Tumble Buggies: Can you PREDICT what a position time graph will look like for tumble
buggies? How Can We describe the Motion of Objects?
1. Introduction
In science, we can make two different types of
____________________________ to describe the
natural world. ______________________ observations use descriptive
language to make observations.
_________________________ observations use numbers to make
measurements. We can use data to describe different things about objects. When we graph data it
helps us make predictions about how objects behave. When we draw a________________
________________ or line of best fit, it helps us see the relationship between our two variables. The
slope of a line is more than just a number. It has meaning in science. We can figure out the slope of
the line using the following formula : (find this in your notes and write it below)
Motion is defined as _________________________________________________________. Speed
does not include _____________.
Velocity is defined as the
__________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________. Velocity
can be _______________________ (at any given point), _____________________ (meaning it does not
change or stays the same). We can also calculate the velocity of an object. Your job is to
examine the movement of three objects and create a mathematical model *graph with trendline* of
the movement of the objects. Today you will be investigating….
QUESTION: How does the position of an object depend on time?
2. ________________________________
In this lab, you will have three buggies A, B, C. Put all three cars on the starting line. At the
count of 3….turn them on. Make some qualitative observations about what happened in the
space below!
Qualitative for Buggy A
Qualitative for Object B
Qualitative for Object C
Position
Position
Position
Now, make a prediction about what the position time graph will look like for the three buggies in the
space below. Draw a trend line based on your observations.
Time
A
Time
B
Time
C
Now, write three hypotheses in if…then….because form that use your variables and describes
your prediction for the lines for each of the three cars!
3. __________________________________ (step 3 of our method!)
In this lab, you are going to be writing your own procedure. Get a large whiteboard. On the
whiteboard, begin to draft out how you are going to collect data to create a position versus
time graph for one of the cars.
As you work think about…
1.
2.
3.
4.
How will you measure position?
How will you measure time?
How often will you measure these?
What will your data table look like?
When you complete it, raise your hand and get it checked before moving on.
IV:
DV:
Constants:
Procedure:
4. __________________________ (step four in our method!)
Create a data table below.
5. ______________________________________
1. Create a graph on paper of your buggies motion. Insert it in the box below
2. Draw a trend line
3. Calculate the slop of the line
below:
Now, fill in the slopes of the lines for each of the other cars! Remember units! (you will have three
lines on your graph!
Car A Slope:
Car B Slope:
Car C Slope
2. What did the slope “tell” you about each of the cars?
2. Does one of the cars have a different y intercept? Explain!
3. How does the slope of A and B compare? What does that tell you about the cars themselves?
3. Were any of the slopes negative? What does that mean in this case?
3. Were the cars traveling at a constant velocity? How could you tell?
6. _____________________________________________
CLAIM (write one-2 sentence answer to the question using the following terms)
Position , Time, Velocity,
Evidence (write the slopes of each line and explain what it tells you about the car)
Reasoning: (What is the relationship between position, time, slope, and velocity)
Next Steps: (what else might you want to investigate with this system?)