Proficiency #1- Explain and experiment how Newton's Laws of Motion apply to the physical world.
Problem
What ball is the fastest when it rolls down a 1.5 ft. PVC pipe?
Hypothesis
I think that the ¾ in marble will roll faster than the ping pong ball because it is smaller so the trapped air won’t slow it down as much.
Experiment
Materials-
1.5 ft PVC pipe
¾ in marble
1 ½ in ping pong ball
Protractor
Tape
Stop watch
Procedure-
1. Collect all materials
2. Get the PVC pipe to a 45˚ angle
3. Tape the PVC pipe down at the 45˚ angle
4. With the stop watch, time how long it takes for the ping pong ball to travel from the start of the tube the end of the tube.
5. Record result
6. Repeat steps 4-5 3 times
7. Repeat steps 4-6 with the ¾ in marble
8. Convert all of the times into speeds
Variables-
CV-tube, person who drops the ball, person who times, weather( indoors)
IV- the ball
DV-The time it speed of the ball
Conclusion
My group and I wanted to know what ball would go down a 1.5 ft PVC pipe the fastest. My hypothesis was supported but not detailed enough. It turned out that my hypothesis was incorrect. The 1.5 in ball had an average time of 5.237 sec. and the .75 in ball had an average time of 6.62 sec. In the actual Rube Goldberg project, we wad to cut the PVC pipe to 1 ft. and we might have to cut it shorter in the future.
Proficiency #2- Experiment with and explain how friction and gravity apply to Newton's laws
Problem- what type of surface will a rubber ball roll down in the fastest time?
Hypothesis-I think that the ball will roll the fastest of the glass because it is the densest and smoothest surface out of he three. If the surface is bumpy; it will cause delays by bumping up and down like on the wood. The towel will slow the ball down by having the balls weight crush the down the fabric and having the ball kind of sink into the towel because it is more flexible.
Experiment
Materials-
1 piece of plywood at least 2 ft long
Towel
A piece of glass
A protractor
Ball
Procedure-
1. Gather all materials
2. Pick a surface out of the three to do first then with the protractor, put the surface at a 35 degree angle.
3. If it is the towel, just lay that over the plywood.
4. Let the ball roll from a starting point to an ending point which will be two feet long.
5. Record the time
6. Repeat steps 2-5 3 times
7. Repeat step 6 for each of the surfaces.
8. Record all times
Variables-
CV-the ball, the angle, the place, the person timing, the person dropping the ball
IV-the surface the ball will be rolling down
DV-the time it takes for the ball to run down the track
Test1 Test2 Test 3
wood 0.5 0.5 0.5
towel 0.6 0.5 0.5
glass 0.5 0.5 0.4
all measurements are in seconds
Conclusion
In this experiment, I wanted to find out what surface the ball would have least friction on. I based my hypothesis on the fact that the ball will roll faster on the smoothest surface which was the glass. My hypothesis was correct. The glass had and average of .047 sec. over the wood which had an average time of0.5 sec. Research did show that the smoothest surface would make the ball go the fastest and the roughest surface would make the ball go slower. In the entire experiment; nothing went wrong.
Proficiency #3- Experiment with and explain how speed and acceleration impact Newton's Laws of Motion
Problem- will thewight of an object affect how fast the accelleration rate is.
Hypothesis- I think that the book will accelerate faster because it is denser and heavier.
Experiment-
Materials-
Large book
pencil
Tape measure
stopwatch
Procedure-
1. Collect all materials
2. Measure the height of five feet
3. Drop the book from five feet
4. Record the time it took for it to drop and hit ground
5. Repeat steps 3-4 3 times
6. Repeat steps 3-5 with the piece of paper.
7. After all times are recorded, divide the distance (5 ft) by the time of each test and record those acceleration rates.
Variables-
CV-the height that the objects are being dropped from, the person dropping them, the person timing, the weather, the same place
IV-the object that gets dropped
DV-the acceleration rate
Control-the heavier object should accelerate faster
Test 1 Test 2 Test 3
Book 0.4 0.4 0.5
Paper 0.4 0.5 0.4
All units are measured in sec.
Conclusion
This experiment purpose was to find the acceleration rate of a falling book and a crumpled up piece of paper. My hypothesis was incorrect. they both fell at the same acceleration rate. The average rate for both of the objects was 12.5 ft/sec. In my experiment, I forgot to weight the book and the crumpled up piece of paper. I did not base my hypothesis on research which was a mistake. This experiment concludes that the Wight of an object does not affect the acceleration rate of an object. What does is the weather, the aerodynamics and the resistance.
Proficiency #4- Explain and experiment with how simple machines utilize mechanical advantage to transfer energy
Rube Goldberg
Proficiency #5- Effectively explain how alternate forms of energy can be utilized to influence the United States' energy needs.
Hydro Power
Even though hydropower energy is one of the earliest types of power, it is still one of the most useful. When you think of the word hydropower, you probably think of flowing water and Hoover Dam which makes electricity. Well, that’s only the half of it. The definition of Hydropower is power that is derived from the force or energy of moving water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Hydropower (otherwise known as waterpower or hydraulic power,) dates back to as early as 6,000 B.C. In that time it was just a simple irrigation canal but it still took water to crops using flowing water. Later the water mill was invented. Ever since then, we could then process flour, grind wire, and make electricity. The term we use for the water mill electricity is a turbine. The one you probably hear the most is the Hoover Dam. The dam has massive turbines on the inside which water flows by to turn them and create electricity. We are surrounded by hydropower. Water towers, underground pipes, and boats are all examples. Water towers pump water up to the top and then let the water flow back down by the command of a human turning the water on in their house. The under ground pipes allow the water to get there. Water in rivers and lakes have currents that can take boats down stream. Hydropower would be incredibly easy to put in more areas because of all of the rivers in the U.S. Even the smallest rivers could create electricity as long as it has flowing water. If a turbine were to be put into every river in the U.S., we could save 12% of the amount of electricity that the U.S. currently uses. We could use more boats in rivers to transport goods downstream instead of driving cars. This solution can lower the carbon monoxide level in our atmosphere and even reduce driving accidents.
Hydropower is better in all ways. It’s cleaner. It’s easier. It’s just plain amazing. It may be one of the oldest techniques for getting/producing force, energy and electricity but it still gets the job done. Until the water on Earth is somehow taken away, we will always be using hydropower to get tasks done easier.
