Understanding Forces and Motion - Activities

NC Standard:  4.05

Activity:  Momentum

Question: How does momentum affect motion?

Vocabulary: momentum

Materials:
1 small marble
1 large marble
1 meter length tube (foam insulation for water pipes cut in half lengthwise)
a meter stick

Procedure:

• 1.  Stack your Social Studies book on top of your Science book on the floor.
• 2.  Place one end of the tube on the top book and one end on the floor.
• 3.  Release the small marble from the line on the tube that is halfway up the tube.
• 4.  Measure the distance from the end of the tube to where the marble stopped in centimeters.
• 5.  Repeat steps 3 and 4 four times.
• 6.  Release the large marble from the line on the tube that is halfway up the tube.
• 7.  Measure the distance from the end of the tube to where the marble stopped in centimeters.
• 8.  Repeat steps 6 and 7 four times.
• 9.  Record all results.
• 10.  Using Excel graph your results.

Further Questions:  What will happen when you release a small marble at the marked line on the tube which is halfway up the tube? What will happen when you release a large marble at the marked line that is halfway up the tube?

Observations:

__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Conclusions:
__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Line of Learning:  This line is drawn to provide students with a space to share their experimental learning in words or pictures.
__________________________________________________________________________________________