blog/phet-bu...
passionatelycurious.info
PHET Buoyancy Lab
"Students use a PHET simulation to explore buoyancy hands-on — calculating buoyant force, building force diagrams, and discovering why objects float or sink. Free downloadable lab, written for IB Phys...
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I've also been trying to update my youtube channel to make the new curriculum lessons easier to find www.youtube.com/@Passionatel... After recording everything during COVID I found that I really missed having this resource for absent students. It was quite a task to rebuild...
youtube.com
Passionately Curious
In the words of Albert Einstein, " I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious". This channel is all about sharing my love of investigating this world with a passionate curiosity. As a h...
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
This has been quite a project in the making (especially recording a post-COVID set of lecture videos) and I'm hoping others will find it useful 😊
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
It is complete with editable/animated notes, lecture videos, content guides, IA resources, and practice problems with a google form that provides instant feedback 😀 Everything is free and I'm hoping to link in some more activities as the year goes along!
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
I'm super excited to share that I have finally assembled my online resources for the new IB Physics SL curriculum! passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com/ib-physics.h... #ITeachPhysics
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
I also made a post on my website detailing the total set up that we put together to maximize the impact of these probes. These kits quickly became a favorite of ours for making our hands-on kinematics experiences more complete. #iteachphysics passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com/beespi-marbl...
passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com
BeeSpi Marble Ramp
Materials for a physics classroom kit of BeeSpi velocity probes and marble ramps to measure and quantify acceleration
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Arbor Scientific gave me an opportunity to share my favorite ways to use our new BeeSpi self contained photogates! Check out the official blog post for all of the details 😀
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
I love this.
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
I designed a little 3D printed laser mount for a diffraction lab to determine the thickness of a hair. I underestimated how much cooler it is for students to use physics to calculate a value that they have personal connection to. 😀 Files on the Blog passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com/blog/by-a-ha...
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
They would work on a whiteboard! (or just tape them to the wall 😉)
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
File for the 3D printed magnetic hoop can be found here: makerworld.com/en/models/19...
makerworld.com
Magnetic Projectile Hoop by Passionately Curious MakerWorld: Download Free 3D Models
This hoop is designed to use as a target for students to calculate and place so that an angled projectile makes it through. The model requires two 6mm x 3mm magnets press fit into the holes. By doing ...
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
The magnetic hoops made the logistics of aiming and placing a lot easier. Pom pom streamers added to make the success more visible and dramatic 😎
magnetic hoop with pom pom streamersmagnetic hoops and projectile launchermagnetic hoops and projectile launcher
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
For a little remix of @afreeparticle.com's "Rings of Fire", I 3D printed some magnetic hoops that students could stick to the lockers at any height and distance. For some classes, I gave groups a target time and some I gave a target horizontal distance.
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Reposted by Joe Cossette
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Day 38 Physics & Physical Sci - Did @cossettej.bsky.social newton block lab. Lots of setup so did it with both classes. My old set of blocks were beat up and missing pieces so adapted my set of a million go cars to do the same thing. Great lab to do each year! #iteachphysics #teach180
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
This video is gorgeous 😍
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
To make topographic mapping a little more hands-on in our Earth Science classes, we updated the classic shoebox and dowel approach with some 3D Printed mystery landforms. 😏 Activity and materials posted for free here: passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com/blog/topogra...
passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com
Topographic Mystery Lab
Topographic mystery activity for students to map elevation of an unknown landform and match it to a virtual model by creating a topographic contour map
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
This is such an awesome visualization of a black body graph. I can't wait to use this with students!! #iteachphysics
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
We explored continental drift in my Earth Science with this 3D printed version of the Plate Tectonic Puzzle by the American Museum of Natural History (@amnh.org) www.amnh.org/content/down... 3D Model: makerworld.com/en/models/14...
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
New blog post!! I wanted to share the mini lab set up that I used to introduce mathematical models in my physics classes. I'm especially proud of the inverse square relationship comparing the diameter and length of a playdough snake 😊 #iteachphysics passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com/blog/pattern...
passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com
Patterns in Physics
Inspired by the work of the Patterns Approach to Physics , I wanted to start my IB Physics classes with a short exposure to different types of mathematical models that they will see. Due to time...
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Reposted by Joe Cossette
Chris Sarkonak @csarkonak.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
Day 1 cont: 12 Ss started with @cossettej.bsky.social's passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com/blog/game-of.... This is a great way to kick-start the 12s and we talked about the challenges of figuring out the rules of the game from within the game #teach180 🎢
passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com
The Game of Science
Students must complete this first week science task to determine the rules to a board game just by observing how it is played
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
There is no better sign that we will be using ramps than walking into the classroom and seeing one of those Holt texts on the lab bench 😅
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
I'm convinced that playing with dry ice is the most engaging introduction to constant velocity that I've ever tried. I'm looking forward to continually referencing this shared experience when we get to Newton's Laws 😃 #iteachphysics
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
Based on the conversations people are having about my image, I think yours does a better job connecting to the *true* definition of "precision". Using cutting wood to length makes way more sense to me than variation in multiple digital measurements. Thanks for sharing!
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
It's tricky because I think precision is typically present as this "deviation" approach. The issue that I have with it is that massing something as "100g" five times in a row doesn't make it more precise. Both ideas have value, but I find this instrumental definition more useful to students.
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Looks like you had a busy but engaging week! I can definitely relate with the first week feelings...
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
haha we confirmed it with that last balance on the right of course 😅
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
I finally got around to making a new visual for precision and accuracy that doesn't use a target!! I'm looking forward to introducing these concepts alongside uncertainty in a way that is a little more authentic to scientific measurements 🧪 #iteachphysics
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
I've never thought of using MCWordle with intro questions like this. Awesome idea!! 😁
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
It's so nice to have the ability to edit it to include exactly what you want! Here's a version that my colleagues and I made in powerpoint 😅 passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com/blog/printab...
passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com
Printable Periodic Table
Editable Periodic Table for Printing
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
If your reality is like mine, you will end up doing that anyway (one group at a time) so I think a preset example is a good idea to give them a model. That way they are more ready to do the thinking that you want then to do
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
And yes. I am still grieving the loss of what we used to have in terms of a vibrant online community. 😩
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
I think the magic of this is in the "respond to these student ideas" on the second page. 😊 I could see students getting bogged down in the logistics of the data collection. This could probably be addressed with a general diagram of the set up and maybe a completed velocity direction column.
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
As a warning, the stuff that I have posted isn't updated yet for the 2025 curriculum yet. I'm hoping to get some of the new stuff up there this summer and during the school year...
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
I know this is a simple thing but I really like this. 😊
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
New doppler effect phenomenon just dropped! 😅 #ITeachPhysics 🎢
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Reposted by Joe Cossette
Greg Schwanbeck @gregschwanbeck.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
I finally made that punk rock song about finding the north star and reckoning latitude that you always wanted! I hope it's the best #video in the "punk rock musical #astronomy education" category that you see today. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC0E... #space #iteachphysics #science #STEM #edusky
youtube.com
Learn to find the NORTH STAR (Polaris) & also North/South/East/West & even LATITUDE (via punk rock!)
YouTube video by Schwanbeck Physics
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Wow! This is REALLY good. How long did that take to put together?!?
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
"Mythbusters for the Impatient" is one of the best Youtube channels out there 😀
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Wow! Congratulations and so well deserved! This is some pretty mind bending company. It's amazing what people are doing with Desmos.
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Awesome! Let me know if you have any questions in the set up. Eventually, I have plans to make a sort of "how to" post but for now, it mostly just a reverse engineering exercise 😉
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Reposted by Joe Cossette
Pete Golton @petergolton.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
One of the best online collaborative activities I've done, teaching electricity. For 45 minutes, the entire classroom was engaged, sharing ideas, teaching each other, reinforcing work from previous lessons. Great stuff @cossettej.bsky.social #iteachphysics tinyurl.com/bdzmn4h9
passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com
Circuit Virtual Escape Room
Virtual Escape Room on the topics of circuits, electricity, voltage, resistance, current, ohm's law, and resistivity
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
So happy you liked it!! My students will be doing this on Monday 😀
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
I did! The files are linked in the blog post 😀
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
So glad it helped!! It was rewarding watching how some of my students clicked in new ways working with these in my own classroom as well 🙂
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
I've been wanting to make a self-paced ionic bonding investigation for a while now and it's finally ready to share!! passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com/blog/ionic-b... Using puzzle pieces, students work through a series of challenges to introduce the basics of ionic bonding. 🧩
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
I'm excited about this new activity that we made for our earth science classes -- "Finding a Habitable Exoplanet" Students receive data about 6 stars and their exoplanets to determine which candidates fall into the habitable zone. passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com/blog/finding... #iteachphysics 🎢
passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com
Finding a Habitable Exoplanet
In this activity, students are provided with data about 10 different exoplanets and their host stars to investigate and determine the best candidate for supporting life outside of Earth
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Turned out great!! I know how challenging it is to try to get a good video showing the set up for that demo 😉
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
"Flicking electrons" at a Van de Graaff generator wearing a rabbit for toupée ⚡ #iteachphysics 🎢
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Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
They are resonators to investigate natural frequency 😀 makerworld.com/en/models/93...
makerworld.com
Print in Place Resonator - V2 by Passionately Curious
Modeled off of the Exploratorium's resonator demonstration (https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/resonator), this print in place demonstration shows the phenomonon of resonant frequency. In t...
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