Science

Experiment #1 - 
Experiment with and explain how Newton's Laws of Motion apply to the physical world.


 
Problem: What impact does the length of the wood have on the distance it travels?

Hypothesis: I believe the smaller pieces of wood will travel farther because they are lighter. I believe this because it seems easier to slide a lighter object across a table rather than one with more mass.

CV: the size of ramp, size of ball, mass of ball, angle of ramp, distance of ramp, width of wood, distance wood is from ramp, starting position of the wood
IV: The length of wood
DV:  How far the wood travels (inches)
Materials:
  • Ramp
  • Ruler
  • 1x2 piece of wood
  • 1x4 piece of wood
  • 1x6 piece of wood
  • Piece of tape

Procedure:
  1. Gather all materials
  2. Measure 3 inches from the end of the ramp and mark with a piece of tape
  3. Place the wood on that piece of tape
  4. Position the toy car at the top of the ramp and release the car
  5. Measure the distance the wood has moved from the tape and record
  6. Repeat these steps two more times for this length
  7. Repeat steps 1-6 for the other two lengths of wood.
  8. Record data
  9. Clean up all materials


External Variables

Write in paragraph form how I consciously eliminated external variables. This is factual writing should include how your conducted your experiment and how you thought about external variables before you started the experiment.

Results of experiment

Explain the proficiency


Experiment #2
 Experiment with and explain how friction apply to Newton's laws of motion.


Problem: What impact does the surface of the ground have on the distance a toy car is able to roll across it?

Hypothesis: I believe that the wheel will roll farther across the cement than it will across the carpet because carpet has taller bristles to create more friction between the carpet and the wheel therefore creating in a smaller distance. From experience I have  realized that if u try to skateboard on cement you will go a lot farther of one push than on carpet.

CV: type of car, size of toy car, force applied to toy car, same person pushing the toy car, same angle of the ground
IV: surface of the ground
DV: distance the toy car is able to travel

Materials:
  • Toy car
  • Ruler
  • Carpet
  • Cement

Procedure:
  1. Gather all materials
  2. Place toy car on the cement at a designated starting point
  3. Push car
  4. Measure the distance the toy car traveled, and record data
  5. Repeat these steps 5 times for each surface
  6. Clean up all materials

Conclusion:
What impact does the surface of the ground have on the distance a toy car is able to travel across it?, is the problem my group tested. After conducting this experiment I found the concrete had an average of (insert number) an the carpet ( insert number). Friction forces always oppose is the motion. On the carpet the kinetic force was less than on concrete. It was difficult to keep the force we applied to the toy car consistent, and may have become an external variable. If I was to conduct the experiment again I would find a way to keep the force applied consistent each time.

Friction Experiment


trial 1 trial 2 trial 3 trial 4 trial 5 average

Carpet 23.5 21.5 26.5 16 19.5 21.3        

Concrete 40.3 43.2 40 42.4 31.8 41.1

***all numbers are represent in inches





 



Experiment #3

Experiment with and explain the relationship between speed and acceleration.
Experiment with and explain how gravity apply to Newton's laws of motion. 

    Problem: What impact does the mass of a ball have on the speed and velocity it falls?
    Hypothesis: I believe the more mass an object has the faster it will fall because of the gravitational pull there for increasing the speed and velocity of the object. I believe this because when you dropped a watermelon and a feather off of a roof the watermelon will reach the ground first.
    CV: distance from ground,
    IV: the mass of the ball
    DV: time it takes to reach the ground (S)
    Materials
  1. Ping pong ball
  2. Baseball
  3. Stopwatch
    4. Procedure
  4. Gather all materials
  5. Take ping pong ball and set it on the edge of the ping pong table
  6. Let the ball drop while recording the time with a stop watch]
  7. Repeat 2 more times
  8. Repeat steps 1-5 with the baseball
  9. Clean up all materials
    10. Conclusion:
    The problem our group tested was, what impact does the mass of a ball have on the speed and velocity it falls? My hypothesis appeared to be correct from the data we collected, and I assumed it was supported. After researching Newton's law of gravity, and gravitational acceleration I found out that the mass of an object does not affect the time it falls. Newton's laws of gravity states that all objects would land at the same time, if dropped from the same height. For example if you dropped a boulder and a pebble from the same height they would land at the same time because the bolder has more gravitational pull, but yet more resistance. The speed and acceleration increases as the ball dropped.
    Some external variables which may have affected my results would be that since the distance we dropped the ball from was very short, it was difficult to time it accurately. If I was to conduct the experiment again I would lengthen the distance we dropped it form.

Proficiency #5
 Effectively explain how alternate forms of energy can be utilized to influence the United states energy 
needs.
The crisis for renewable energy has been an ongoing problem for numerous years in the united states. American's disregard the conflict, because they assume that we will always be able to walk in a room and just flip a light switch. Eventually energy will run out if we don’t do something about it. Sun, a resource we have so much of that wont run out for billions of years, is equally wasted. There are the occasional solar panels here or there you will see, but in city, Yuma Arizona that have sun everyday doesn't have a single solar panel in sight. The sun shines there 355 days a year, but yet I don’t understand why no ones uses solar energy isn't put to good use?

Solar Power is the process of converting sunlight into electricity. In 1838 a man by the name of
Edmund Becquerel considered the thought of resources not being endless. He published his findings about this idea of conserving sunlight. His findings were not taken seriously due to the lack of proof. Later in the 1870's Aguste Mouchout invented a device that turned solar energy into mechanical steam power, and was used to power the first steam engine. Due to this outbreak in solar power, a renewable resource; today solar electric systems have been installed to power homes, businesses, and even villages in Africa. Anything from household appliances to cars can be powered by solar cells.

So if all this can be done I ask myself: If each hour  more energy form the sun reaches are planet then is used by the entire world population in a whole year; Why don’t we take advantage of it? My resolution to this issue would be increasing the amount of solar powered houses in cities that have great amounts of sunlight. solar panels could be individually purchased and placed on the roof of your house. Although they are a pricy object eventually after powering your house the amount of money you will save will be worth it. People who do convert their houses to solar powered could be entitled to grants from the government to help pay for these changes.

 If just one city with a population of 194,322 people, and 90% sunlight a year, convert there house to purely solar power energy, it will reduce the amount of natural gas and electricity used. Therefore saving these types of resources for cities with lack of sunlighight, and helping the USA energy needs. Please take into consideration this idea.

Sincerely,
Caitlin Osborne



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