Wakefield 8th Grade Science: 2010

Monday, February 15, 2010

Balloon Racers

Balloon Racers

Newton's three laws seem to work perfectly on the chalkboard, but in real life we find that surfaces are seldom frictionless and that few moving objects are truly predictable. While building balloon racers we will discover how difficult it can be to make something work reliably.

The rules to this activity are simple:

* The car must be powered by balloons.
* You can build the car out of anything.
* It must have at least three wheels. Wheels are defined as anything that is round and goes around.
* The wheels cannot be wheels from a toy car. They must be made out of something that was not originally meant to be used as wheels.
* The car may not leave the ground.
* The car must be capable of traveling at least 5 meters.

On race day we will set up a track down the hallway. You will race against other classmates. Cars that follow all of the rules will be eligible for awards. These awards will be given in three categories:

* Best Looking Car
* Fastest Car (in first 5 meters)
* Farthest Distance Traveled

Good Luck!

TEST DAY WILL BE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19th. On this day we will test your design and you will be allowed to make any changes. YOU MUST HAVE SOMETHING STARTED BY TODAY!

RACE DAY WILL BE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Motion, Velocity, Speed and Acceleration

We have heard these words before, but what do they mean? We will have a more in depth discussion in the following days. Today I want you to watch the videos, check out the websites and write down what these words mean, from a Physics stand point.