Blog Post Week 2

 

  1. The big question addressed in lab, and a description of what you did.
In lab we continued to look at the big question, how can we support play that is exciting but not dangerous? We investigated slides and different variables to keep in mind. Our group investigated the question, how does the weight of a rider affect the speed down the slide? Our independent variable was the weight of the rider and our dependent variable was the speed. We did four trials of four different weighted blocks. We found that there was not a significant change of speed depending on the weight of the block so we found our evidence to not be meaningful. We found the claim that the weight of a rider does not affect the speed down a slide. We predicted that we may find different results if the weights differed more from each other. 


  1. A description of what you learned in Thursday's lecture.
In Thursday's lecture we revisited the variables that could affect the speed of a rider down a slide. We looked at height, steepness, surface/clothing, and rider weight. We found that the higher the slide, the faster the speed of the rider. We learned that this is because of acceleration with the equation being acceleration=change in velocity/time. We found that the steeper the slide, the faster the speed. We found that this is because a steeper slide cancels less of the downward force of gravity. We found that the speed of a rider is affected by surface/clothing because of friction. This is a force that opposes sliding across a surface. We found that rider weight did not affect rider speed. I learned that while gravity pulls harder on more massive objects, more massive objects are harder to accelerate. Because of this, they cancel eachother out. 
  1. Answer questions about the weekly textbook reading:
    1. What did you learn?
I was able to revisit what a force is. I found that a force needs to act on an object that is not moving in order to make it move. This could be pushing, pulling, dropping, etc. All forces have a magnitude and a direction. As well as this, I was able to relearn what Newton's First, Second, and Third laws are. 
    1. What was most helpful?
It was most helpful to revisit Newton's First Law. This examines why objects do not move and when they will move. Every object, even if they are not moving, have forces acting on them at all times. If forces are balanced, an object will not move but if the forces are unbalanced, an object will move. I was also able to revisit friction and how this may stop an object that is moving. This force will hold back an object in motion. 
    1. What do you need more information on?
I will need information on inertia and why some objects resist changes in motion. 
    1. What questions/concerns/comments do you have?
Is there an equation that aligns with inertia? How can you determine inertia?
Does weight ever affect the speed of an object?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 13

  What did you do in lab today? In lab, we looked at various graphs of different climate change. We found from the measurement of different variables that climate is overall warming in our area. These graphs showcased a longer growing season, wetter spring, more summer precipitation, wetter springs and summers, higher humidity, and drier autumns. We also looked at how climate change has affected the growth locations of different plant species.  What was the big question? How is climate change specifically happening in Iowa? What did you learn in Thursday's discussion? In lecture, I learned why some regions have a hot climate while others have cold. I learned that one of the factors that plays a role is latitude and that places closer to the North and South poles will have colder temperatures while places near the equator will have warmer temperatures. As well as this, the temperature of an ocean current will affect the temperature of the air that passes over it. Elevation also...
Read more

Week 11

Image
What did you do in lab today? In lab, we first looked at the law of superposition. I learned that this law says that rock layers closer to the surface are younger than rock layers at the bottom. This is the way geologists find the relative dates and ages of different rocks around the globe. We looked at several visuals that showed the law of superposition and determined the oldest to youngest order of the rocks. Through this, I learned that an intrusion or igneous dyke, which was showed in many of the visuals, has to be younger than all the things it's going through. This is because the rocks had to be there before the intrusion went through them. We also reviewed erosion and sand. We had the opportunity to view several different sands under a microscope and learned where each was form.  What was the big question? What is the Law of Superposition? What did you learn in Thursday's discussion? In lab, we examined water displacement/buoyancy. I learned that buoyancy is the ability...
Read more

Blog Post Week 1

  The big question addressed in lab, and a description of what you did. The big question that was addressed in lab this week was, why should elementary students learn about science? Another was, how should elementary students learn about science? After discussing these questions, we watched a video of students playing on a playground and noted what we noticed and wondered. Following this, we explored how we can support play that is exciting but not dangerous. To explore this question more, we did an experiment on how to make a race exciting by ensuring the racers will cross the finish line close to each other. To do this, we measured the distance of our race and the time it took us to walk this distance. After figuring this out, we were able to determine how much time one racer should start before the other to make the race close.  A description of what you learned in Thursday's lecture. In Thursday's lecture we looked at the SEPS, DCI, and CCCs that are in 3-PS2-2. ...
Read more