Investigation 1: Swingers
Part One
EXPLORING SWINGERS
How to Build a Swinger
For each group (pair)
For the class
•
•
•
•
•
• Masking tape
• How to Build a
Swinger sheet
1 50 cm string
1 Paper clip
1 Penny
1 Pencil
1 Meter tape per
table
What did we just make?
What could we do with a system
like this?
How many times do you think yo
swinger will swing in 15 seconds
How can you find out?
Exploring Pendulums
Question- How many times do you
think your pendulum will swing in 15
seconds?
Prediction- I think my pendulum will
swing ____ times in 15 seconds.
Results
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average
I will be the timer you will be the
counters. I will say Go and you will
count silently to yourself until I say
stop.
Anything that you can change in an
experiment that might affect the
outcome is called a VARIABLE.
Vocabulary
Pendulum – a mass hanging from a fixed
point that is free to swing to and fro.
Cycle – any motion or activity that repeats
itself.
Variable – anything that you can change in
an experiment that might affect the outcome.
Content/Inquiry Chart
Teacher Says: “Write these questions in
your notebook. Work with your lab partner
to answer the questions.”
• What is a variable?
• What is a pendulum and where have you
seen one?
• What variables might affect the number of
cycles the pendulum makes in 15
seconds?
Content/Inquiry Chart Answers
• A variable is anything that you can change in an
experiment that might affect the outcome.
• A mass hanging from a fixed point that is free to
swing to and fro is called a pendulum.
• You might find a pendulum in an old clock, on a
playground swing, or in a metronome.
• Mass, length, and angle of release might affect
the number of cycles that a pendulum makes in
15 seconds.
Science Stories
(Independent Work)
• Read and discuss What Do Scientists
Do?
Investigation 1: Swingers
Part Two
TESTING VARIABLES
Standard Pendulum
• Review the variables that they thought might
affect the number of swings of a pendulum.
Look at notebook entry from previous lesson.
• Review the setup for the pendulum: 38 cm
long, one penny released straight out to the
side for 15 seconds. This is called a standard
pendulum system.
What is an experiment?
• An experiment is an investigation
designed to find out how variables
affect outcomes.
• An experiment in which one variable is
changed and the outcome is compared
to a standard is a controlled
experiment.
Test the Variables of
• Mass
• Angle of Release
• Length of String
Teacher says: “Write this question in your notebook and work with
your group to complete the responses.”
Is there a relationship between the length of
the pendulum and the number of swings a
pendulum makes in 15 seconds?
• The longer the pendulum, the ____the swings.
• The shorter the pendulum, the _____the swings.
• The greater the number of swings, the _____the
pendulum.
• The fewer the number of swings, the _____ the
pendulum.
Teacher says: “Write this question in your notebook and work with
your group to complete the responses.”
Content/Inquiry Chart
• Which variables made no difference in the
number of swings?
• Which variable did make a difference in
the number of swings?
• What variables might affect the number of
cycles the pendulum makes in 15
seconds?
Content/Inquiry Chart Answers
• Mass and release position made no
difference in the number of swings.
• Length made a difference in the number of
swings.
• As the length of the pendulum increases, the
number of swings decreases.
• As the length of the pendulum decreases, the
number of swings increases.
Investigation 1: Swingers
Part Three
Predicting Swings
Let’s Create a Two-Coordinate
Graph
We have now created 3 different types
of graphsHow are they different?
How are they the same?
Why is the picture graph useful?
What is the benefit of using a two
coordinate graph?
Investigation 2: Lifeboats
Part One
EXPLORING BOATS
What are lifeboats and what are they used for?
How to Build a Boat
For each group (pair)
For the table
•
•
•
•
1 Cup of Pennies
(1983 or newer)
1 Cup
2 Books
1 Pencil or Pen
1 Meter tape per
table
• 1 Pair of Scissors
• Boat Building Sheet
Water in Tubs
Sponge/Paper Towels
How many passengers can
your lifeboat hold before it
sinks?
Exploring Boats
The greatest number of pennies
that our boat held was____.
List the variables that might
affect the # of passengers
supported in a boat:
Capacity of Boat 1____ ml
Capacity of Boat 2____ ml
Let’s Construct Four New Boats
1st- All boats should be no shorter than 2cm and no taller
than 4cm from base to top.
2nd- Find the capacity of each new boat.
3rd- Write the name and capacity of each boat on the side
with a permanent marker.
Teacher says: “Write this question in your notebook and work with
your group to complete the responses.”
Content/Inquiry Chart
• What variables might affect the number of
passengers (pennies) a paper-cup boat
can hold?
• What is capacity?
Content/Inquiry Chart Answers
• The number of passengers a boat can hold is
affected by variables such as placement,
water movement, and boat size.
• The greatest amount of fluid a container can
hold.
Investigation 2: Lifeboats
Part Two
Lifeboat Inspection
Controlled Experiments• In a controlled experiment all the variables are
kept constant except one, so that the
experimenter can observe the effect of that
one variable on the outcome. Today we are
trying to find out how the capacity of the boat
affects the number of passengers the lifeboat
can hold.
Place pennies gently.
Place pennies evenly.
Don’t shake the basins.
Dry the pennies in between
trials.
Teacher says: “Write this question in your notebook and work with
your group to complete the responses.”
Content/Inquiry Chart
• What can you tell about the capacity of
boats and the number of passengers a
boat will hold? Is there a relationship?
• What is the difference between the
independent and dependent variable?
Content/Inquiry Chart Answers
• The bigger the boat, the more passengers it
will support. The greater the capacity, the
more passengers the boat will hold.
• The independent variable is the variable you
know before the experiment, what you are
changing, plotted on the x axis. The
dependent variable is what you find out by
doing the experiment, and is plotted on the y
axis.
Investigation 2: Lifeboats
Part Two
Inspecting Other Boats
Reviewing Variables
• Which boat held the greatest number of
passengers?
• What variables make it possible for a boat to
hold lots of passengers?
• What variables did you have to control?
• What is the relationship between capacity of
the boat and the number of passengers it can
hold?
• If you had a new boat, could you use your
graph to predict how many passengers it
could hold?
Question
What will happen to the coke
and diet coke if we place them
water?
Let’s explore the
difference of mass in the
cokes…
0 grams
of sugar
39 grams
of sugar
Investigation 3: Plane Sense
Part One
Exploring Flight
How to Build a FOSS Plane
For each group
• 1 FOSS Plane Construction
Sheet
• 1 Jumbo Straw
• 1 Super Jumbo Straw
• 1 Propeller
• 1 Hook
• 1 Rubber Band
• 1 Piece of Sandpaper
• 2 Craft sticks
• 1 Pair of Scissors
To be used in the Materials
Station
Hole Punches
Staplers
A System
The FOSS plane flies along a piece of fishing line
called a flight line. The FOSS plane and the flight
line together are called the FOSS plane system. A
system is a set of objects that is working together.
It is often possible to study the parts of a system
one at a time to find out how they affect the whole
system.
Conduct Test Flights
If you had a piece of
fishing line, could you
get your plane to fly the
entire length of the
line?
Investigation 3: Plane Sense
Part Two
Investigating Variables
Challenge
Get your FOSS Plane to
fly.
Fly your plane the entire
length of the line.
Figure out the minimum
number of winds needed
to fly your plane the
entire length of the line.
FLIGHT LOG
Complete Part 1-3
Variablesmass
rubber bands
slope of the line
tension of the line
propeller changes
lubricants
Plane Experiments
Question- How will changing the
______ affect the flight of our
plane?
Hypothesis- If we ______ then I
think_______
because_________________.
Independent VariableDependent VariableConstantsResults- (Make a chart)
Conclusion: