Session 2
April 17, 2017
Students learned about centrifugal force and its uses. They learned that many amusement park rides such as roller coasters, and gravitron used centrifugal force.They learned the difference between centripetal force (force an object feels when in circular motion) and centrifugal force (not a real force, it has to do with inertia and Newton's first law).
The students spun around cups of water in a vertical circle to see the forces in action. They noticed that water at rest stays at rest (even when it is upside down) even though the cup is in motion!!
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April 10,2017
Today students learned about density. They learned that mass is amount of matter in a substance and volume is the amount of space occupied by the substance. Density is mass divided by volume.
Students performed an experiment using eggs. They noticed that egg sinks in water since it is denser than water. When we increase the density of water by adding sugar (or salt) the egg floats.
Since we finished the experiment early the students were divided into two teams to design and construct an egg protective device. They were provided with various materials to finish this task.
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March 27, 2017
Today students learned about potential and kinetic energy. They learned that energy is the ability to do work and that potential energy is the stored energy of an object, whereas kinetic energy is the energy of an object in motion. They also learned that PE of an object depends on the objects location. For example, a ball resting on top of a mountain will have more potential energy than one closer to the ground.
Later the students made an origami rabbit (it had a spring). When at rest the rabbit had potential energy which was later converted to kinetic energy when it was pressed and released. Later when the rabbit came to a complete stop it once again had a potential energy.
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March 20,2017
Today students learned about Newton's third law which states that "For every action there is an equal, but opposite reaction." They learned that this is the science behind rockets taking off.
The students created their own balloon rockets and watched Newton's third law in action - as the air from the balloon escapes it moves forward.
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March 13, 2017
Today students learned about hovercrafts; hovercrafts use air to lift a vehicle off of a surface but there has to be a lot of it moving very fast and straight down for this to work.
Students created their own hovercrafts using a CD, bottle cap and balloon. The balloon releases air which creates a cushion and reduces friction and therefore the CD floats on the surface.
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March 6, 2017
Today students learned about Newton's first law of motion. The first law (also called the law of inertia) states that an object in motion stays in motion and object at rest stays in rest unless an outside force acts upon it.
We placed an object (a set of bangles) on a card stock paper, which was in turn placed on a container. When the students flicked the paper the bangles fell down into the container (due to gravity). This experiment demonstrated the law of inertia because the bangles were at rest and were still at rest when the paper was flicked. In addition, we tested the law of inertia by using eggs!!
Students learned about centrifugal force and its uses. They learned that many amusement park rides such as roller coasters, and gravitron used centrifugal force.They learned the difference between centripetal force (force an object feels when in circular motion) and centrifugal force (not a real force, it has to do with inertia and Newton's first law).
The students spun around cups of water in a vertical circle to see the forces in action. They noticed that water at rest stays at rest (even when it is upside down) even though the cup is in motion!!
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
April 10,2017
Today students learned about density. They learned that mass is amount of matter in a substance and volume is the amount of space occupied by the substance. Density is mass divided by volume.
Students performed an experiment using eggs. They noticed that egg sinks in water since it is denser than water. When we increase the density of water by adding sugar (or salt) the egg floats.
Since we finished the experiment early the students were divided into two teams to design and construct an egg protective device. They were provided with various materials to finish this task.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
March 27, 2017
Today students learned about potential and kinetic energy. They learned that energy is the ability to do work and that potential energy is the stored energy of an object, whereas kinetic energy is the energy of an object in motion. They also learned that PE of an object depends on the objects location. For example, a ball resting on top of a mountain will have more potential energy than one closer to the ground.
Later the students made an origami rabbit (it had a spring). When at rest the rabbit had potential energy which was later converted to kinetic energy when it was pressed and released. Later when the rabbit came to a complete stop it once again had a potential energy.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
March 20,2017
Today students learned about Newton's third law which states that "For every action there is an equal, but opposite reaction." They learned that this is the science behind rockets taking off.
The students created their own balloon rockets and watched Newton's third law in action - as the air from the balloon escapes it moves forward.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
March 13, 2017
Today students learned about hovercrafts; hovercrafts use air to lift a vehicle off of a surface but there has to be a lot of it moving very fast and straight down for this to work.
Students created their own hovercrafts using a CD, bottle cap and balloon. The balloon releases air which creates a cushion and reduces friction and therefore the CD floats on the surface.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
March 6, 2017
Today students learned about Newton's first law of motion. The first law (also called the law of inertia) states that an object in motion stays in motion and object at rest stays in rest unless an outside force acts upon it.
We placed an object (a set of bangles) on a card stock paper, which was in turn placed on a container. When the students flicked the paper the bangles fell down into the container (due to gravity). This experiment demonstrated the law of inertia because the bangles were at rest and were still at rest when the paper was flicked. In addition, we tested the law of inertia by using eggs!!
Session 1
February 27,2017
Today students learned about gravity and the way materials interact with each other. Students worked in teams to design and construct an egg protective device. They were provided with various materials and they repeated this experiment twice. The first time there were no constraints. However, the second time the variety of materials was limited, opposing team took away one material from their table, and there was a maximum weight limit for their apparatus.
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February 13,2017
Today students learned about density. Density is mass (amount of matter) divided by volume (amount of space occupied by the substance).
Students noticed that egg is denser than water (egg sinks in water). Whereas egg floats on saturated salt (or sugar) water (salt water is denser than egg).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
February 6, 2017
Today students deepened their understanding of centrifugal "force". They learned about centripetal force (force an object feels when in circular motion) and centrifugal force (not a real force, it has to do with inertia and Newton's first law).
The students spun around cups of water in a vertical circle to see the forces in action.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
January 30, 2017
Students learned about simple machines, especially the lever. Lever is a simple machine that makes work easier for use; it involves moving a load around a pivot using a force. Scissors, wheelbarrow, pliers, nutcrackers are all levers.
The students made catapult (a class two lever) and competed with one another.
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January 23, 2017
Students learned about centrifugal force and its uses. They learned that many amusement park rides such as roller coasters, and gravitron used centrifugal force.They created sprinklers which uses the centrifugal force to spray the water outward.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The first session will start on Monday, January 23rd.
You can expect your child to learn about gravity, density, and laws of physics.
Today students learned about gravity and the way materials interact with each other. Students worked in teams to design and construct an egg protective device. They were provided with various materials and they repeated this experiment twice. The first time there were no constraints. However, the second time the variety of materials was limited, opposing team took away one material from their table, and there was a maximum weight limit for their apparatus.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
February 13,2017
Today students learned about density. Density is mass (amount of matter) divided by volume (amount of space occupied by the substance).
Students noticed that egg is denser than water (egg sinks in water). Whereas egg floats on saturated salt (or sugar) water (salt water is denser than egg).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
February 6, 2017
Today students deepened their understanding of centrifugal "force". They learned about centripetal force (force an object feels when in circular motion) and centrifugal force (not a real force, it has to do with inertia and Newton's first law).
The students spun around cups of water in a vertical circle to see the forces in action.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
January 30, 2017
Students learned about simple machines, especially the lever. Lever is a simple machine that makes work easier for use; it involves moving a load around a pivot using a force. Scissors, wheelbarrow, pliers, nutcrackers are all levers.
The students made catapult (a class two lever) and competed with one another.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
January 23, 2017
Students learned about centrifugal force and its uses. They learned that many amusement park rides such as roller coasters, and gravitron used centrifugal force.They created sprinklers which uses the centrifugal force to spray the water outward.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The first session will start on Monday, January 23rd.
You can expect your child to learn about gravity, density, and laws of physics.