Special Home Project: Exploration of Motion

In class we have just begun to study motion. One of our first explorations was to study the effect of surface area on the rate at which a piece of paper drops. We started with a full sheet of paper and dropped it from the top of the Smartboard to the floor, using a stopwatch to time how long it took to hit the carpet.

Dropping the paper while the kids timed the
drop using stopwatches.

We dropped the full sheet of paper three times and recorded the amount of time it took to fall each time. We then arranged these times from smallest to largest and found the median - or, the one in the middle. We found it took a full sheet of paper about 2.84 seconds to hit the ground.

Next we took the full sheet and folded it in half. Again, we dropped it three times, recorded the time for each drop, then found the value in the middle of these three (the median). The sheet folded in half took about 2.62 seconds to hit the ground.

We then folded that sheet again. With two equal folds we now had a sheet that was 1/4 its original size. We dropped it three times and found the median value. It took this sheet about 1.82 seconds to drop. We were beginning to notice that the smaller we folded the paper the quicker it seemed to fall. We wound up doing this for 1/8 as well as 1/16.

We recorded our results on a table so we could look for patterns in our data. What we found
was that the smaller the paper the faster it dropped.

The kids' homework this coming week is to conduct their own motion experiment at home, create a visual representation to share, and present this to the class the week of Monday, May 15th.

Here's what they will need:

A question to study...

This could be anything related to motion. For instance, they could compare the bounce of balls that are different in size...or material...or air pressure. They could compare the effects of surface material when rolling a ball in different places (carpet, tile, grass, dirt, concrete, etc). They could compare the rolling distance of different balls (size, material, or air pressure) when rolled on the same surface. They could compare the effects of weight on the rate at which an object falls. 

The possibilities are only limited by imagination. You could always do an internet search for motion experiment ideas.

Controlled variables...

No matter what they are testing they need to ensure the conditions of the experiment remain the same for each roll, drop, push, bounce, etc. For instance, if they're dropping something each trial should be dropped from the exact same height. During their presentation they'll need to explain to us what was controlled (kept the same) and what was changed each time (the variable being changed is the thing being tested - surface material, air pressure in ball, etc.).

A method for data collection...

They will want to make sure to record all their data. Rather than rolling a ball once they'll need to do it multiple times then find the median to help ensure their results are reasonably reliable (and not a fluke event). You can see in the photo above where we recorded all our times in order from smallest to largest then found the one in the middle. This was our median. They'll need to show us how they did this in their presentation.

The kids will also need to create a table to show us their results. The photo above is a great example of this.

An explanation of what they think they found...

After the experiment is over they need to look at their data and write a short paragraph explaining what they think they have found out. For instance, in our class example we think we found out that the smaller you fold the paper the faster it drops. The kids should then explain why they think it works this way. It's okay if it's just a guess at this point. In our experiment I thought the smaller surface area allowed the paper to drop faster because there was less wind resistance. After conducting their experiments and studying their data the kids can come up with these sorts of hypotheses as well. 

A mode of presentation...

They can share this with us any way they'd like. This could be a poster board with tables, photos, and text. Or, it could be a video of some sort. Or it could be a book they've made detailing each step of their experiment and what they found. Any format is fine so long as it allows them to show us what they did, how they did it, what they found, and what they're thinking about this.

I'm sending this out today to make sure everyone has two weekends available for doing this as well as all of next week. There will be no other homework other than nightly reading. I would estimate this whole thing should take about two hours to complete so if they do it in stages (come up with question and design experiment, conduct experiment, create table, make presentation) they could easily work just 20 - 30 minutes over four or five days. If you have any questions let me know. I look forward to seeing all the cool things they bring in to share on Monday, May 15th!