Showing posts with label weight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight. Show all posts

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Which Evaporates Faster?


3 containers:
A. soil with grass, weeds, or plants (fill with water to top of soil - don't drown plants)
B. soil - same amount of water as A
C. water

Weigh your containers. Then, place your containers in a sunny spot. Weigh each container once a day and examine any changes. Use a ruler and measure the water line along the side of each container. Use tape or a marker to show where the water line is and to compare day to day changes. Watch for at least one week. Visit Teach Engineering more details!

Friday, April 26, 2013

mini Pulley

materials:
empty thread spool
string
2 cups
pencil
tape

Kids construct a miniature pulley and discover how wheels can help reduce friction! Students keep one cup on the ground and have the other cup suspended in the air (both attached to the pulley). They place 20 pennies in the cup on the ground. Then, they place a few pennies at a time into the other cup. How many pennies are needed to raise the cup off the ground?

Then, they remove the thread spool. They place the string connecting the cups over the pencil. They do the same experiment above (20 pennies to one cup and add a few at a time to the other). How many pennies are needed to lift the cup off the ground?

 Kids "compare the number of pennies needed to raise the cup with and without the rotating spool." Visit Education.com for more details (experiment called SHOWTIME from Janice VanCleave's book Machines for kids)!

Construction:
tape two 6 inch pieces of string to a table
insert a pencil into an empty thread spool
attach the pencil to the hanging string
cut a long piece of string (depends on height of table) and attach to both cups

Kid Lever

Construct a lever that can be used as a balancing scale or a catapult!

materials:
4 plastic cups
ruler
straw
sturdy stick (could use a chopstick)
tape

1. Insert stick inside of straw
2. Tape straw to center of the ruler (back)
3. Tape ends of stick to bottom of 2 of your cups
4. (for balancing scale): tape the bottom of the other 2 cups to the the top of the ruler
PLAY!

You can compare objects' weight or catapult something! Check the experiment out over at Jameson's Lab!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The Mega Penny Project

The Mega Penny Project: explore value, weight, area, and the size of a stacked pile of lots of pennies!
Link for image above: one hundred million

Monday, January 21, 2013

Stuffed Pets


monkey via cuddle works
My Pet Pal - Revised
This is a lesson I'm creating for one of my education courses. You can view the original post I wrote here.

Have students bring in a pet stuffed animal from their home. Ask students if they think they can determine an object’s weight and size without using standard tools. Write the children’s answers down on the SmartBoard. Then, try out their answers to see if they are right. Next, read the book Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy to show students ways to measure a pet without standard tools. 

Have students predict which pet is the longest, tallest, shortest, widest, and thinnest. Choose a nonstandard tool for measuring. Have students record their pet's measurements (ear, eye, nose, mouth, head, paw, arm, leg, tail, body). Also, have them write down the name of the longest, tallest, shortest, widest, and thinnest pet in the class.

Next, they will estimate which pet is the heaviest and which is the lightest. For science, construct a balancing scale. Provide the materials and have students infer how they can use the material to create a weighing device. Then, weigh your pets! Have them write down the pets' names in order from lightest to heaviest. Afterwards, have them weigh their pet and compare it with pennies. What does their pet weigh in pennies?

Then, students will describe their pet’s attributes using a bubble map. What makes their pet unique? Then, they will compare their pet to a friend's pet using a Venn diagram. Once they compare with one friend, they will create a fraction by finding other peers whose pets have similar and different attributes.

For writing, have students write down how they think their pet’s attributes might help their pet (animal adaptations). Why does their pet have large ears? How does long shaggy hair help their pet? Where would their pet live? After they've made an inference, they will work in teams to research all of their pet’s attributes on the computer or ipad to find out how certain attributes (like large ears) help animals.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Slingshots and Catapults

Demonstrate projectile motion, exertion, force, velocity, potential / kinetic energy, and angles with slingshots and catapults! How much force is needed to project objects of different weights? What angle will fly your object the farthest? 

As a class, or an individual homework project, have kids design a catapult or slingshot. Experiment using different amounts of force. What angle creates the best launch? Try launching objects of different weights. Did heavier objects need more force and require more energy? Measure the distance of the objects you launch!

Featured above with how to instructions:

Slingshots
Hand Held Classic Slingshot - The Risky Kids. You can also make a pvc pipe hand held slingshot, click here for instructions!
Chair Slingshot - Kitchen Pantry Scientist
Pyramid Slingshot - Visit DIY Life
Construct an oversized slingshot for water balloons, balls, toys or anything else you'd like to launch! Visit Instructables, click here and here for two different designs! You can also purchase one from SSWW (featured above).
Indoor Slingshot - Design Squad Nation

Catapults
Ping Pong Ball Scoop Catapult, as well as a wide assortment of designs, click here
Popsicle Stick Bottle Cap Catapult - Do It and How
Tissue Box Pencil - Disney Family Fun

There are tons of different designs for slingshots and catapults! You can use different components from various designs to create your very own unique launcher!

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Playground Science

Photo Credit: Gabriel Pollard - swing / teeter totter
The playground is a fantastic place to conduct physical science experiments. Bring the kids out to explore levers / balance, pendulums / force, ramps / friction, and simple pulleys!

Teeter Totter
1. Balance - Have a bigger kid sit on one end and a smaller on the other. The obvious will happen of course! The side holding more weight will bring the lighter side up. Now, have the larger kid scoot towards the center of the teeter totter away from the seat. What happened? By changing the placement of weight on the lever, the teeter totter will begin to balance the two weights. Have two kids sit on one side and one on the opposite. Using your science skills you gained from the above experiment, try to balance out the teeter totter to make it equal. 

Swing
1. Force and Frequency - Give a student one small push on a swing and tell them not to pump. Count how many times the swing moves back and forth within one minute. Next, give a student one gigantic push (no pumping) and record the same data. Then, have a student pump their legs with no push and count. Compare your findings. Does a small or large push without pumping produce better results than using your legs to pump? Which way produced the largest number for the amount of times the swing went back and forth in one minute? via ehow

2. Twist a swing and let it fly. Time how long the swing takes to untwist. Then, have a kid sit on a a twisted swing. Have the child extend their arms and legs outward when you let go. You'll notice that the swing's speed will slow down. By pulling weight away from your body, you're slowing down the swing. Next, try tucking all the weight inward during a spin. Did you go much faster?

3. Body Position - Try sitting, standing, and squatting on a swing during a swinging cycle. How does this affect amplitude? Visit Odec to find out! 

Slide
1. Friction - Test different toys out down a slide. What moves the fastest. Now, try splashing water on the slide. Does water increase speed? Try laying down different textures on the slide (smooth surface vs. rough) and talk about friction. Check out this awesome pdf all about ramps from Peep and the Big Wide World!


Monkey Bars or Tree
1. Create a simple rope pulley! Click here to find out how! Check out this cute video from Play Time is Essential!





Thursday, March 22, 2012

My Pet Pal

Have students bring in a pet stuffed animal. Then, have them do a little math and writing with their pet pal!

1. Measure your pet. Check out the book Measuring Penny.

2. Weigh your pet.

3. Find two friends and create a fraction (Ex: 2 out of 3 are dogs - 2/3 are dogs).

4. Partner up with a friend and write the similarities and differences of your pets on a venn diagram.

5. Describe your pet (create a bubble map with adjectives).

6. Write a story about your pet.