The question this week that I explored was how do different surfaces affect the momentum of marbles. I decided that I would get some input from my ELT group. We talked about the marbles, the force it would take to put the marbles into motion and how the momentum could be changed or affected. We looked at the different surfaces that were in our room that we could use. We decided to use the desktop, the part of the board that holds the markers and the concrete outside of my room.
I had the students predict what would happen on each surface with the momentum of the marble. They wrote this is their science notebook. As we conducted the experiment we found that the marbles rolled great on the smooth desktop. They did not fair as well on the bumpy concrete pad. We talked about our findings and how they compared to their predictions.
The next time that I conducted the experiment with a whole class I would have a few surfaces set up for the experiment and then have the students to brainstorm ways that the experiment could be improved and another surface that they could explore.
The goal that I would have for my students would be for them to see how different surfaces could affect the momentum of objects and the amount of force exhibited on an object would also affect the momentum.
I chose the marble as well. Simple to develop for sure. I actually tried an open inquiry the other day with chemical and mechanical digestion. Students had cups, crackers,and hard candy. It was simple to design and I had a lot of success. Did your ELT group come up with the whole idea alone or did you facilitate the activity? I find it difficult not to interject when they are planning. I am a bit controlling so open inquiries are a challenge for me:)
ReplyDeleteTo piggyback off of Lori's comment, I can relate to being controlling during open inquiries. It is a challenge for me, too. I think it is fantastic that you implemented this activity in your classroom.
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