Physics is Phun – Inclined Planes

Physics is Phun – Inclined Planes

Force = Mass x Acceleration

In this class we talked about Newton’s second law, Force= mass x acceleration. I set up a bunch of wallpaper tubes (these could also be ramps) on a smooth surface, a low pile carpet, and fake grass. I set them up at two different angles. The kids put one ball at the bottom of the ramp and let one ball go at the top of the ramp. I also had a few different types of balls that were different sizes and different densities. Then they observed how the ball at the bottom of the ramp moved after it was hit by the ball that rolled down the ramp.IMG_1917

IMG_1916

When the ramp is more upright the acceleration of the ball will be greater and so will the striking force. The force will also be greater when the mass of the striking ball is greater. It will take a greater force to move a ball at the bottom of the ramp when it’s mass is greater. Friction on the ground will require more force to move the struck ball.

I had the kids break up into small groups and try these different conditions. Then I asked them what the observed for each variable and they recorded that in their notebooks.

Force Diagrams

I showed the class a force diagram with gravity, the normal force, friction. I had discussed gravity in a previous class. Then, I mentioned that the normal force and friction are fundamentally caused by the interaction of electrons from different atoms. We had talked about atoms and molecules in the previous class.

Force Diagram for Inclined Plane

This can get a little hectic after a while with all of the balls moving around, but the kids seemed pretty engaged. Just try to get the kids to try all of the floor surfaces.

Save

6 thoughts on “Physics is Phun – Inclined Planes

  1. Hi there! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having trouble finding one? Thanks a lot!

  2. Very nice post. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to mention that I’ve really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing in your rss feed and I am hoping you write once more very soon!

    1. Thanks for reading! I’m going to be doing a series of posts on topics relating to heat in 2-3 weeks.

  3. I’m really impressed together with your writing talents and also with the format for your blog. Is this a paid subject or did you modify it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it is uncommon to see a great blog like this one nowadays..

Comments are closed.