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Roller Coaster Building

In this provocation, students will plan and design a roller coaster

Objective:

  •  Can you create a roller coaster that allows a marble to travel from the starting point to the end point using various forces (push, pull, gravity)?

Problem-solving and strategic thinking:

  • Students will use a variety of building materials and/or recycled materials to build a roller coaster.

  • Students will reflect on how their different design choices affect the marble’s motion.

Standards/Objectives addressed:

  • NGSS 1-PS2-1: Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.

  • NGSS 1-PS2-2: Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull.

  • NGSS 2-PS1-1: Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.

  • NGSS 2-PS2-1: Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying scientific ideas about magnets.

Background knowledge needed:

  • Basic Forces: Understanding push and pull actions through everyday examples.

  • Gravity: Recognizing gravity as a force that pulls objects downward.

  • Friction: Knowing that friction opposes motion and can vary with different surfaces.

  • Materials Properties: Familiarity with various materials (e.g., plastic, wood) and their observable characteristics.

  • Measurement Skills: Basic skills in measuring height and distance using simple tools.

  • Teamwork: Experience in collaborating, sharing ideas, and listening to peers.

Materials:

  • Foam Pipe Insulation, Marbles, Cardboard, Tape (masking or duct tape),Scissors, Rulers, Markers/ Crayons

  • Various surfaces (e.g., carpet, tile, sandpaper): To test how different surfaces affect motion.

  • Containers or trays: For collecting and testing marbles at the start and end of the coaster.

Prompts – questions or statements to elicit engagement:

  • What happens when you push a toy car? How fast can you make it go?

  • Can you think of a time when you used a push or pull to move something? What did you do?

  • How do you think gravity affects the way a marble rolls down a hill?

  • What materials do you think will work best for our roller coaster? Why?

  • If your marble doesn’t make it to the end, what changes can you make to improve your design?

  • How do different surfaces change the way objects move? Can you predict what might happen?

Vocabulary:

  • Force, Motion, Gravity, Friction, Push, Pull, Speed, Direction, Design, Heigh, Distance

Reflection prompts:

  • What did you learn about how forces affect motion?

  • What was the most surprising thing you discovered during the project?

  • How did your design change from your original plan? Why?

  • What challenges did you face while building your roller coaster?

  • How did working with your group help you learn more about force and motion?

Extension:

  • Explore Simple Machines:
    Investigate how simple machines (like levers and pulleys) use force. Students can create models using everyday objects to demonstrate how these machines work.

  • Paper Airplane Challenge:
    Students will design and build various paper airplanes, testing how changes in design (wing shape, size) affect flight distance and stability, exploring the forces involved in flight.

  • Pendulum Experiment:
    Using string and a small weight (like a washer), students can create pendulums of different lengths and measure how the length affects the swing speed and distance.

  • Friction Experiment:
    Set up a slope with different surfaces (sandpaper, carpet, plastic) and have students roll marbles down each slope. They will observe how friction affects the speed and distance traveled.

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