by Aurora Lipper · 2 days ago · Lesson 6: Force-full Cereal Did you know that your cereal may be...

by Aurora Lipper

© Supercharged Science www.SuperchargedScience.com

Table of Contents

Unit 1: Mechanics - Module 1: Force Lesson 1: Detecting the Gravitational Field .................................................................................................. 6

Lesson 2: Detecting the Magnetic Field ........................................................................................................ 7

Lesson 3: The Electromagnetic Field ............................................................................................................. 8

Lesson 4: Detecting the Electromagnetic Field ............................................................................................. 9

Lesson 5: Flying Paper Clip .......................................................................................................................... 10

Lesson 6: Force-full Cereal .......................................................................................................................... 11

Lesson 7: Net Forces ................................................................................................................................... 12

Lesson 8: Building Bridges ........................................................................................................................... 13

Lesson 9: Barrel Roof .................................................................................................................................. 14

Unit 1: Mechanics - Module 2: Gravity Lesson 1: A Weighty Issue ........................................................................................................................... 15

Lesson 2: Forever Falling ............................................................................................................................. 16

Lesson 3: Fast Ball ....................................................................................................................................... 17

Unit 1: Mechanics - Module 3: Friction Lesson 1: Simple Hovercraft ....................................................................................................................... 18

Lesson 2: Tracking Your Treads ................................................................................................................... 19

Lesson 3: What a Drag! ............................................................................................................................... 20

Lesson 4: Stick & Slip ................................................................................................................................... 21

Lesson 5: Exponential Friction .................................................................................................................... 22

Lesson 6: Bearings ....................................................................................................................................... 23

Lesson 7: Hovercraft ................................................................................................................................... 24


How to Use this Workbook

I put this workbook together for you to use as you work through the program. There’s a lot of

whitespace with every experiment, so you have a space to write down your ideas and

experiment set up plans as we go through the instructional videos together.

There are also downloadable student worksheets under a number of the experiment videos.

They contain additional information, reading, data tables, and exercises for you to use. If you’re

doing those as well, print those out and insert them in the appropriate section as you go along.

If you hole-punch this workbook and any worksheets you download and stick all of it in a three-

ring binder, you’ll have an amazing science notebook that journals your entire year of science,

all done for you!

Enjoy your science adventure!


Master Materials List for Unit #1: Mechanics

Force Experiments: Balloon (7-9″ Latex works great) Ping Pong Ball Tissue paper or newspaper Handful of packing peanuts or paper confetti Bubble juice (12c cold water + 1 c dish soap) Ball (any size) Compass Paper clips (10-15) Magnet String or yarn (about 2 feet long) O-shaped cereal (any brand is fine) Milk (or water) Spoon and bowl Rope (about 3′ long) Paper Two pencils or sticks Index cards Blocks Straws Clay Disposable cups OPTIONAL: Fluorescent bulb Wool sweater Plastic bag (the kind from the grocery store) Additional Items for Grades 9-12: Index card or scrap of cardboard 2 small mirrors 2 rare earth magnets Fishing line or thread 4 rare earth magnets Laser pointer (any kind will work) Water glass (or cleaned out pickle jar) Wooden spring-type clothespin Hot glue gun

Gravity Experiments: Ball (any size) Stopwatch or timer Pencil Paper Ruler 2 quarters Ping Pong Ball and Golf Ball OPTIONAL: Hovercraft Project 1 wood skewer 1 wood popsicle stick 1 straw Two 3VDC motors 2 propellers 9V battery clip with wires 9V battery 1 SPST switch 16 oz. styrofoam cup (the kind used for sodas) 1 foam hamburger container 1 foam meat tray (approx. 10″x12″x1″) Friction Experiments: Paper Pencil or pen Shoes (any shoes with treads will work fine) Yarn or string (about 2’ long) Rubber band Ruler Heavy book 2 magnets (preferably the flimsy business-card style) Rope (3’ or longer) Dowels or round pencils Handful of marbles 2 cookie sheets A board (about 2 feet by 12 inches) or propped up table protractor

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062219

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062488

IMPORTANT!! PLEASE READ! Before you go out and purchase a lot of items, please use what you already have available!

Part of being a great scientist is using the resources already around you. In the online

curriculum, there are step-by-step instructional videos where I will be demonstrating how to

build something, design something, create something… and if you don’t have the exact same

materials, it’s usually okay! Part of being a good scientist is getting resourceful and using what

you have access to.

For example, if we’re making a catapult, and you don’t have popsicle sticks, but you do have

chopsticks and paper towel tubes, then use those! If we’re making a hovercraft, and you don’t

have motors (this one actually did happen) but you did find an old computer fan, try it and see

if it works (one girl did just that – and it worked beautifully!) Re-use and re-purpose discarded

or broken items for your projects.

The instructional videos are just “Step One”… just to get you started so you see what we’re

going for and how the thing is supposed to work. After building your experiment, then your

next step is to make it even better. Can you make that rocket go even higher? That airplane go

faster? That circuit work in the dark also? We’re all about creativity, wonder, exploration, and

innovation. Try it and see how it goes!

ABOUT CHEMISTRY: The MAIN exception for this is when it comes to chemistry. We do NOT

want you mixing random chemicals or substituting other chemicals to “see what happens”. It is

dangerous and not scientific at all. I will have exact and specific instructions for all chemistry

experiments. More on this in the actual chemistry section on the website.


Unit 1: Mechanics - Module 1: Force

Lesson 1: Detecting the Gravitational Field Ok, sort of a silly experiment I admit. But here’s what we’re going for – there is an invisible force acting

on you and the ball. As you will see in later lessons, things don’t change the way they are moving unless

a force acts on them. When you jump, the force that we call gravity pulled you back to Earth. When you

throw a ball, something invisible acted on the ball forcing it to slow down, turn around, and come back

down. Without that force field, you and your ball would be heading out to space right now!

Here’s what you need:

you

the Earth (or any planet that’s convenient)

a ball



Lesson 2: Detecting the Magnetic Field Remember, there are four different kinds of forces: strong nuclear force, electromagnetism,

weak nuclear force, and gravity. There are also four basic force fields that you come into

contact with all the time. They are the gravitational field, the electric field, the magnetic field,

and the electromagnetic field. Notice that those four force fields really only use two of the four

different kinds of force: electromagnetism and gravity. Let’s take a quick look at what causes

these four fields and what kind of objects they can affect, starting with the magnetic field.


you

a compass



Lesson 3: The Electromagnetic Field The electromagnetic field is a bit strange. It is caused by either a magnetic field or an electric

field moving. If a magnetic field moves, it creates an electric field. If an electric field moves, it

creates a magnetic field.

Materials

Index card or scrap of cardboard

2 small mirrors

2 rare earth magnets

Nylon filament (thin nylon thread works, too)

4 doughnut magnets

Laser pointer (any kind will work – even the cheap key-chain type)

Clean glass jar (pickle, jam, mayo, etc… any kind of jar that’s heavy so it won’t knock

over easily)

Wooden spring-type clothespin

Hot glue gun, scissors and tape



Lesson 4: Detecting the Electromagnetic Field You are actually fairly familiar with electric fields too, but you may not know it. Have you ever

rubbed your feet against the floor and then shocked your brother or sister? Have you ever

zipped down a plastic slide and noticed that your hair is sticking straight up when you get to the

bottom? Both phenomena are caused by electric fields and they are everywhere!

Here’s a simple experiment you can do that only needs four simple items:

head of hair

balloon

yardstick or meterstick

large spoon



Lesson 5: Flying Paper Clip Have you ever been close to something that smells bad? Have you noticed that the farther you get from that something, the less it smells, and the closer you get, the more it smells? Well forces sort of work in the same way.

Here’s a simple experiment you can do that only needs four simple items:

magnet

paper clip

string

tape



Lesson 6: Force-full Cereal Did you know that your cereal may be magnetic? Depending on the brand of cereal you enjoy in

the morning, you’ll be able to see the magnetic effects right in your bowl. You don’t have to eat

this experiment when you’re done, but you may if you want to (this is one of the ONLY times

I’m going to allow you do eat what you experiment with!) For a variation, pull out all the

different boxes of cereal in your cupboard and see which has the greatest magnetic attraction.

Materials:

a bowl of cereal with milk

spoon



Lesson 7: Net Forces It is very rare, especially on Earth, to have an object that is experiencing force from only one

direction. A bicycle rider has the force of air friction pushing against him. He has to fight against

the friction between the gears and the wheels. He has gravity pulling down on him. His muscles

are pushing and pulling inside him and so on and so on.

Here's what you need:

a rope (at least 3 feet long is good)

a friend

a sense of caution

(Be careful with this. Don’t pull too hard and please don’t let go of the rope. This is fun but you

can get hurt if you get silly.)



Lesson 8: Building Bridges What keeps building from toppling over in the wind? Why are some earthquake-proof and

others not? We’re going to look at how engineers design buildings and bridges while making

our own.


Index cards

Blocks

Straws

Clay

Disposable cups



Lesson 9: Barrel Roof This roof can support over 400 times its own weight, and you don’t need tape! One of the great

things about net forces is that although the objects can be under tremendous force, nothing

moves! For every push, there’s an equal and opposite pull (or set of pulls) that cancel each

other out.


Print out this template.

Scissors

2 pencils

Thread

Flat book or light clipboard

Extra paper to load the roof

https://www.sciencelearningspace2.com/standardcontent/docs/barrel-roof.pdf


Unit 1: Mechanics - Module 2: Gravity

Lesson 1: A Weighty Issue This lesson may give you a sinking sensation but don’t worry about it. It’s only because we’re

talking about gravity. You can’t go anywhere without gravity. Even though we deal with gravity

on a constant basis, there are several misconceptions about it. Let’s get to an experiment right

away and I’ll show you what I mean.


ping pong ball

golf ball

you



Lesson 2: Forever Falling If I toss a ball horizontally at the exact same instant that I drop another one from my other

hand, which one reaches the ground first?

For this experiment, you need:

2 rulers or paint sticks. Anything wide and flat

2 coins or poker chips

A sharp eye and ear

A partner is good for this one too



Lesson 3: Fast Ball You have just taken in a nice bunch of information about the wild world of gravity. This next

section is for advanced students, who want to go even deeper. There’s a lot of great stuff here

but there’s a lot of math as well. If you’re not a math person, feel free to pass this up. You’ll still

have a nice understanding of the concept. However, I’d recommend giving it a try. There are

some fun things to do and if you’re not careful, you might just end up enjoying it!


ball

pencil, paper

stopwatch

yardstick or tape measure


Unit 1: Mechanics - Module 3: Friction

Lesson 1: Simple Hovercraft Hovercraft transport people and their stuff across ice, grass, swamp, water, and land. Also

known as the Air Cushioned Vehicle (ACV), these machines use air to greatly reduce the sliding

friction between the bottom of the vehicle (the skirt) and the ground. This is a great example of

how lubrication works – most people think of oil as the only way to reduce sliding friction, but

gases work well if done right.


7-9″ balloon

water bottle with a sport-top (see video for a visual – you can also use the top from

liquid dish soap)

old CD

paper cup (or index card)

thumbtack

hot glue gun

razor with adult help



Lesson 2: Tracking Your Treads Now let’s talk about the other ever present force on this Earth, and that’s friction. Friction is the

force between one object rubbing against another object. Friction is what makes things slow

down.


About 5 different shoes

A board, or a tray, or a large book at least 15 inches long and no more then 2 feet long.

A ruler

Paper

Pencil

A partner



Lesson 3: What a Drag! There’s a couple of misconceptions that I’d like to make sure get cleared up here a bit. I don’t

want to go into too much detail but I want to make sure to mention these as they may be

important as you go deeper into your physics education.


A 6 inch long piece of 2 x 4 wood, or a heavy book

A string

A spring scale or a rubber band and a ruler.

Paper

Pen

5 or so different surfaces, table tops, carpet, chairs, etc.



Lesson 4: Stick & Slip Friction is everywhere! Imagine what the world would be like without friction! Everything you

do, from catching baseballs to eating hamburgers, to putting on shoes, friction is a part of it. If

you take a quick look at friction, it is quite a simple concept of two things rubbing together.


2 Business card magnets (those thin flat magnets that are the size of business cards)

Fingers



Lesson 5: Exponential Friction Find a smooth, cylindrical support column, such as those used to support open-air roofs for

breezeways and outdoor hallways (check your local public school or local church). Wind a

length of rope one time around the column, and pull on one end while three friends pull on the

other in a tug-of-war fashion.


nylon long rope (10 feet or longer)

column or pillar (as talked about in the video)

at least two people, but more is better



Lesson 6: Bearings Stand on a cookie sheet or cutting board which is placed on the floor (find a smooth floor with

no carpet). Ask someone to gently push you across the floor. Notice how much friction they feel

as they try to push you.


two boards (about 12″ x 12″, or whatever you have handy)

4-10 dowels (or round, not hexagonal, pencils)

handful of marbles



Lesson 7: Hovercraft Hovercraft transport people and their stuff across ice, grass, swamp, water, and land. Also

known as the Air Cushioned Vehicle (ACV), these machines use air to greatly reduce the sliding

friction between the bottom of the vehicle (the skirt) and the ground. This is a great example of

how lubrication works – most people think of oil as the only way to reduce sliding friction, but

gases work well if done right.

You will need:

1 wood skewer

1 wood popsicle stick

1 straw

16 oz. styrofoam cup (the kind used for sodas). Note that waxed paper cups will not

work!

1 foam hamburger container (the one in the video is 5.5″ square and 3″ high when

closed)

1 foam meat tray (the one in the video is approx. 10″x12″x1″ – it does not need to be

these exact dimensions – try a few different sizes out to see what happens! You can get

them for free if you ask for a clean one from your butcher.

2 3V DC motors (one smaller, one larger)

2 propellers (the ones in the video are 3″ diameter, so check your local hobby store and

get a variety to test out) – read comments below for ideas on where to get props!

9V battery clip with wires

9V battery (get a good kind, like Duracell or Energizer)

9V battery holder (looks like a “C”) OR use tape to attach the battery to your hovercraft

a couple of extra wires (speaker wire, alligator clips, etc.)

1 SPST switch

by Aurora Lipper · 2 days ago · Lesson 6: Force-full Cereal Did you know that your cereal may be...

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