Forces and Motion

Proficiency 1: Experiment with and explain how Newton's Laws of Motion apply to the physical world. 
 
Problem: What impact does the height you drop a golf ball from affect the height it bounces?
Hypothesis: I think that dropping the ball from 36 inches above the ground will have the highest bounce because when it falls, the golf ball will gather more speed and when it bounces, the ball will go higher moving with more force against gravity.
Experiment:
Materials: yard stick, tape, plastic ball
Variables --
CV- surface the plastic ball is bouncing on, person dropping the ball, same plastic ball
IV- height the plastic ball is dropped from
DV- height it bounces
Control- None

Procedure:
1. Gather all materials.
2. With the "0" end of the yard stick on the floor, tape the yard stick to the wall.
3. Hold the plastic ball at 12 inches.
4. Drop the ball and record the highest point it reached after it bounced.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 two more times.
6. Hold the plastic ball at 24 inches.
7. Drop the plastic ball and record the highest point it reached after it bounced.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 two more times
9. Hold the ball at 36 inches.
10. Drop the plastic ball and record the highest poit it reached after it bounced.
11. Repeat steps 9 and 10 two more times.

Observation:

Conclusion:
My hypothesis states that I think the ball dropped from 36 inches will bounce the highest because it gains the most speed after it is dropped. In my experiment, I dropped a plastic ball from 12 inches above the ground and measured the distance it bounced. After doing three trials with this height, I got results of 6 inches, 7 inches, and 7 inches as the heights of the bounce. In my next trials, I dropped the ball from 24 inches. I got results of 12 inches, 12 inches, and 11 inches for these three trials. Finally, I dropped the ball from a height of 36 inches. With these trials, I got results of 18 inches, 19 inches, and 18 inches. My hypothesis is supported because when the plastic ball was dropped from 36 inches, it bounced higher than if it was dropped at 12 inches or 24 inches.

Newton's first law of motion says "an object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion until an unbalenced force acts upon it". According to Newton's first law of motion, the plastic ball will stay in motion until the floor, the unbalenced force, acts upon it. Newton's second law of motion shows the relationship between force and acceleration; the greater the force, the greater the acceleration. When I dropped the ball from a higher point, there was a greater amount of force, resulting in a greater amount of acceleration. Newton's third law of motion says "For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction". When the ball drops, there is an opposite reaction, bouncing up.


Proficiency 2: Experiment with and explain how friction and gravity apply to Newton's Laws of Motion.

Problem:  What effect does the weight and texture of a ball have on the distance it rolls?
Hypothesis:   I think the bouncy ball will go the farthest because it is small, light, and the texture doesn't create much resistance.
Experiment: 
Materials- Bouncy ball, small bocce ball, tennis ball, yard stick, tape
Variables- 
CV- same surface it is rolled on, same force, same starting point
IV-texture/weight of ball
DV- how far the ball rolls
No Control
Procedure:
1. Gather all materials.
2. Mark a spot on the floor with tape that you will start your trials at.
3. Using a small amount of force, slide the bouncy ball across the floor, releasing it at the mark you made.
4. Record the distance it stopped at.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 two more times.
6. Using the small bocce ball, slide it along the floor and release it at the mark.
7. Record the distance it stopped at.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 two more times.
9. With the tennis ball, slide it across the floor, releasing the ball at the mark.
10. Record the distance where the ball stopped.
11. Repeat steps 9 and 10 two more times.
12. Observe results.

Observation:

Conclusion: My hypothesis states that I think that the bouncy ball would go the farthest because it light and the texture wouldn't create much resistance. First, I marked a spot on the floor that I would conduct my trials from. I then, using a small amount of force, slid a bouncy ball along the floor and let go of it at the mark I made on the floor. Using a yard stick, I then measured the distance from the tape to where the ball stopped rolling. The first time, the bouncy ball went 14.5 inches. The second time, 8 inches. The third trial had a result of 18 inches and the average distance was 13.5 inches. Next, I tested a small bocce ball. First, it went 36 inches. Then, it went 48 inches and finally the small bocce ball went 53 inches. The small bocce ball had an average distance of45.7 inches. The third ball I tested was a tennis ball. This ball was larger, so I measured from the middle of the ball to find the distance it went. In the first trial, the tennis ball went 17.5 inches. Next, it went 11 inches. Finally, the tennis ball traveled a distance of16 inches in the third trial. The tennis ball had an average distance of14.8 inches. If something has more mass, gravity will act more upon it, but friction will slow it down. Over all, my hypothesis is not supported because the bouncy ball actually went the shortest distance and the bocce ball went the farthest.

Friction and gravity are unbalanced forces, affecting Newton's Laws. More friction creates more resistance. The same is true for gravity, depending on the direction of motion; the pull of gravity creates resistance.

Proficiency 3: Experiment with and explain the relationship between speed and acceleration.

Problem:Does the weight of a ball effect its speed and acceleration?

Hypothesis: I think that the golf ball will have the most effect on speed and acceleration because the force of gravity is greater because it is heavier, therefore giving it a greater speed traveling down the track and along the floor.

Experiment:

Materials-- golf ball, bouncy ball, tennis ball, 3 stopwatchs, 21 inch long car track, yardstick, tape
Variables--
CV- height of inclined plane, balls, same people timing
IV-Weight
DV- Effect on speed and acceleration
Control- None

Procedure--
1. Gather all materials.
2. Tape one end of the car track 5.5 inches up on the wall, and tape the other end 20.5 inches from the base of the wall.
3. Mark a spot at the base of the track, labeling it spot 1. Mark a spot 10 inches from the base of the track.Label it spot 2. Mark a spot 38 inches from the base of the track. Label it spot 3. Mark a spot 48 inches from the base of the track. Label it spot 4.
4. Place the bouncy ball at the top of the track. Release it, starting two stopwatchs when it reaches spot 1 and stoping one of the two stopwatchs when the ball reaches spot 2.
5. Start the third stopwatch when the ball reaches spot 3 and stop it, along with the other remaining stopwatch, at spot 4.
6. Record the times in your data table.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 two more times.
8. Place the golf ball at the top of the track. Release the ball and start two stopwatchs when the golf ball reaches mark 1. Stop one stopwatch when the golf ball reaches mark 2.
9. Start the third stopwatch when the ball reaches mark 3 and stop the stopwatch, along with the other remaining stopwatch, when it reaches mark 4.
10. Record your times in your data table.
11. Repeat steps 8-10 two more times.
12. Place the tennis ball at the top of the track. Release the ball and start two stopwatches when the tennis ball reaches point 1. Stop one stopwatch when the ball reaches point 2.
13. Start the third stopwatch when the tennis ball reaches point 3. Stop both stopwatches when the tennis ball reaches point 4.
14. Record your times in the data table.
15. Repeat steps 12-14 two more times.
16. By using the formula "Speed = Distance/Time", find the speed of each of the balls between points 1 and 2.
17. Using that same formula, find the speed of each of the balls between points 3 and 4.
18. Record these speeds in your data table.
19. Find the rate of deceleration between the speed of point 1-2 and of point 3-4.

Observation: 

	Speed 1	Speed 2	Acceleration
Bouncy Ball 1	43.5 in/s	27.8 in/s	-12.7 in/s/s
Bouncy Ball 2	47.6 in/s	27.8 in/s	-15.2 in/s/s	Average	-10.93 in/s/s
Bouncy Ball 3	40 in/s	33.3 in/s	-4.9 in/s/s
Golf Ball 1	43.5 in/s	27 in/s	-15.6 in/s/s
Golf Ball 2	54.6 in/s	23.3 in/s	-37.3 in/s/s	Average	-20.9 in/s/s
Golf Ball 3	35.7 in/s	25.6 in/s	-9.7 in/s/s
Tennis Ball 1	25 in/s	16.9 in/s	-5.9 in/s/s
Tennis Ball 2	35.7 in/s	24.4 in/s	-7.5 in/s/s	Average	-6.9 in/s/s
Tennis Ball 3	35.7 in/s	25 in/s	-7.4 in/s/s

Conclusion: My hypothesis states that I think that the golf ball will be effected the most because it is the heaviest, therefore gaining more speed on the ramp due to the greater amount of gravitational pull. In my experiment, I started out by taping a car track 5 1/2 inches up on the wall, and 20 1/2 inches out from the wall. From there, I put a piece of tape at the end of the track, labeling it "1". After measuring 10 inches away from there, I put another piece of tape, labeling it "2". I then measured 38 inches away from the base of the track to put another piece of tape, labeling it "3". Finally, I measured another 10 inches away from the third mark, I put a final piece of tape on the ground, labeling it "4". For the experiment, a ball was dropped on the track and once it rolled all the way down the track, passing mark "1", two timers were started. As the ball passed the 2nd mark, one of the timers stopped. As the ball passed the "3" mark, a third timer was started. As the ball passed the fourth and final mark, both remaining timers were stopped. These times were recorded for later use. I tried three different types of balls in this experiment. The bouncy ball had an average rate of acceleration of -10.93 in/s/s. The golf ball had an average rate of acceleration of -20.9 in/s/s. Finally the tennis ball had an average rate of acceleration of -6.9 in/s/s. Speed is related to acceleration because when you accelerate more, you gain more speed. Any increase or decrease in speed is known as acceleration. My hypothesis is supported in the fact that the golf ball did have the greatest effect on speed and acceleration since it had the largest rate of deceleration.

Proficiency 4: Experiment with and explain how simple machines utilize mechanical advantage to transfer energy(potential energy, kinetic energy, and various other energies).

With Alyssa, Macauley and Beth, I made a Rube Goldberg. This transfers energy in a variety of ways. First we drop a marble into a small, plastic cup. This cup has a string through it, attaching itself to a pulley, which, on the other end, has another small cup. The cup will fall once we place the marble inside of it, knocking the first domino over. The dominoes transfer kinetic energy from one to the other as they keep hitting each other. They will hit a small weight that is tied to some string. The string was wrapped around a ring stand, creating a screw, prior to the start of the Rube Goldberg. Once the weight is knocked off the incline plane, it will gradually unwrap the string, falling and transferring it's kinetic energy to a small marble on a platform below it. This marble will fall onto another incline plane and roll along. This marble will go down a steeper incline plane and fall into a car, having potential energy, transferring the energy to the car, which will now have kinetic energy once it starts to move. This car is sitting on yet another incline plane, and the car will roll, and eventually roll through a magnet, acting as a bridge, and turning. The marble will fall out of the car, converting the potential energy it had into kinetic energy, and into a cup. This completes our Rube Goldberg.

Proficiency 5: Effectively explain how alternate forms of energy can be utilized to influence the United States energy needs.

To fill the energy needs of the United States, there are many options. Foregin oil is one way America fulfills the energy needs of this country. However, there are other ways that these needs can be filled. Solar power is one of many ways the United States can utilize other forms of energy. America can be seriously effected for the better if solar power is incorperated into the everyday lives of the citizens of the United States.

Solar power makes use of the abundant amount of energy that shines upon us every day. Solar power is the way to go; continuously pouring down from the sky, solar panels guarentee power and energy every single day. Solar power, since it is abundant, is a renewable source of energy. As fossil fuels burn, pollute the air, and are gone forever once they have been used once, solar power can be used over and over again as long as the sun keeps shining. If we incorperate solar power into our lives, we can keep the earth clean and we will always have a source of energy.

Solar panels are a cost efficiant way to incorperate solar power into the communities of America. Although solar panels cost around $6,000, the amount you save on your energy bill is adds up over time. An average person would save about $50 a month on their energy bill. However little this amount seems at the time, each year you would save $600, and within 10 years, your solar panels have saved you about as much as they cost. The task of purchasing and installing these panels at the time may seem expensive and strenuois, but the amount of savings will certainly pay off.

Economically, solar panels are a smart choice for home-owners and buisnesses alike.With these above reasons, I hope you have come to conclude, along with me, that solar power will influence the United States energy needs in a positive way. Now that you know the importance solar power holds to our country, please make changes that will better effect the communities and everyday lives of citizens of the United States.