MeasuringChangesinMotion-TBAISD.docVIP

Measuring Changes in Motion Name___________________ (Adapted from /pdf/motion_point_reference.pdf) 5th Grade Science: Motion in Relationship P.FM.05.41 Explain the motion of an object relative to a point of reference. P.FM.05.42 Describe the motion of an object in terms of distance, time and direction, as the object moves and in relationship to other objects. Background: Motion is defined as a change in position over time. The change can be in a horizontal direction, a vertical direction or in both directions. When you move on your board or your bike, such as carving, turning, grinding or going for air, you are experiencing motion. In skateboarding, you can use motion to help you go forward or backward. Going backward on a skateboard can both be referred to as “fakie” or “switch”. In order to detect motion, you need to have a point of reference, in other words, something that is not moving that help relatively mark your movement. Materials: Inclined plane board (Approximately 100 cm width by 1000 cm length) Textbooks or wooden blocks (4-6) Hot Wheels cars or Fingerboards (1 for each group of 3 students) Stopwatches (2) Meter sticks Masking tape Procedure: In the activity, your task will be to determine which car is ahead at three times during the race using different reference points. 1. Take the piece of plywood and use a piece of masking tape to make a reference point approximately 15 centimeters (cm) from the top of the board. 2. Use the cinderblocks (or bricks or something else that you can use to establish the height of the ramp) in order to construct a ramp out of the cinderblocks and the plywood. The ramp is an inclined plane that can also be considered a simple machine. Be sure and secure the plywood to the cinderblocks or hold it in a secure and consistent position. 3. First, place a piece of tape on the plywood ramp at the end of the ramp. Record the measurement of the distance from the starting line (cm) on the data table. This line will be the fi