PROPOSAL: Science Games Fair / Carnival

SCIENCE GAMES FAIR / CARNIVAL   PROPOSAL

GUIDELINES:      Some of these activities are geared to younger kids and some to older kids, and some, if not all, to people  of all ages.    This proposal gives examples of how these enjoyable games can also be used to teach science.   

A sign at each site would have information on some of the science involved.      Here are a few suggestions:                                                                                                                   

Ball pitching            I’ve seen an electronic reader that shows mph. 

Speed = distance   x   unit of time

Dunk-the-Parent     
 Potential energy (energy of position)
 Kinetic energy  (energy of motion)

Sack races     Potential energy & kinetic energy – with each jump.

Tug of war                              The 3 laws of motion

Slides     Energy to climb up – Gravity takes you down.

Friction:  On one slide place something with a surface that makes it harder to go down     (maybe sit on a rubber mat) – Result:   too much friction, hard to move.   

The other slide has a smooth surface – Result: very little friction, you go down fast.

Blowing bubbles                    Use your energy to blow and form the bubbles. Then watch them float until gravity brings them down (or they break).  See the colors change.

Basketball shooting              Eye-hand coordination.   
                                             Which angles work better? 

Stomp rockets      Laws of motion – potential and kinetic energy

(The  stomp  rocket  launching  pads  are  constructed with PVC pipe –   you put a paper rocket at one end – then you jump on an empty 2-liter bottle at the other end – watch it fly – lots of fun!)

Magic trick                             Pull a cloth off a table without upsetting what’s on it.  Done correctly,     it’s about inertia and the tendency of a stationary object to stay at rest.

Golf putting   Laws of motion – potential & kinetic energy – angles

 Darts                                    Eye-hand coordination

Hula hoop          Torque force and centripetal force, horizontally

Jump-roping      Torque force and centripetal force, vertically      

BIKE RODEO, Quincy, Mass., Saturday, May 24

Well, I'm off.  Off to the bike rodeo at the DPW on Sea Street.  Armed with a bunch of the bike physics leaflets to pass out to people there.

Follow-up:  I spent an hour there passing out the leaflet to parents and workers there and explaining what my goals are.  Asked them to check out this blog and keep an eye out for the next episode of "Gateway to Science."

The following week I went to the Boston Bike Guy and Anderson Bicycles and left some leaflets and cards there, too.

LEAFLET: BIKE PHYSICS (from www.angelfire.com)

These are the contents of a pamphlet that I put together for a brief introduction to some basic principles of an activity, in this case, bicycling.  I plan to prepare more of these.

(Below is the title page)

 

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN LEARN PHYSICS WHILE RIDING YOUR BIKE?

This is about the science involved in riding a bicycle.    It will answer a few of your questions about how a bicycle works.

It answers the following questions:

What is torque?

How does pedaling cause the bike to speed up?

 
How does braking cause the bike to slow down? 

_______________________________________________________

(This is the inside, 3 columns)

INTRODUCTION TO BIKE PHYSICS

from:  www.angelfire.com

The Physics of Pedaling

                                   

The big question is:  How is human power used to turn the wheels of the bicycle to cause it to move? 

Well, when riding a bike, human power is used to turn the pedals. The pedals turn the front cog (the larger one), which has teeth that are pulling a chain. The chain is what causes the rear cog to turn, which turns the back wheel of the bicycle.

The physics is involved in the pedaling itself.   The lever arm is the bar that connects the pedal to the cog.   When a person places his foot on the pedal, the force he puts on it is perpendicular to the lever arm.   This produces torque.

What is Torque?

 

Torque is what causes rotational speed to change.   

Just as greater net forces  cause greater linear accelerations, 

greater torques  cause greater rotational or angular accelerations.

Torque is composed of 2 different things:      A force and a lever arm.   

       The component that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation is the only component of force that produces torque. 

          

       The line of action is an extended line drawn colinear with the force.    

       The lever arm is the distance between the line of action and the axis of rotation, measured on a line that is perpendicular to both.

   Note     Another way of defining torque:  Torque is a twisting or turning force.

The Physics of Braking

What is the purpose of brakes?  Brakes increase the amount of friction on the wheel, allowing the rider to slow or stop.  A person can use the brakes by pulling on levers which pull cables, forcing pads against the inner rim of   the wheel. These pads cause a retarding force on the rim of the wheel, in the opposite direction that the wheel is turning.

There is one lever on each handle bar, and each lever controls either the front or rear wheel.   When bicycling, a person must be careful when applying the brakes, because his body has inertia and it still tends to go forward.  This shifts his weight forward onto the front wheel.  So he must do more braking with the front wheel. But if there is too much braking done on the front wheel, the inertia will cause the person to fly over the handle bars. 

               Note    Inertia:  1st  law of motion

 ________________________________________________________

                                   

 (This is the back page)

Bicycling is just one of endless ways to gain an understanding of physics and geometry.  I hope this pamphlet introduces you to seeing things you never saw before – or wondered about but just didn’t know where to start.

Physics and geometry come into play in every single activity and event going on around us. 

Knowing how things work can add to your performance and to your fun.     So give it a try.  How?

·      

        **Start with the information in this pamphlet which I found online at www.angelfire.com

·        **You may not understand everything in it right away, but for now, use what you do understand

·        **Conduct an online search of your own

·        **See what books or videos your library has

·        **Share them with your friends, your class, your team, your scout troop

·        **Read my blog and tell others:   sportscience-kathy.blogspot.com

 

·        **See my show on Quincy Access Television, channel 8:  

         “Gateway to Science:  Sports and Games”

      

Thank you!     Kathy Hogan

 Sports and games are the gateway to science, 

and YOU hold the key!