When choosing a question to explore I chose the effect different surfaces affect the momentum of marbles. To test the marbles momentum I first knew my velocity of the marble would be different due to human error. I would not be able to guide the marble at the same speed every time. So I decided to use a straw which I cut in half. I then took the marble and placed it at the top of the straw. To make sure I had the same height in the straw I used the other piece to make sure I was always at the same height. So the next questions I chose to answer were how far will the marble go on the coffee table, bathroom tile and finally carpet? I chose these questions because I knew each would have a different effect to the momentum due to friction. I found threw my questions that the marble traveled the furthest to shortest in the following order, coffee table, tile and carpet.
When I tested the marble on the coffee table the marble continued all the way across the table until it fell off. I came to the conclusion the table allowed for the most momentum due to less friction resistance. The tile was the most interesting. The momentum moved the marble over the divots in the tile but then started to slow down and then slightly seemed to bounce and change direction and the marbles momentum slowed. The tile was the most surprising result for me. The carpet was obviously created the most resistance in momentum due to friction.
The modifications I would change you to probably use a more stable ramp to let the marble go down. The straw worked fine it was just temporary. But within the classroom I would want to use something more structured. I liked the questions which were posed to us. I do not think I would want to change much about the experiment if I was going to teach 2nd thru 6th grade. But for myself I still think just allowing the students to find answers on their own in kindergarten is a little challenging. In kindergarten I could use the questions and reword them into simpler terms and use them as science stations, using small groups with a teacher/aid with the students only for guidance. With each experiment I could start with information about how it relates to the students’ lives. Such as, momentum I could use the story about falling up the stairs. Then at the end of the experiments students can find how it fits into their lives.
I would like to see the students learn how the definitions and meanings relate to real life or on their own. It would be great for the students to understand and learn about velocity, mass, and momentum on their own, and to be able to describe/define them to me in their own words. I believe I was able to come away with this myself since I was able to see the effects of each.
I enjoyed reading the thought process that you went through for your experiment. I like how you thought that an error would occur, since humans were rolling the marble, and the same force would not be used. It was a good idea of using the straw to account for this. You could also use this as an opportunity to discuss variables in the experiment.
ReplyDeleteI also conducted this experiment and obtained similar results. To make sure I exerted an equal amount of force on each marble, I rolled them at the same time from the same hand. I think the only thing that surprised me was that the larger marble came to rest in the grass before the smaller marble did. I was following the concept that objects with greater mass were more difficult to stop, but this did not hold true in my experiment. The smaller marble continued to roll at least twice as long as the larger one.
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