Science

"Proficiency One"

Problem: will a bigger ball rolling down an incline plane push another ball farther

Hypothesis: I think that the bigger the ball the farther the second ball will roll because it has more energy built up to transfer.

Variables:

CV: same track, same second ball, same measurer, same person rolling the ball down the track

IV: which ball pushes the farthest
DV: how far the ball is pushed

Materials:

• Two meter sticks
• Ramp
• Tape
• Measurer
• Ball starter
• Protractor
• Wall
• Three different sized marbles
• One practice golf ball
• Computer to record data

Procedures:

1. Gather all materials
2. Set up the track at a 40 degree angle and tape to the wall
3. Put the golf ball at the end of the track and put one meter stick on either side
4. Put the smallest marble at the top of the track
5. Let go of it
6. Record how far the second ball rolled
7. Record date and repeat steps 4-6 two more times
8. Get the bigger marble
9. Run the test three times with that marble and record your data
10. Get the next sized marble
11. Do the test three times with that one
12. Record your date
13. Make a chart

Observations:

Conclusion:

My hypothesis was supported because the biggest marble pushed the practice golf ball the farthest. The bigger marble built up more speed to transfer because it was heavier and gravity pulled it down to the ground faster. This experiment shows that an object at rest tends to stay at rest until another object of greater force moves it. Newtons laws of motion show that not only we can move things but that it requires a certain type of force to do so. newtons laws of motion apply to every day life. Almost every day we ride in a car or walk or run. That is all creating a force that moves us which is an unequal force that causes us to move.

"Proficiency Two"


Problem: How does the different texture affect the speed of a marble going down a track

Hypothesis: I think that no sand or sawdust or a mixture, so without anything on the track will go the fastest

Variables:
Iv: texture of track
Cv: same amount of sand, same amount of sawdust, same person timing, same person putting the sand on the track
Dv: The speed

Materials:
• sand
• sawdust
• marble track
• marbles
• 26 dominoes
• timer
• people
• open space to set up marble track
• something to record data

Procedures:
1. gather all materiels
2. set up track
3. set up 26 dominoes in a straight line at end of track
4. put the marble on track and start the timer as soon as you let go of the marble
5. repeat step 4. three times
6. put a pinch of sand on the track and run the test again
7. record your data
8. clear the track of all sand and put sawdust on the track
9. run the test and record your data
10. put sand on the sawdust
11. run the test again
12. record your results

Observations:

Conclusion: My hypothesis was supported by the fact that the marble test went faster when there was nothing on the track the more materials on the track the more friction was created so the marble rolled slower. the more friction that was created the more the marble would slow down. It was hard to eliminate external variables because it was hard to make sure that we got all of the previous materiel of the track. We didn't measure out how much we put on because that is now how it would be in the real world.



"Proficiency Three"

Problem: Does the mass of a marble affect the speed that a marble will make it down a marble track.

Hypothesis: I think that a lighter, smaller marble will go faster because it will fit through the holes of the track better, that way there will be less friction

Variables:
CV: same length of track, same track, same timer, same marble for each mass, same person using the timer, same height of marble track, track set up in same shape IV: weather the marble makes it all the way down the track DV: the speed and acceleration of the marble

Materials:
o Marble track
o Three different size marbles
o Timer
o Someone to start the marble
o Someone to time
o A computer or something to record data
o Something to weigh the mass of the marbles
Procedures:
1. Gather all materials
2. Set up marble track
3. Get computer set up to record your data
4. Start the smallest marble at the top of the track
5. Start the timer as soon as it touches the track
6. Stop the timer when the marbles gets to the bottom
7. Record your data
8. Repeat two more times with that marble
9. Get the next size marble
10. Repeat steps 4-8 three times with the bigger marble
11. Get the next sized marble
12. Repeat stems 4-8 with that marble
13. Record data
Observations:

Conclusion: My hypothesis was supported because the marbles that were smaller went faster through the hole. I learned in my last experiment that friction slows the speed of an object. The smaller ball created less friction going through the hole which caused to be able to go faster. The bigger marble actually got stuck once or twice and we had to restart it. The smaller marble was still big enough to gain more speed but small enough not to cause friction while going through the holes.





"Proficiency Four"

Problem: How will the size of marble affect how far it can push another ball.

Hypothesis: I think that the bigger the ball the farther the second ball will roll because it has more energy built up to transfer.

Variables:

CV: same track, same second ball, same measurer, same person rolling the ball down the track
IV: which ball pushes the farthest
DV: how far the ball is pushed

Materials:
• Two meter sticks
• Ramp
• Tape
• Measurer
• Ball starter
• Protractor
• Wall
• Three different sized marbles
• One practice golf ball
• Computer to record data

Procedures:
1. Gather all materials
2. Set up the track at a 40 degree angle and tape to the wall
3. Put the golf ball at the end of the track and put one meter stick on either side
4. Put the smallest marble at the top of the track
5. Let go of it
6. Record how far the second ball rolled
7. Record date and repeat steps 4-6 two more times
8. Get the bigger marble
9. Run the test three times with that marble and record your data
10. Get the next sized marble
11. Do the test three times with that one
12. Record your date
13. Make a chart

Observations:

 
Conclusion:
My hypothesis was supported because the biggest marble pushed the practice golf ball the farthest. The bigger marble built up more speed to transfer because it was heavier and gravity pulled it down to the ground faster. The bigger the marble the more weight that it had to transfer so the second ball would roll farther. The smaller marble still pushed the ball but it didn't push it very far or vary fast.



"Proficiency Five"

Many things affect how we get around, energy, speed, safety, but now it seems hard to find something to start our cars, trains, planes and other types of vehicles. We foolishly seem to limit ourselves to one type of fuel. There are so many things that could be easily used to power things if we put more thought and research into it. Fossil fuels are limiting our ability to go far and succeed in the things we all dream of. When I dream of a futuristic world I think of a clean and wonderful world that makes life easier. With fossil fuels we slow our chances to progress into this new world.
Fossil fuels are coal, oil and gas. We burn them continuously on a daily basis. As Americans we use roughly 50 to 60 billion cubic feet of gas a day, this just goes to show our disgusting thirst for fossil fuels. There are so many different forms of energy that we could use to save our fossil fuels and save the planet. Life as we know it could become better if we tried other natural resources instead of just fossil fuels. For example we could use wind energy. Wind could be harvested through windmills and be put to use to create electricity instead of burning fossil fuels. Solar energy from the sun, something we see and realize is there every day could be used to power almost anything! As our obsession with fossil fuels grows, so does our need to find an answer, a cure for this madness. We don’t need just one cure to eliminate a portion of the fossil fuels, we need many different ideas put to use to eliminate our need for fossil fuels.
Drastic changes are needed to change how we think and go about changing this world from fossil fuel dependent to a new world without fossil fuels. A rude awakening of our limited resources is imminent. Sometime in the future when we run out of fossil fuels and have yet to develop a way to power what we need powered we will think back to this time when we foolishly wasted our time. I know that we are working toward energy solutions but we don’t seem to be getting anywhere. Life will change and we might not be ready for it. Now we may think that we will be, but think about it, do you think we are ready?
Do you recycle? If you have a GPS do you choose the fuel efficient route? You know you have that option. Do you turn lights off when you leave rooms? Little things like those could help us progress toward a better, cleaner , healthier world. You don’t need to become a tree hugger to make a difference. Little things like buying cloth bags instead of getting paper or plastic bags every time you go to the store could help save this planet. So many natural, renewable resources are gong to waste each day. Next time you are getting gas or setting a route on your GPS think, how much longer must this go on?