Problem - Does the mass of the ball have an impact on how far the ball rolls?
Hypothesis - I think that the biggest ball will make the block roll the farthest because of Newton's Second Law which states that Force equals Mass time Acceleration. The more mass the ball has, the more acceleration the ball will create which will in turn make the ball have more speed.
Experiment -
Materials: Track, ping pong ball, gold ball, golf ball, floor, measuring tape.
Variables: CV - Same track, same height of track, same place ball rolls, same surface the ball rolls on, same type of ball, same person pushing the ball down the inclined plane.
IV - Mass of Car
DV- Distance ball rolls
Procedures:
For the procedures, first you will roll the ball down the ramp and measure how far the ball rolls. Roll the ball down the ramp with the same mass three times and then add mass to the ball.
External Variables -
I will eliminate external variables many ways. The first way is use the same track. This will ensure that the data is accurate and that there is not little or more resistance on the ball. I will also use the same size of area so that the limit of how far the ball can roll doesn’t differ so that one max cannot be farther than another max. I will use the same flooring to create less or more resistance and surface friction. I will use the same size ball because the surface area could effect the data. This will eliminate any chance that there is something that may effect my data. This will help our experiments be more accurate.
Observations:
While my group was doing the experiment, I noticed a trend between the two tests. The first was that the test results in the acceleration graph and the test results in the ball being pushed graph, that they reflect upon each other. They are a mirror of each other. The golf ball had the highest test average in the ball being pushed graph and the lowest in the acceleration graph. It is the same with the ping-pong ball and the bouncy ball. The ping-pong ball had the lowest average in the ball being pushed graph and the highest in the acceleration graph. I also realized that the golf ball had the fastest time down the track and the ping-pong ball went the slowest. The acceleration is the exact opposite. The ping-pong ball had the most acceleration though. That makes me notice that just because something is fast in speed doesn't mean that it has more acceleration.
Conclusion: In the problem, does the mass effect how far the ball can push the ball, my hypothesis was supported. The biggest ball pushed the farthest with and average of 42.4 inches per push. The bouncy ball had the next biggest push with an average of 26.2 in. per push and finally the ping pong ball with a 6.1 in. average push.
This happens because of friction, inertia, and wind resistance. The big ball has a lot of friction and that's why the big ball didn't roll as far as the medium sized ball. This can relate to Newton's Third Law. This law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction and friction is the opposite reaction to this ball.
For the smaller ball, there is not enough inertia for the ball so it decelerates faster. The wind resistance also effects the smaller ball's deceleration too. The smaller ball is so light, that the wind resistance is more of a factor on this ball than the other two. This could have effected the results. The ball with the most deceleration had the highest in the pushing the ball and the one with the least deceleration had the least push on the ball.
Some external variables that we had was that the ball had too big of an area to roll so the ball didn't roll in the same spot every time. There could have been a little bit difference in the length of the whole test. That was really the only external variable that we faced.
Explain: Newton's First Law states that an object at rest will stay at rest and an object in motion will stay in motion unless and unbalanced force acts upon it. This is shown in this test when the ball hits the other ball, the ball at rest go from a resting position to a moving position because the ball that is hitting it is an unbalanced force but the ball that hit the other ball did not stop rolling because the ball that it hit did not act as an unbalanced force. In Newton's Second Law, it states that there is a relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. Force = Mass x Acceleration. In the test, the golf ball hit the other ball the furthest because it has a lot of mass. Even though it doesn't have much acceleration, the ping-pong ball, which had the most acceleration, had so little mass that it couldn't push the ball very far at all. In Newton's Third Law, he states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is proven with the acceleration because friction is the opposite reaction to the ball rolling down the ramp and hitting the other ball. The friction acts as the opposite reaction. The relationship between speed and acceleration is that just because the speed is higher, doesn't mean that the acceleration is higher. Actually, the more speed something has, the less aeccleration because the more mass a ball has, the more speed the ball goes but the less weight the ball has, the more acceleration the ball has. This is the relationship between speed and acceleration.
Friction and Gravity -
Problem - Does the type of surface effect how far the ball rolls?
Hypothesis - I think that the wood surface will let the ball roll the farthest because it is a smooth surface so there is no resistance against the ball and is not too smooth as to where the ball slips on the ramp. It will also be a more steady surface than the track and the blanketed surface. This way, the ball will not get caught or slowed down by any force which will in turn, let the ball roll farther.
Experiment -
Materials: Bouncy ball, blanket, track, wood, computer, cement, tape measure.
Variables -
CV - Same bouncy ball, same surface ball rolls on, same person pushing the ball, same piece of cardboard, same angle cardboard is at.
IV - Surface
DV - Distance ball rolls
Procedures -
For the Procedures, first you take the bouncy ball and set it on the edge of the cardboard. Let go of the ball and let it roll down the blanketed track three times and measure how far the ball rolls each time. Then take the blanket off the track and use the track as your surface. Roll the ball down the ramp three times and measure how far it goes each time. For the last test, take some wood and put it on top of the track and roll the ball down three times and measure how far the ball rolls. Record your data.
External Variables -
There are many ways to eliminate external variables. The first way that I will eliminate them is use the same surface that the ball rolls on after the cardboard. This way there will be no little or more resistance on the ball which will make the test less accurate. I will also use the same ball every time because a ball with more mass will create more speed and acceleration which will also set of the data. I will also use the same piece of cardboard so that nothing differs in how far the ball will roll except the flaps that we will cut in the cardboard. By eliminating these external variable, my test will be more accurate.
Observations:
I noticed a couple of things during the test. When I looked at the ball roll down the blanket and the track, it seemed like it kept going back and forth and the surface was unstable. I also realized that the ball would roll down the track and wouldn't come off with the most speed with some of them. Gravity pulled the ball down the track but the track was unstable and so was the blanket but the wood was stable. This could have been the reason for these test results. I think there are many things that contributed to this data.
Conclusion:
In the problem, does the type of surface effect how far the ball rolls, my hypothesis was that the ball would roll the farthest on the wood. My hypothesis was confirmed. The data shows that the ball rolled on average 366.5 inches when rolled down the wood, 221.3 when rolled down the track, and 145 when rolled down the blanket. The reason for this is because the surface is smooth so when the ball rolls down, there is little to no resistance on the ball itself. The wood also creates a steady surface for the ball to roll down which also makes the ball pick up acceleration. This is why the ball went farther on the wood than any other of the other surfaces.
Explain:
There are many ways friction and gravity have to do with Newton's Laws of Motion. In Newton's First Law, he explains how an object that is in motion would stay in motion or an object at rest will stay at rest unless an unbalanced for acts upon it. If you think about it, he could use gravity as a reference to this. It there was no floor or no ground pushing up on us, gravity would keep pulling us forever until something stopped us. Gravity keeps us in motion and the floor is the unbalanced force. If the ground weren't there, we would have nothing to stop us from moving because of gravity. Friction also has a part in Newton's First Law. Friction is two objects rubbing up against each other to create heat. If a ball is rolled, the floor is moving in the opposite direction which acts as the unbalanced force which creates friction. It also applies to Newton's Third Law in the same way. Newton's Third Law states that for every action, there is an opposite reaction that exerts a force on another object, then the second object exerts a force of equal strength in the opposite direction This also applies to gravity and friction because if gravity is pushing down on us, that is an action and the opposite reaction is the floor pushing up on us. It also applies to friction because when you roll a ball, friction is acting as the unbalanced force that eventually stops the ball. If you roll a ball one way, friction is being created by the floor or the ground moving in the other direction which stops the ball. Friction and Gravity also apply in Newton's Second Law. This law states that the greater the acceleration, the greater the force. If you have a heavier ball, it creates more acceleration which become a greater force when it hits the ground because of gravity. Friction is also created by this because when the ball hits the floor, it creates heat and hits the ground which is friction.
Simple Machines -
A ball will roll down an inclined plane and hit a car which will in turn, have potential energy turn into kinetic energy and hit a scissors shut. This will snap a string and will drop a heavy object onto a 1st class lever and roll a ball into a screw. This will have a ball roll down a screw and hit dominoes which will go up an inclined plane hitting a small ball which will roll down a ramp and hit a bigger ball which will hit a soccer ball into a net in turn, scoring a goal.
Alternate Forms of Energy -
October 1st -
Finally. We started to talk about alternate forms of energy in science. Some of those ideas are complete garbage though. The solar energy. Come on. Don't we have people that are smart enough to figure out that on a cloudy day, there will be no energy. Sometimes, we just need to use common sense here in Wisconsin.
October 2nd -
I wonder which form of energy we're going to talk about tomorrow. I just hope it's not one of the ones that are pointless to use. I don't even want to think about all of the flaws of those ones.
October 3rd -
Ocean Energy was today's subject. I don't get why we even use this for many states because only a little bit of the states on the ocean get the energy. That's not even including the idea that there are more states that don't even have an ocean near us.
October 4th -
No science today. I was stuck on the whole Ocean Energy thing though. I still don't get why they would use that. I can't wait for the hydropower energy. That's going to be a really good use of energy.
October 5th -
What do you know we talked about one of the pointless ones today. Solar Energy is what we talked about today. I already knew about this one before and I hear all of the good things that can happen from it. Well just letting all of you scientists out there, there are flaws to it too. Like a cloudy day or a rainy day and maybe the solar panels get ruined. I guess they never really thought about that before.
October 6th -
I've moved on from yesterday's pointless lesson. Why don't we start going to some of the good ones. Maybe they're saving the best for the last. We'll probably get a decent one to talk about tomorrow.
October 7th -
We must really think Solar Energy is the way to go because we talked about it in class again today. Once I heard Solar come out of the teachers mouth, I went right to Pac-Man. I figured there was no point in listening to all of that solar energy junk again.
October 8th -
Watch them teach another lesson on Solar Energy tomorrow in science class. I don't get what's so special about solar energy that it could get two or more lessons in a row. I myself think it's bogus.
October 9th -
Another lesson on solar energy! Now this is getting too much. I don't know why they would make this so lengthy. It's annoying me to no end. I don't know why I even pay attention any more.
October 10th -
Hopefully we move on from solar energy tomorrow. I need a break from that non-sense. We better start to talk about the good forms of energy tomorrow. I need science to have something good to talk about so that I don't have to rant on and on about all of it's flaws.
October 11th -
We got a decent one today. Wind Energy isn't so bad. I personally think it would be great in Milwaukee. It would be a nice windy place to put some turbines. There's only one problem. Where do we have the room to put them. We need somewhere that has a good wind source, and space to put them.
October 12th -
Thank the lord we talked about a good subject yesterday. Now I'm in a good mood for science tomorrow. I still need to talk about another good form so I don't go back into a bad mood and ruin other people's days.
October 13th -
What do you know. Friday the 13th. I think I'm going to the movie tonight. Hopefully it won't have the solar panels that power the movie. I'm going at 11o'clock show. Now if it were powered by biomass energy. Or maybe just the regular old electricity. Oh my god what has energy done to me.
October 14th -
Finally a weekend. Man do I like the weekends. The wind in my face that's not freezing cold and at 7 o'clock in the morning. Speaking of which I forgot to mention my wind energy idea. That would probably be a good idea on Monday. Maybe I can get extra credit for that. Boy that would be great to amp up my grade.
October 15th -
Sunday. Time to go to church. I haven't been to church in a while. Half of the reason is my parents don't take me and the other half is people hate how I talk about science the whole time. The teacher will yell at me for talking about science the whole Sunday school class. Well you know it's going to be awkward today but that's alright.
October 16th -
Well my wind energy idea wasn't fully excepted by the science teacher but he brought it into account. He didn't use the idea but he didn't throw it away either. I think he said he didn't like it because my logic was just too good for him and i was the smarter of the two in the conversation. But that's alright. All I need to know is that I was right in my brain. We used the whole day to just review what we've learned so far and have a quiz next class on the ones that we've learned so far.
October 17th -
I can't be in my journal too long today. I have to put in at least three hours on studying science. Anything short of a 100% is a failure to me. Even though I already know all of the stuff on the science quiz, I have to study to ensure my success. It will be a good day tomorrow if I study three hours.
October 18th -
Man those three hours really payed off. I went for nothing short of a 100%. I actually got a 104% because I got my extra credit question right. I was worth 2 points but there were only 50 points on the test in total. Not including the extra credit. I need to get more of these 104's. Maybe I could get excepted into Harvard.
October 19th -
I got an overhang from that science quiz. I was so tired from all of that work this morning. I was partying until eight o'clock! That's three hours past my bed time and to add onto it, I had three cups of grape juice and two cups of apple juice! I was a party animal last night.
October 20th -
We talked about the geothermal energy today. That is one good type of energy. It takes heat from the earth and converts it into electricity. We'll never lose heat from the earth. It would be so efficient too. I would be like drilling for oil except for something more useful to humans.
October 21st -
We still haven't talked about hydropower energy in science and it's getting on my nerves. That is by far my favorite type of energy. It is such a good source of energy. It uses kinetic energy and converts it to electrical energy. Well I hope we get to hydropower soon.
October 22nd -
This is really bugging me. We didn't talk about hydropower energy! We went back to the one and only solar energy. I think the government is trying to overtake our brains with the solar energy. The government is going to have to do a bit more than that to get my brain.
October 23rd -
Solar Energy is the stain on our humanity. It will only in the long term put us down! That's how I learned to speak in speech class today but it is true. Solar energy is just something that will kill us in the long run. Cloudy days will the days of the dead if we turn to such foolish measures. Wow I completely and totally sound like I'm from the olden days.
October 24th -
Finally we started to talk about hydropower energy. I think they purposely saved it for the last but you know. they'll probably talk about solar energy again. I really think that they should just get away from all of those solar panels. There are so many problems with it. Lightning could strike it or a cloudy day or rain could make it malfunction. We should really use something that will consistently work. (Cough Cough hydropower energy Cough Cough)
October 25th -
Hopefully we extrapolate on hydropower energy tomorrow. It is such a good energy source that we can use and count on every day. It would be the best idea and the best way to conserve energy and use our natural gases more sparingly. Just to add on top of it too, we're not going to run out of water and if we do, we would all die so as long as we don't die, we will have hydropower energy.
October 26th -
We talked about hydropower energy again! So far, this has been the best week of the best school year ever. I got to extrapolate on my ideas and the teachers actually liked them and decided to share them to the class. I think I should write a letter to the governor for my idea. Maybe if I got my idea across straight and had a couple people back me up, it could go through.
October 27th -
I'm starting my essay today. I think that since it's Saturday, I need to keep my mind on school. I plan on finishing it by the end of tonight. I will send it to everyone I know to proof read it so that I can write the best letter possible. I have doubts that the governor will except it but you know, it's worth a try.
October 28th -
I sent the letter today. I only got two responses to my essay. That's actually good considering that I only know twenty people and it was a Saturday. I got one response from my mom and one from my dad. I hope that it passes. That would make my life so much easier. I hope that they get me a letter back by Tuesday. Then I could show the whole Science Class!
October 29th -
No science today which disappoints me. I've been sitting at my front window for the past two hours looking for the mail man. I think he comes around 4:24 and it's 4:04. Twenty more minutes hopefully but I will take no chances. I doubt that they'll have sent me a letter back that soon but you never know. We'll see in twenty or less minutes. There is also a science test Wednesday. I knew that a while ago but haven't studied until we got all of the information. I have to study four and a half hours for the next two days to make it a successful test.
October 30th -
The mail came yesterday and the letter was in there. I opened it and it said that the government will not take ideas from a eight grader in a city of twelve thousand but it was a good idea. They might use it in the future. I think they just said that so they didn't make me feel too incredibly bad. It is still good that they had the idea of making it a source of energy to Wisconsin. I think that the letter was the success. That was worth the time to write the essay. Now I have to study for the science test tomorrow. Triple that of a quiz so that means nine hours.
October 31st -
I got a 100%! There were no extra credit questions but that's alright. I have an over average score but I'm sad that we've moved off of alternate forms of energy. I will definitely be thinking of these forms of energy for the rest of the year. There will definitely be more of this energy or at least some talk about it. I think maybe when I get older, I'll go to government just to get these energy ideas into our state. Hydropower Energy will be my first line of business in the government. That will be the best form of Energy out of all of the Alternate Forms of Energy.
