Class: Honors Physics                    Unit: Forces

Lesson: Balloon Car Run

NJCCS: 5.3.C.1, 5.4.C.1, 5.7.A.1, 5.7.A.2

Objectives/ Students Will Be Able To:

1. Complete balloon-car design process and evaluate each car’s performance by recording information from car run.
2. Explain how Newton’s Laws apply to the idealized performance of their balloon-powered car by presenting in pairs and by analysis section of write-up.
3. Evaluate work of self and group in balloon-car project by reflection section of write-up.

Materials:

-    meter sticks for track on floor

-    tape down starting point and label “Start”

-    rewards for winners of vote (nifty pencils or something)

-    extra balloons, just in case

-    balloon car grading rubric

Motivation: What is the main difference between Newton’s 1^st and 2^nd Laws of Motion?

Outline:

10 min             Do Now, go over Do Now

5 min               Last minute prep on cars, have students leave cars on back center table.

10 min             Introduce Balloon Car Run

                        Volunteer: Someone time from start to 1m mark.

                        Students make table on looseleaf and record during presentations (have sample written on board or overhead ahead of time):

·         Group Members’ names

·         What was unique about car and/or its design?

·         Did they explain how car related to each of Laws clearly? (Y/N)

·         How far did it go?

·         Did it go straight?

·         Time it took to go 1m?

·         Velocity? (1m/_s, then solve)

45 min             Balloon Car Run – Have students sit at lab tables.

• Teacher - Fill out Rubric for each car and presentation
• Students – Fill out table with info for each car. – Take 1 min after each to gather attention and have students write.
• Have students make pile of write-ups when do presentation

10 min             Decide on most creative, fastest, farthest, best explanations of how it relates to Laws

10 min             Wrapup:

·         What force caused cars to move?

·         How did mass relate to the acceleration that occurred?

Self-evaluations of groupwork, what you thought was most interesting

Assessing Objectives: SEE RUBRIC

1. Recording and later discussing data collected during car run.
2. Presentation in front of class, analysis section of write-up.
3. Reflection section of write-up.

Homework: none (Thanksgiving break)