After a minute has gone by, stop the swing, and get out the pencil and paper. Each swing (back and forth) gets one count.Ĥ. Count how many times you go forward and then back. Be careful not to pump your legs, but just sit in the swing. Then, the helper will start the timer as soon as s/he lets go of the swing.ģ. Have your helper pull back the swing that you are sitting on, and let go. Tell your helper that she or he will use the stopwatch to time one minute – exactly 60 seconds – of swinging.Ģ. Using a swing set, either in a park or your backyard, you can learn more about how forces work and what inertia means. Have you ever thought about the forces that are causing motion when you’re on a playground? The slide, fireman’s pole, tire swing, and merry-go-round are all examples of forces. Swing Scienceįor this project you will need a friend to help you. Do you think you could build the same tower using a new pencil (with an unsharpened end) and a ruler? What if you used a weight that was lighter than a penny (for example, a flower petal, paperclip, or scrap of paper), do you think the tower would still fall down? Try it out. Even a small coin can create a big motion because of the powerful force of gravity pulling on it.ĭo you think you can build a better balancing tower? Try building it higher using markers stacked on top of each other. The pull of that one coin caused the ruler to be pulled down, making the tower collapse. It was no longer balancing in the air and so it toppled over. When you placed a coin on just one side and not the other, gravity pulled on that coin (because gravity is a force that is always pulling) and the tower was not even any more. With equal weights on each side of the tower, gravity pulled down with equal force on each side, so it stayed balanced. It’s sort of like a see-saw when the ends are balanced and only your feet touch the ground. When you put equal weights on each side of the tower, it was balanced and even on each side. ![]() When you jump on a trampoline, you come back down because of gravity. When you put a cup of water down on the table, it stays there because gravity pulls it down. What makes the tower topple down? Gravity is a force that is always pulling. What happens to the tower? What Happened: Try putting a penny down on just one end of the ruler. Continue adding coins to the tower – hold a penny in each hand and slowly set a penny down at the same time on each end of the ruler.Ħ. Put a penny down on top of the tower in the center of the ruler.ĥ. Put the center of the ruler right on top of the marker’s end.Ĥ. Carefully set the ruler laying flat on top of the marker. If you are using a 12 inch ruler, the center would be at 6 inches.ģ. ![]() See how long the ruler is, then divide that number by 2 to find the center. Set the marker or pencil on a sturdy surface (like a table or desk) so that it is standing up tall.Ģ. What makes the tower fall? Find out in this science project exploring balance and motion. ![]() Build a balancing tower and watch it topple down when you put one small penny on top of it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |