Students completed an experiment to determine how the mass of an object affected the force it produced. In this case, we used washers on a pendulum (3, 6, and 9 at a time) to move a car. The mean distance the car traveled was then used to check our hypothesis and draw a conclusion. In nearly all cases, the car moved the farthest when 9 washers were placed on the pendulum. In cases where more washers were used and the car traveled the same or less distance, students determined several factors that could have caused this result. Among them, the spot on the floor where the car was raced, not pulling the pendulum back the same distance, or even moving the chair that the pendulum was attached to slightly.
This was a fantastic opportunity for students to draw on their previous knowledge of kinetic and potential energy.
Up next...applying all of our Unit 1 science concepts as we begin OPERATION EGG DROP.
Details will be shared with students this week.
Donations of straws and masking tape would be greatly appreciated to make sure this project is a success!
