1.) Experiment with and explain how Newton's Laws of Motion apply to the physical world.
2.) Experiment with and explain how friction and gravity apply to Newton's Laws of Motion.
3.) Experiment with and explain the relationship between speed and acceleration.
4.) Experiment with and explain how simple machines utilize mechanical advantage to transfer energy (potential energy, kinetic energy, and various other energies).
5.) Effectively explain how alternate forms of energy can be utilized to influence the United States energy needs.
I don't know how to get graphs on here, but in all of the conclusions there are numbers and averages to have an idea of the results.
I don't know how to get graphs on here, but in all of the conclusions there are numbers and averages to have an idea of the results.
Experiments-
Proficiency 1-
Law 1-
Proficiency 2-
Gravity-
Friction-
Law 1-
Problem- What impact will there be on a rolling ball with an object in its path?
Hypothesis- I think that the ball that has no object in its path and has a force will roll the furthest when it stops rolling, because there will be no unbalanced force acting upon it while it is rolling.
Experiment-
Materials-
Rolling surface
1 ball
Force
Small block of wood
Larger block of wood
Tape measurer
Procedure-
1.) Gather all materials.
2.) Mark a point, or starting line to use every time.
3.) For the first roll don’t give the ball any force.
4.) Record how far the ball went in feet and inches.
5.) The second roll, just give the ball a force, and see how far it rolls.
6.) Record how far the ball went in feet and inches.
7.) Place a small block of wood, in the path of the ball.
8.) Roll the ball.
9.) Record how far the ball went in feet and inches.
10.) Place a large block of wood, in the path of the ball.
11.) Roll the ball.
12.) Record how far the ball went in feet and inches.
13.) Repeat steps 3-12, 2 more times, or a proficient amount of times.
14.) Clean up.
Variables-
CV- starting line, surface, force, ruler, ball
IV- object in the path of the ball
DV- distance the ball goes
Control- no object in the path of the ball, with a force
External Variables-
An external variable might be that where the ball stops rolling it might not be in the same direction it started rolling in. To fix this I just measured from the starting point to wherever it stopped rolling, even if it was a different direction.
Observation-
Observation-
When there was no force the ball didn’t roll at all, so there was nothing to measure. When I first tried rolling the ball with the big block the ball bounced off the block and rolled to one of the sides, so I had to change the exact description of how you measure the experiment a little bit. A bigger object causes more of a problem for the path of the ball.
Conclusion- My hypothesis was correct. The object that was put in motion stayed in motion and rolled the furthest. There were no unbalanced forces action on it, so that is another reason it rolled the furthest. The reason the bigger block only allowed the ball to roll about 30 inches, instead of the smaller block going almost 60 inches. The reason this is, is because the bigger block has bigger inertia than the can and the smaller block has a smaller inertia than the car. When there is no block then the ball rolls about 83 inches.
Law 2-
Problem- Does the balls acceleration decrease over a distance?
Hypothesis- Yes I think the amount of force applied to a ball will affect its acceleration because in Newton's Second Law it states that Force= mass X acceleration.
Experiment-
Materials-
Ball
A force, person
Surface
Lap Timer
Ruler
Tape
Procedure-
1.) Gather all materials.
2.) Mark a starting point with a piece of tape.
3.) Mark another point, with a piece of tape, 2 feet away from the starting point.
4.) Mark another point, with a piece of tape, 4 feet away from the starting point.
5.) Mark another point, with a piece of tape, 6 feet away from the starting point.
6.) Roll a ball and time how long it takes to reach each of the points.
7.) Record your data in seconds.
13.) Repeat steps 6 and 7, 2 more times, or a proficient amount of times.
14.) Clean up.
Variables-
IV- the amount of force over time
DV- amount of acceleration
CV- surface, ball, timer, person timing, distance,
Control- average constant force
External variables-
The timer, could be an external variable. If you try to roll the ball and time at the same time, it could be an external variable. Also the angle that you watch the ball cross each point at could look different from different sides. Its easier if someone else watches at each line to time, and another person rolls the ball, to get the best results.
Observation-
Observation-
Just watching the ball you can see it gets slower and slower. Nothing changes, except the distance that the ball has travelled.
Conclusion- My hypothesis was correct. For the first 2 feet the average time was .5 seconds, while the second 2 feet average was .6 seconds. There isn't that much of a difference between those, but the third set of 2 feet the average was 1.2 seconds, that’s about the same time as the first 4 feet. That is a big difference. As the power of the force goes down the rate of acceleration also goes down too.
Law 3-
Gravity-
Problem- Will a heavier ball hit the ground faster?
Hypothesis-
Yes I think a heavier ball will fall faster because it has a greater weight so then the force of gravity will have a stronger pull.
Experiment-
Materials-
3 different weight balls, all the same dimensions
Tape measurer
Marker
Timer
Someone to drop the ball
Even ground
Procedure-
1.) Gather all materials.
2.) Measure and mark 4 feet above the ground on the wall.
3.) Drop the 3 balls all at the same time from this point.
4.) See which ball hits the ground first.
5.) Record your data. The ball that hits the ground first give a 1. The ball that hits the ground second, give a 2, and the ball that hits the ground third give a 3.
6.) Repeat steps 3-5, 2 more times or a proficient number of times.
7.) Clean up.
Variables-
CV-timer, dimensions of ball, ground, height, person dropping the ball, wind
IV- weight of ball
DV- rank it gets
Control- average ball
External variables-
One external variable, might be that you drop the 3 balls at different times. To make sure that you drop them at the exact same time I got 2 friends to help me drop them, and I determined which one hit the ground first.
Observation- All of the balls hit the ground at the exact same time every time. It was kind of surprising, I dint thing that would happen, I thought that the heavier ball would fall faster.
Conclusion- All 3 balls hit the ground at the exact same time, every time. It doesn’t matter if a ball is heavier than another ball. If the two balls have the same dimensions, height, width, length, then they will fall at the same time. The air pressure is what determines will hit the ground first. If it was a different shape or a different size, then there would be a difference, even if one was heavier than the other. My hypothesis was incorrect because it doesn’t matter how heavy it is if it is the same size.
Friction-
Problem-Will a smoother surface cause less friction on a rolling ball down a ramp?
Hypothesis-
Yes, I think that a smoother surface will cause less friction on a rolling ball because there is less resistance to push in the other direction.
Experiment-
Materials-
Wax paper
Brown Paper towel
Ramp
Ending markers
Timer
ball
Ramp
Procedure
1.) Gather all materials.
2.) Mark an ending point to stop timing at.
3.) Time while you roll the ball down the empty ramp until it rolls past your ending point.
4.) Record your data in seconds.
5.) Time while you roll the ball down the brown paper toweled covered ramp until it rolls past your ending point.
6.) Record your data in seconds.
7.) Time while you roll the ball down the wax paper covered ramp until it rolls past your ending point.
8.) Record your data in seconds.
9.) Repeat steps 3-8, 2 more times or a proficient number of times.
10.) Clean up.
Variables-
CV- force, ball, distance, timer, person timing, person giving the force, ramp
IV- surface
DV- time to roll
Control- regular ramp
External Variables-
An external variable might be the angle of the ramp, or the force the ball is given. To make sure these are a factor, I make sure the ramp is held at the exact same angle, so the gravitational pull isn't different and I just tap the ball so there isn’t an extra force.
Observation- Even though the plastic is smoother it was slower because it is an outside variable. It caused more friction because it wasn't originally part of the ramp. I think that if the plastic was tighter to the ramp it would have caused less friction and the car would have gone down faster on the plastic.
Conclusion- Friction creates an unbalanced force, which will create a change in motion, so while using the same amount of force, the ball in motion wont roll as long. The brown paper towel causes the most friction, and slows it down to .85 seconds, while the wax paper takes .62 seconds, and the ramp only takes .56 seconds. The ramp is the fastest because there is the least amount of friction.
Speed and acceleration both are the measure of how fast something is moving. Speed is constant, while acceleration changes over time. The speed of acceleration changes distance.
Proficiency 3-
Problem- Does the angle of decent affect the rate of deceleration?
Hypothesis- Yes, I think that the angle of decent would affect the rate of deceleration, because the angle would be a force against gravity which affects the rate of deceleration.
Experiment-
Materials-
Board/ramp 128 centimeters
Timer
Ball
Something to prop the ramp up
Marks 45 centimeters from the ends
ruler
Procedure-
1.) Gather all materials.
2.) Measure 45 centimeters in from the beginning, mark.
3.) Measure 45 centimeters in from the end, mark.
4.) Measure 10 inches up form the ground, place the beginning of the ramp at this height.
5.) Let the ball roll down the ramp.
6.) Time how long it takes to roll to the first mark, to the second mark, and to the end.
7.) Repeat steps 4-6 2 more times, or a proficient number of times.
8.) Repeat steps 4-7, but instead of 10 inches up from the ground 20 inches up from the ground.
9.) Repeat steps 4-7, but now 30 inches up from the ground.
10.) Record your data.
11.) Clean up.
Variables-
CV- ramp, ball, timer,
DV- height of angle of ramp
IV- rate of acceleration
Control- no angle of decent
Observations- Sometimes the ball fell off the edge of the ramp. That could be an external variable too. I just didn’t record that roll, because I wouldn’t know when to stop it. The ball rolled way faster and it was harder to time as the angle increased.
Conclusion- My hypothesis was correct. The angle of decent does affect the rate of acceleration. The angle of decent, grew and the rate of acceleration grew too.
Explanations-
A ball is sitting at the top of a hill. The first Newton Law says that the ball will stay sitting there until something happens to make the ball move. If nothing touches the ball, it will just sit there forever. Once someone pushes this ball down the hill, it will keep moving down the hill in that direction and keep rolling until something stops it. The ball won't go back up the hill because it is traveling in the first direction, and because of gravity. Gravity pulls the ball to earth, and friction pushes in the other direction and is the opposite reaction to the ball falling down the hill. The actual hill, or path that the ball falls down can help determine the speed, along with the force of the push, the height of the hill and the mass of the ball.
Different things can affect the speed of the ball. If it is a bigger ball with each rotation it will cover more ground and go further. Also with a bigger ball, the force will have to be bigger too to get it going. If the ball is moving it wont need as much force as if it was just sitting there. The power of the force will eventually go down, and the acceleration, will become deceleration. If the force keeps pushing this is just the speed, and isn't acceleration or deceleration.
Each of these things start out at potential energy. At the top of the hill, the ball has potential to roll down it but doesn’t. That example was Gravitational Potential energy. A simple machine that uses Gravitational Potential energy could be a wedge. If something is resting on the lever of the wedge, and the support is removed the gravitational pull will pull the lever down. At the beginning, the potential, is that the lever could move down, and then it does when the support is removed, and it is by gravity. When the support isn't there anymore it becomes kinetic, because the lever is in motion.
Proficiency 4-
- Car goes down incline plane
- Hits dominoes
- Dominoes fall and hit a marble
- Marble falls down tube
- Rolls onto screw
- Marble falls down another tube
- Lands on a plane
- Rolls across the plane
- Lands in cup
- Pulls pulley down
- YAY!
Wheel and axel- the car has wheels that rotate on an axel
Lever- when the domino is hit by the car
Incline plane- the very beginning is an incline plane, to get help create a force
Screw- the marble rolls down a spiral, or screw
Pulley- the pulley with the cup at the end
Wedge-
Potential Energy- The car, dominos, marble and pulley all have potential energy at the beginning of the Rube Goldberg. The car has potential energy to roll down the ramp, the dominos have potential energy to fall and hit the marble which has gravitational potential energy to fall down the tube, and then potential energy to roll down the screw. Also the pulley has gravitational potential energy to fall. Each of these things need something to activate them though, and they all connect to each other.
The whole Rube Goldberg starts out with a little push and the energy is carried all of the way through. You just tap the car and it rolls down the decline plane. Now the car is using kinetic energy, it hits the dominos which now is using kinetic energy, which hits the marble. The marble is using gravitational kinetic energy, and gravitational pull while it falls down the tube. After the marble falls down the tube the energy is still in the marble so it rolls down the screw, until it falls down another tube, where it gathers more another gravitational pull and generates more gravitational kinetic energy. The marble now rolls across the level plane to reach the pulley. There is enough energy from the marble that it keeps rolling until it reaches the cup, and falls into the cup due to force. Then the cup falls due to gravitational pull. The cup sways for a little bit because the marble still has energy in it, and energy never gets destroyed due to the Law of Conservation of Energy.
That law says energy can only change form. Different energies combined together and gave us different problems. After the marble fell down the tube, we had to put a border on the edge of the screw because it had to much speed and kept flying off. The gravitational energy and the kinetic energy starting with the car rolling down the incline plane, together it was too much, so we needed another force to control it.
Proficiency 5-
Dear Department of Energy of America,
In 1447 Da Vinci predicted a solar industrialization. It is 2010, and Solar Energy isn't as important as it could be.
Energy needs of the United States can be met by using alternate forms of energy, like Solar Energy. Using Solar Energy would reduce the amount of coal burned, CO2 released, and the amount of water consumed. It would work the same way as other fuels work, and it is better for the environment than other traditional fuels.
Solar energy can help directly for many different needs in daily life. It can produce electricity, heat water through photovoltaic cells and directly for drying clothes. Solar panels, can store energy in batteries, and use it at a later time, like if there isn't sun. Solar energy can help control weather patterns, and ocean currents, so if the weather patterns change and there isn't sun, the sun will still provide electricity to use.
The two main uses of solar energy are to create electricity and heating. We use lots of electricity every day, so solar energy could help for that. 30% of our total energy consumption is used to heat water. An easy solution would be to use solar energy which can heat water, and reduce energy consumption.
If you counted for only 5% of the world’s population, Americans consume 26 percent of the world’s energy. There are 2 billion people throughout the world without electricity. If America uses Solar Energy, new ideas and technologies would form, and more people could have electricity. Our country is just part of the whole world, and we use 26% of the whole world’s energy, which is way too much for just one country.
Sincerely,
An American Who Is Very Concerned About Our Solar Energy Use
http://www.facts-about-solar-energy.com/facts-about-solar-energy.html
