Some of our experiments...
Testing Newton's 1st Law of Motion
Our questions:
'1. The balls will not move' - Nicolas
'2. The balls will roll down and keep moving' - Nicolas
Materials:
-tennis ball
-golf ball
-a wooden plank
-a big book to make the plank a ramp
What to do:
1. Place the 2 balls on the floor gently. Watch what happens during 30 seconds.
2. Place each ball (in turns) on the top of the ramp and let go of the ball. Watch what happens during 30 seconds.
3. Record your results.
Our results: 'The balls didn't move because there was no force to make them move. The balls slid on the board because it was going down and the balls were going down the board. When they slid down, after a moment they stopped.' - Tessa
'The balls did not move when they were placed on the floor because there was no force to move them. The balls started moving because the ramp goes down. The balls stopped moving because there was a force stopping them.' - Portia and Miss. Maria
- What will happen to 2 different types of balls (tennis and golf) if we put them on the floor and don't touch them?
- What will happen to 2 different types of balls (tennis and golf) if we let them roll down a ramp?
'1. The balls will not move' - Nicolas
'2. The balls will roll down and keep moving' - Nicolas
Materials:
-tennis ball
-golf ball
-a wooden plank
-a big book to make the plank a ramp
What to do:
1. Place the 2 balls on the floor gently. Watch what happens during 30 seconds.
2. Place each ball (in turns) on the top of the ramp and let go of the ball. Watch what happens during 30 seconds.
3. Record your results.
Our results: 'The balls didn't move because there was no force to make them move. The balls slid on the board because it was going down and the balls were going down the board. When they slid down, after a moment they stopped.' - Tessa
'The balls did not move when they were placed on the floor because there was no force to move them. The balls started moving because the ramp goes down. The balls stopped moving because there was a force stopping them.' - Portia and Miss. Maria
Testing Newton's 2nd Law of Motion
Our question: 'What will happen if we push a chair with or without weight?' - Primary Class
Our hypothesis:'The chair with the lighter person or nothing on it will go further than a chair with a heavier person.' - Primary Class
Materials: Two chairs with wheels, people in the class and the push and pull forces.
What to do: Take two chairs. The first time, have one chair with nothing on it and the other with a child. Then test with 1 adult and one child. Keep testing.
Our results:'Everyone in the class pushed someone. The teachers were slower and the kids went faster. We pushed with the same force.' - Morris
'It is harder to move a heavier object. I pushed Anaïs and Miss.Maria. Anaïs went further that Miss. Maria.' - Aibo
'Isaac Newton was correct. If we have less mass we go further than if we have more mass.' - Anaïs
Our hypothesis:'The chair with the lighter person or nothing on it will go further than a chair with a heavier person.' - Primary Class
Materials: Two chairs with wheels, people in the class and the push and pull forces.
What to do: Take two chairs. The first time, have one chair with nothing on it and the other with a child. Then test with 1 adult and one child. Keep testing.
Our results:'Everyone in the class pushed someone. The teachers were slower and the kids went faster. We pushed with the same force.' - Morris
'It is harder to move a heavier object. I pushed Anaïs and Miss.Maria. Anaïs went further that Miss. Maria.' - Aibo
'Isaac Newton was correct. If we have less mass we go further than if we have more mass.' - Anaïs
Testing Newton's 3rd Law of Motion
Our question:
Our hypothesis: 'The marbles in the middle will roll along the table until they are stopped or there will be some friction.' - Théa
'I think the marbles will roll.' - Portia and Miss. Maria
'They will just continue rolling in a row. Sometimes they will go fast or slow. It depends on the amount of force you will use.' - Melissa
Materials:
-10 marbles
-2 desks
What to do:
1. Put the marbles in the groove between two desks; put four of the marbles in the middle, put one of the marbles on the end of the groove, away from the other marbles.
2. Push the end marble gently [use little force] so that it bumps the other marbles.
3. Observe the marble(s) at the other end.
4. Push two marbles so that they bump into the marbles in the middle. What happens?
5. Experiment with the number of marbles you push and the number of marbles that move.
Our results:'I thought that all of the marbles would move.' - Melissa
'My hypothesis was that all four marbles will roll, but instead only the front marble rolled away. I was surprised about it. All my classmates were as surprised as me. It was incredible.' - Théa
'Our hypothesis was wrong. If we push one marble, one will go. If we push two marbles, two will go. If we push four marbles, four will go.' - Aibo
'My hypothesis was not correct. We expected all the marbles to roll, but just one marble rolled. This made me surprised.' - Nicolas
'Isaac Newton was correct. For every action there is a reaction.' - Anaïs
- What will happen when we push a row of marbles with another marble?
- What will happen if we push a row of marbles with 2 or more marbles?
Our hypothesis: 'The marbles in the middle will roll along the table until they are stopped or there will be some friction.' - Théa
'I think the marbles will roll.' - Portia and Miss. Maria
'They will just continue rolling in a row. Sometimes they will go fast or slow. It depends on the amount of force you will use.' - Melissa
Materials:
-10 marbles
-2 desks
What to do:
1. Put the marbles in the groove between two desks; put four of the marbles in the middle, put one of the marbles on the end of the groove, away from the other marbles.
2. Push the end marble gently [use little force] so that it bumps the other marbles.
3. Observe the marble(s) at the other end.
4. Push two marbles so that they bump into the marbles in the middle. What happens?
5. Experiment with the number of marbles you push and the number of marbles that move.
Our results:'I thought that all of the marbles would move.' - Melissa
'My hypothesis was that all four marbles will roll, but instead only the front marble rolled away. I was surprised about it. All my classmates were as surprised as me. It was incredible.' - Théa
'Our hypothesis was wrong. If we push one marble, one will go. If we push two marbles, two will go. If we push four marbles, four will go.' - Aibo
'My hypothesis was not correct. We expected all the marbles to roll, but just one marble rolled. This made me surprised.' - Nicolas
'Isaac Newton was correct. For every action there is a reaction.' - Anaïs
Some of our other experiments...
Balloon Rockets
Our question:
What will happen when we let go of the balloon?
Our hypothesis: 'The balloon will cross the room because there is air in the balloon. It will fly through the room. The air pushes and goes out of the balloon.' - Morris
'The balloon with the straw will slide down the string like a zip-line.' - Théa
'I think when we will let go of the balloon, it will fly like a rocket until the end of the string.' - Anaïs
'The balloon will push the air out of the balloon and the balloon will slide on the string until it reachers the end of the string using the push force.' - Melissa
Materials: - 1 balloon (round ones will work, but the longer “airship” balloons work best)
- 1 long piece of string
- 1 plastic straw
- Tape
What to do:
1. Tie one end of the string to a chair, door knob, or other support.
2. Put the other end of the string through the straw.
3. Pull the string tight and tie it to another support in the room.
4. Blow up the balloon (but don’t tie it). Pinch the end of the balloon and tape the balloon to the straw as shown above. You’re ready for launch.
5. Let go and watch the rocket fly!
Our results: 'The air made the rocket fly. We blew into the balloon and filled it with air and attached it to a straw. It was when we let the balloon go that made it move. The rocket used air for it's force. I think a real rocket would work this way. Because it is heavy it would need fire.' - Nicolas
'The air that we blowed was the thing that made the rocket fly all the way to the Primary class from the Early Years class.' - Aibo
What will happen when we let go of the balloon?
Our hypothesis: 'The balloon will cross the room because there is air in the balloon. It will fly through the room. The air pushes and goes out of the balloon.' - Morris
'The balloon with the straw will slide down the string like a zip-line.' - Théa
'I think when we will let go of the balloon, it will fly like a rocket until the end of the string.' - Anaïs
'The balloon will push the air out of the balloon and the balloon will slide on the string until it reachers the end of the string using the push force.' - Melissa
Materials: - 1 balloon (round ones will work, but the longer “airship” balloons work best)
- 1 long piece of string
- 1 plastic straw
- Tape
What to do:
1. Tie one end of the string to a chair, door knob, or other support.
2. Put the other end of the string through the straw.
3. Pull the string tight and tie it to another support in the room.
4. Blow up the balloon (but don’t tie it). Pinch the end of the balloon and tape the balloon to the straw as shown above. You’re ready for launch.
5. Let go and watch the rocket fly!
Our results: 'The air made the rocket fly. We blew into the balloon and filled it with air and attached it to a straw. It was when we let the balloon go that made it move. The rocket used air for it's force. I think a real rocket would work this way. Because it is heavy it would need fire.' - Nicolas
'The air that we blowed was the thing that made the rocket fly all the way to the Primary class from the Early Years class.' - Aibo
Materials, Ramps, Cars and Marbles
Materials:
-same length pieces if cardboard covered with different materials (tin foil, plastic wrap, sandpaper, bubble wrap, thin polystyrene and plain cardboard)
-same-sized boxes to make ramps with the cardboard
-one toy car
-one marble
What to do:
1. Take the pieces of cardboard and line them up next to each other as ramps on the boxes.
2. Start with the toy car. Let go of it at the top of each ramp. Measure how far it goes each time from the end of the ramp. Test each ramp 3 times.
3. Once you have tested the distance the car goes, take the marble and do the same. Test each ramp 3 times.
Hypothesis: We all made predictions of which material would make the car and marble go the furthest. We used numbers 1-6, 1 being the one that will cause the car and marble to go the furthest.
For example:
1. Tin foil
2. Plastic wrap
3. Sand paper
4. Plain cardboard
5. Bubble wrap
6. Thin polystyrene
Results: Average distance after 3 tests on each ramp.
-same length pieces if cardboard covered with different materials (tin foil, plastic wrap, sandpaper, bubble wrap, thin polystyrene and plain cardboard)
-same-sized boxes to make ramps with the cardboard
-one toy car
-one marble
What to do:
1. Take the pieces of cardboard and line them up next to each other as ramps on the boxes.
2. Start with the toy car. Let go of it at the top of each ramp. Measure how far it goes each time from the end of the ramp. Test each ramp 3 times.
3. Once you have tested the distance the car goes, take the marble and do the same. Test each ramp 3 times.
Hypothesis: We all made predictions of which material would make the car and marble go the furthest. We used numbers 1-6, 1 being the one that will cause the car and marble to go the furthest.
For example:
1. Tin foil
2. Plastic wrap
3. Sand paper
4. Plain cardboard
5. Bubble wrap
6. Thin polystyrene
Results: Average distance after 3 tests on each ramp.
For car:
1. Plastic wrap (41.5cm) 2. Plain cardboard (37.8cm) 3. Tin foil (32.9cm) 4. Thin polystyrene (19.1cm) 5. Sand paper (18.3cm) 6. Bubble wrap (6.4cm) |
For marble:
1. Plastic wrap (95.3cm) 2. Sand paper (93.7cm) 3. Tin foil (90.8cm) 4. Plain cardboard (86.4cm) 5. Thin polystyrene (82cm) 6. Bubble wrap (46.3cm) |
'I think that the plastic wrap was 1. because it was slippery and I think that the bubble wrap went last because of the bubbles. When the marble went on the thin polystyrene it slowed down because it had some bumps and the friction stopped it because of the two bumps.' - Tessa
'The marble went further on the plastic wrap because the plastic is slippery. The marble did not go fast on the bubble wrap because of the bumps. The bumps cause friction.' - Nicolas
'The bubble wrap was the slowest because the bubbles made them go slow. The plastic wrap went the fastest because the plastic was slippery.' - Aibo
'The marble went further on the plastic wrap because the plastic is slippery. The marble did not go fast on the bubble wrap because of the bumps. The bumps cause friction.' - Nicolas
'The bubble wrap was the slowest because the bubbles made them go slow. The plastic wrap went the fastest because the plastic was slippery.' - Aibo
Testing Centrifugal Force
Questions: What do you think will happen if we spin a bucket full of plastic bottle tops?
What do you think will happen if we spin a bucket full of water?
Hypothesis: 'I don't think that the plastic tops or the water will fall out. Maybe some bottle tops will fall out, but not all of them.' - Théa and Portia
'I think that the water will not go out of the bucket. But I still do not know if it will not go out of the bucket when we stop it. I think the same thing with the bottle tops.' - Tessa
'I think that the water will spill out. I think the bottle tops will stay inside.' - Aibo
'I think that the water will stay inside and that the plastic tops will go out.' - Morris
Materials:
-bucket (this can be made with a plastic bottle to make it easier to spin)
-plastic bottle tops (at least 50)
-water
-a rain jacket (just in case!)
What to do:
1. First try the experiment with the plastic bottle tops. Take the bucket and fill it with the plastic bottle tops.
2. Spin the bucket above your head as fast as you can. What happens? Try spinning it a little slower too.
3. Now try with water, if you dare! What happens?
Results:'Nothing fell out, because there was not enough time to fall out. Yes, we did expect these results. My hypothesis was correct. When we did it a bit slower, it still stayed in, but when Miss. Maria tried it slower the plastic tops fell out. I learned that centrifugal force is really strong sometimes.' - Théa
'I didn't expect the results, because I thought that the water will come out.' - Aibo
'Nothing fell out because we were turning it fast, but even if we were turning it slowly it didn't fall out. It's maybe because it didn't have time to let it fall out. It's also because the plastic bottle is turning.' - Anaïs
'The water didn't fall out, because we were turning it very fast.' - Nicolas
What do you think will happen if we spin a bucket full of water?
Hypothesis: 'I don't think that the plastic tops or the water will fall out. Maybe some bottle tops will fall out, but not all of them.' - Théa and Portia
'I think that the water will not go out of the bucket. But I still do not know if it will not go out of the bucket when we stop it. I think the same thing with the bottle tops.' - Tessa
'I think that the water will spill out. I think the bottle tops will stay inside.' - Aibo
'I think that the water will stay inside and that the plastic tops will go out.' - Morris
Materials:
-bucket (this can be made with a plastic bottle to make it easier to spin)
-plastic bottle tops (at least 50)
-water
-a rain jacket (just in case!)
What to do:
1. First try the experiment with the plastic bottle tops. Take the bucket and fill it with the plastic bottle tops.
2. Spin the bucket above your head as fast as you can. What happens? Try spinning it a little slower too.
3. Now try with water, if you dare! What happens?
Results:'Nothing fell out, because there was not enough time to fall out. Yes, we did expect these results. My hypothesis was correct. When we did it a bit slower, it still stayed in, but when Miss. Maria tried it slower the plastic tops fell out. I learned that centrifugal force is really strong sometimes.' - Théa
'I didn't expect the results, because I thought that the water will come out.' - Aibo
'Nothing fell out because we were turning it fast, but even if we were turning it slowly it didn't fall out. It's maybe because it didn't have time to let it fall out. It's also because the plastic bottle is turning.' - Anaïs
'The water didn't fall out, because we were turning it very fast.' - Nicolas