Live From Mars was active July 1996-December 1997.
Name__________________________
| Date__________________ |
Activity 1.1.A - STUDENT WORKSHEET
Procedure:
- Following teacher direction, tie one end of the nylon strings to an
anchored object at the front or back of the classroom at least 4 or 5 feet
off the floor and then stretch the string out across the classroom being
careful not to cross another team's string.
- Thread a plastic straw onto the nylon string.
- Blow up one of the balloons, filling it about one third full of air
(fuel) while carefully holding the nozzle end tight (but not tying it) so
that air will not escape.
- Carefully and securely tape the plastic straw to the top of the
balloon
so that the straw is parallel to the long axis of the balloon and the head
of
the balloon is pointed toward the anchored end of the nylon string.
- Have one member of your team hold the other end of the nylon string
high
off the floor (so both ends are at the same height) while making the
string
tight.
- Hold a countdown, let the nozzle end of the balloon go and watch the
balloon rocket fly along the string across the classroom.
Use stopwatch to record time. Measure the distance the balloon traveled
along string.
Repeat three times. For each trial, record distance and time.
AVERAGE your team results and record on class Data Table on chalkboard.
- Repeat STEPS 1-6, modifying the procedure in the following ways:
Fill the balloon two thirds full of air.
Fill the balloon completely completely full of air.
Experiment 1 | (balloon 1/3
inflated) | |
| Distance (m) | Time
(sec.) |
TRIAL 1 | ________________ | ________________ |
TRIAL
2 | ________________ | ________________ |
TRIAL
3 | ________________ | ________________ |
Average: | ________________ | ________________ |
Experiment 2 | (balloon 2/3
inflated) | |
| Distance (m) | Time
(sec.) |
TRIAL 1 | ________________ | ________________ |
TRIAL
2 | ________________ | ________________ |
TRIAL
3 | ________________ | ________________ |
Average: | ________________ | ________________ |
Experiment 3 | (balloon fully
inflated) | |
| Distance (m) | Time
(sec.) |
TRIAL 1 | ________________ | ________________ |
TRIAL
2 | ________________ | ________________ |
TRIAL
3 | ________________ | ________________ |
Average: | ________________ | ________________ |
Observations/Conclusions:
Discuss the following questions and prepare responses which represent the
consensus for your team.
- When did the balloon rockets go the farthest? What caused this?
How could you test your ideas?
- Why did the balloon rockets stop?
- If there was no friction between the straw and the nylon string, and
no wall in the way, how would the balloon rockets have behaved up until
the time the rockets ran out of fuel?
- If there was no friction between the straw and the nylon string, and
no wall in the way, how would the balloon rockets have behaved after they
ran out of fuel?
- Which Law(s) of Motion does this activity illustrate and why?