About Our Slow Coaster:
The Science Behind Our Coaster:
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Inertia: Tendency of things to keep doing what they are doing (unless an unbalanced for is acted upon them). We see this when the ball continues to roll once it starts rolling, and does not stop until acted on by gravity or friction.
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Change in movement due to unbalanced force: Examples of unbalanced forces that presented in our Slow Coaster are gravity and friction. Essentially, the idea is that if something is moving, it will keep moving unless it is acted upon by an unbalanced force. We see this when the ball is forced to change direction because a length of the track ends, and then again each time that the ball falls down and rolls to the next level in the opposite direction.
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Friction: A force that holds back the movement of an object. The layers of rubber bands (some of which are twisted) increase the amount of friction between the Slow Coaster and our ping pong ball, which slows down the coaster.
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Gravity: The force that tries to pull objects together. In the case of our Slow Coaster, gravity is at work when the ping pong ball is pulled down towards the bottom of the track.
Average Speed of Ball: 23 centimeters per second
Connections to the K-6 Science Curriculum: 1.P.1.3 Predict the effect of a given force on the motion of an object, including balanced forces.
3.P.1.1 Infer changes in speed or direction resulting from forces acting on an object.
3.P.1.3 Explain the effect of earth’s gravity on the motion of any object on or near the earth.
3.P.3.1 Recognize that energy can be transferred from one object to another by rubbing them against each other.
5.P.1.1 Explain how factors such as gravity, friction, and change in mass affect the motion of objects.
5.P.1.2 Infer the motion of objects in terms of how far they travel in a certain amount of time and the direction in which they travel.
General descriptions of math tools used in this project: slope of rubber bands, units of measurement, division, measurement standards (5.P.1)
Classroom applications: Trial and error, giving students the "right" amount of frustration, real world applications of math and science, children are able to be active learners (material grounded in physical world), team work, using your body (not just your brain)!
Supplies used for this project:
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Peg board (2' x 2')
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Various sizes of rubber bands
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Wingnuts
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3" carriage bolts
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Nuts
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Ping Pong Balls
Our Slow Coaster: The Lazy Roller
<-- Here is an example of balanced force between Jeff and Norah
Norah pushed harder towards Jeff, which causes him to fall backwards (unbalanced force) -->
