Kings Mills Elementary fall 2012

Big Bouncers

Experiment with different types of balls to learn more about the power of energy.

Materials Meter or yard stick

Masking tape or chalk

Variety of balls: racquetball, squash ball, tennis ball, rubber ball, steel ball, golf ball

Squares of shag or regular carpet

Play-doh® or other moldable material

Procedure

1. Select two different balls and hold them up so that the class can see them clearly. Ask the students which of the two they think will bounce higher, you may even want to record their ideas on the board. Explain that these are their hypotheses, or best guesses, and that you are going to conduct an experiment to see if they are correct.

2. Take the meter or yardstick and place it against a wall so that you can determine which of the balls bounced higher.

3. Remind the students to observe, or watch carefully, as you release the balls. 4. Release the two balls and have the students share their observations with the group. You may

even want them to record their observations in their notebooks. 5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 a couple of times with different balls to determine which bounces the

highest, lowest, etc. 6. Ask the students if they think there will be any difference if the balls are bounced on carpet or

the classroom floor. Explain that these are their hypotheses, or best guesses, and that you are going to conduct an experiment to see if they are correct.

7. Place a piece of carpet on the floor beside the meter or yardstick, select two balls that are the same and bounce them on the floor.

8. Ask the students to share their observations with the group.

Explanation Energy is something that can’t be created or destroyed and it’s everywhere around us. An object always

has a certain amount of energy, but we need to know exactly which kind of energy it has. There are

many different kinds of energy but the main ones are potential (stored) energy and kinetic (moving)

energy. When we held the ball in the air right before dropping it had no kinetic energy because it wasn’t

moving. Instead we know that it has potential energy because if we let it go, we know that it will fall.

After we drop the ball, all the potential energy gets changed to kinetic energy, and we can see this as

the ball drops really fast.

Science of Sport Take Home Instructions

Basic Moves

Inside Kick

Outside Kick

Toe Kick

Knee

These are the four basic moves of footbag. In order to improve your skills, follow these two

simple steps:

(1) REPETITION - Practice each move until you can get multiple hacks with it.

(2) VARIATION - Begin combining the different moves.

If you are just starting out, you will probably get frustrated, especially with a Bag that hasn't

been worked in. Keep working, and it will all come around.

Courtesy Rules - For Casual Circle Play

1. No Hands (except when serving), No Arms - Shoulders are technically not allowed and are

widely accepted among the average hack circle.

2. Always serve the bag to someone else, unless of course you are alone. Footbag is

traditionally a game of courtesy, hence "The Courtesy Toss": a light lob usually toward the

receivers knee.

3. Try not to give knee passes Passes from the knee tend to go straight to the ground.

Smell Versus Taste

Students compare how well they identify food with their senses.

Materials Apple Onion

Potato Knife Small plates (1 per group) Toothpicks (1 per student)

Blindfolds (4 optional)

Safety Warning:

Do not let children use the knife. Do not let children with food allergies test the ingredients.

Procedure

1. Before the experiment, cut the apple, potato, and onion into small, bite-sized pieces. Place four or five of each onto a small plate. Place a toothpick into each piece.

2. Discuss familiar foods and the odors they emit. Tell the class they will perform a taste versus smell test.

3. Divide the class into groups of four. Have the groups choose two testers (a taster and sniffer) at a time. The remaining group members take on the roles of food handling or judging. Ask the tasters to close their eyes or wear blindfolds.

4. Give each group one prepared plate. Have the other group members decide on the food to test.

5. Tell the tasters to plug their noses while the food handler feeds a piece to the taster.

Formatted: Bullets and Numbering

Formatted: Bullets and Numbering

6. Ask the taster to use descriptive words like crunchy, mushy, sweet, sour, bitter, etc. Have the taster whisper the food’s name to the judge.

7. Have the food handler hold a piece for the sniffer to smell. Have the sniffer whisper the food’s name to the judge. The judge then tells the sniffer and the taster if they guessed the same food or not.

Explanation Plugging our noses limits the senses that identify food. Our tongues taste five distinct flavors (bitter,

sour, sweet, salty and umami). Odor receptors at the back of our noses help identify flavors. Plugging

your nose makes it very difficult to determine whether you are eating an apple, a potato, or an onion.

They have the same consistency, but they all have very distinct odors.

Making Waves

Students create a tsunami in a pan.

Materials

Large, deep pan (1) Wooden blocks (2) Towel (1) Water Note:

This experiment can be conducted as a class demonstration or as a group activity.

Procedure

1. Fill up the pan with water. Place the pan on a towel. 2. Ask the students to hypothesize what they think will happen if you submerge the

two blocks and “clap” them under the water. 3. Have the students gather around you. Submerge the blocks about 4cm (1.5")

and clap them under the water. 4. Ask the students how the water reacted when the two blocks collided. 5. Explain to the class that you have just created a model of what can happen in

the ocean during an earthquake.

Explanation

A lot of water displaces or moves when the blocks are clapped together. The displaced water pushes upward to make a large wave. A tsunami is a series of huge water waves that develop when there is a disturbance undersea. The waves travel in all directions. An underwater earthquake is one disturbance source. Earthquakes occur because of tectonic plate movements. Tectonic plates are part of the earth’s crust. The waves grow taller as they get closer to shallow waters along the coast. This is when the waves become a threat to cities that are close to the water’s edge.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD 1. Develop a question or think of an idea: Ask a question about something you observe in the world. 2. Research: Research the topic to find out more information. 3. Prediction or Hypothesis: Predict what you think the answer to your question might be. 4. Plan your Procedure: Figure out a way to test whether hypothesis is correct. The outcome must be

measurable (quantifiable).

5. Experiment: Perform your experiment using the method you came up with. 6. Observations and Data Collection: Observe and record the results of your experiment. Repeat the

experiment to confirm your results.

7. Conclusion: State whether your prediction was confirmed or not and try to explain your results.