The sport of drag racing can be very usefully examined in an introductory mechanics course. The concepts of energy, momentum, acceleration, velocity, torque, and power are all involved in the analysis of the problem. Many students find the problem to be very contemporary and close to their own experience. High interest among the students usually results in increased understanding of the physical principles involved.

The mechanism of orthokinetic flocculation is assessed in relation to the geometric properties of laminar flow in an idealized capillary model of a granular filter. The velocity gradient (G), which controls the ultimate floc size, Is shown to have a significant effect on the removal efficiency of the filter.

One experiment involving sliding friction and two experiments concerned with fluid friction are described. All three require an absolute minimum of equipment and yet are very useful for the simulation of real physics research. Because friction is given little attention in most introductory textbooks the experiments can be in the nature of discoveries rather than verifications.

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