In this introduction to motion activity, students will get a personal understanding of speed and acceleration by experiencing it firsthand. Wheeled office chairs or other cart like devices are used to give one student a ride as a fellow student uses a rope with a spring balance attached to apply a steady force to the rider. Data to be collected includes the distance traveled, time, force, and average speed. Students will record information on a data table and then create a graph with which they compare and interpret different outcomes. They will also predict outcomes when variables are changed. The intention of this activity is to promote interest and conversation with students about speed, velocity and acceleration.

Concepts

acceleration, force, speed, velocity

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Additional Tags

constant, investigating motion - graphing speed, velocity and speed

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Classroom Considerations

• Knovation Readability Score: 3 (1 low difficulty, 5 high difficulty)