Name________________________________ Period___ Take a

Name________________________________ Period___ Take a

Name________________________________ Period___
Take a Penny for a Walk
Motion by Inquiry
1) Take one penny and place it on position A on the pink piece of paper on your
table. With one finger on the penny, slide the penny from position A to
position C.
2) Describe how the penny changed position in three steps.
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3) Draw a diagram of the penny’s motion below.
4) As a group, discuss what it means to be in motion. Decide on a group
definition in your own words (kid language, not a science textbook definition
language, but try not to use the word moving or motion). Write your
definition below.
5) Now, measure the total change in position between where the penny started
and where it stopped (in cm). ____________________
6) Now, pick up the penny and place it back on position A. This time slide the
penny from position A to position B and then to position C.
7) Describe how the penny changed position in three steps.
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8) Draw a diagram of the penny’s motion below.
9) Measure the total change in position between where the penny started and
where it stopped (in cm). ____________________
10)Explain why the total change in position of the penny was the same, even
though the path was different.
11)Now, measure the total distance covered by the penny, as it moved from A to
B to C. _____________________
12)How would you describe the difference between the total change in position
and the total distance covered? Give each one a term and define that term.
The term should not be a nonsense word, but a word to describe what you
mean.
 Total change in position (A to C)Your term ___________________________
Your definition _______________________________________________________
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Total distance covered (A to B to C)Your term ___________________________
Your definition _______________________________________________________
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______ Checkpoint #1- Check with your teacher before moving on.
13)Take one penny and place it on A and the other penny and place it on D. Slide
both at the same time and the same speed (A to C and D to E). Are both
pennies in motion?
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14)Draw a diagram of the penny’s motion below.
15)Imagine you were traveling on the A-C penny and watching the D-E penny.
Would the D-E penny look as if it were moving to you? Why or why not?
16)When you are riding in the car on the highway, does a car traveling right
beside you look as though it is moving? Why or why not?
17)What if you were standing on the side of the highway, watching that same car
go by? How would it look different?
18)Now, take one penny and place it on position A. Place another penny on
position E. Move penny A toward C and penny E toward D. Are both pennies
in motion?
19)Draw a diagram of the penny’s motion below.
20)Imagine you were traveling on penny A-C again, what would the motion of
the other penny look like?
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21)When you are riding on the highway, what do the cars driving the other
direction look like to you? Do they appear to be moving faster or slower than
the car that is driving at the same speed right next to you?
22)What does this mean about motion?
______ Checkpoint #2- Check with your teacher before moving on.
23)Now, you will try to figure out how fast the penny travels between position A
and position C. You have a ruler and a stopwatch. As a group, determine the
steps you will take to figure out how fast the penny travels.
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24)Move the penny from A to C and determine how fast the penny is moving.
__________________
25)What unit are you using for calculating how fast the penny is moving (For
example, a car moves in miles per hour)?
__________________
26)Conduct this test two more times.
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27)Calculate the average of the three speeds (include your unit). __________________
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28)As a group, discuss and then write a definition for the term speed. Use kid
language, not science textbook language.
29)Now calculate the speed of the penny as it moves from position A to position
B to position C. ___________________
30)Then calculate the speed of the penny as it moves from A to B to C, but this
time move the penny very quickly from A to B and then very slowly from B to
C.
______________________ Does this number take into account the two different
speeds of the penny? Why or why not?
______ Checkpoint #3- Check with your teacher before moving on.
31)There are four numbers (1-4) between position A and position C. Place one
penny on position A. Place one finger on the penny and start the stopwatch.
Move the penny from one number to the next at 1-second intervals, all the
way to position C. In the chart below fill in the information about the
position and time of the penny.
Position
1
2
3
4
C
Time (s)
1s
32)What is the total time that the penny moved? ____________
33)What is distance between each of the points (It should be approximately the
same)? ____________
34)What is the total distance that the penny moved? __________
35)How fast was the penny moving (Don’t forget units)? _________
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36) Graph the motion of the penny using the chart below.
Distance
Time
37)Now, make the penny move twice as fast along the same points. In the chart
below fill in the information about the position and time of the penny.
Position
1
2
3
4
C
Time (s)
.5 s
38)What is the total time that the penny moved? ____________
39)What is distance between each of the points (It should be approximately the
same)? ____________
40)What is the total distance that the penny moved? __________
41)How fast was the penny moving (Don’t forget units)? _________
42)Graph the motion of the penny using the chart below.
Distance
Time
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43)Compare the two charts on the previous page. What is the difference
between an object that moves fast and an object that moves slowly on a
graph?
______ Checkpoint #4- Check with your teacher before moving on.
44)Let’s go back to motion that we have seen before. Take one penny and place
it on A and the other penny and place it on D. Slide both at the same time and
the same speed (A to C and D to E). If these pennies are moving at the same
speed, how is their motion different?
45)Draw a diagram of the motion of these two pennies. Use arrows to show how
the motion is different.
46)As a group, discuss when it would be important to know not only the speed,
but the direction of an object in motion. One example might be a car on the
way to a friend’s house. Can you think of two more examples? Write them
below and explain why direction is important.
7
E
C
4
3
B
2
1
D
A
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