Accelaration, Speed, and

VelocityTOY CAR ACTIVITY

Background Knowledge

VOCABULARYO Speed-a measurement of distance

over time, calculated by dividing the distance an object travels by the time it takes to travel

O Acceleration-the rate in which motion changes

More VocabularyO Velocity-a measurement of both the

rate of motion(speed) plus the direction

Ex. 1 inch per second=speed East at 1 inch per second=velocity

O SPEED, VELOCITY, AND ACCELERATION CAN BE SHOWN BY USING GRAPHS!!!

OBSERVEO Watch the two cars as they move and record

your observations in your science learning journal. Use the first three questions to guide your observations.

O How does the motion of the two cars differ?O Is the speed of the cars changing or staying the

same?O How can we determine if the speed is staying

constant?O What equipment would we need for this

investigation?O How would we record our data?

Let’s Investigate!!O Materials:-Yard sticks-Post-it notes-Toy car-Pencil-Science learning journal-Stopwatch

Procedure

Draw this table underneath your materials list.

TIME TRIAL 1 TRIAL 2 TRIAL 3

5 SECONDS 54

10 SECONDS

100

15 SECONDS

142.5

20 SECONDS

25 SECONDS

30 SECONDS

35 SECONDS

40 SECONDS

ASSIGNING JOBSO TIME KEEPERO POST-IT MARKERO CAR MANAGERO RULER OF THE RULER

EVERYONE’S JOB IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT!!!!

PROCEDURES CONT.1. The Car Manager turn on the toy car and set it as straight

as possible behind the starting line but not letting go.2. The Post-it Marker will stand in front of the car but off to

the side as it moves. He/she will need to be ready to mark at each 5 second interval.

3. The Time Keeper will be ready with the stop watch and tell the Car Manager when to let go.

4. The car will go for 40 seconds total while the Time Keeper tells the Post-it Marker to mark the spot of the car every 5 seconds.

5. The Car Manager will stop the car after 40 seconds. 6. The Ruler of the Ruler will measure the distance in

between each post-it and record it in the table.7. Do this 2 more times for a total of 3 trials.

Collecting DataO The Ruler of the Ruler will share

his/her measurements so the other group members can record them in their table.

O The group will find the mean for each time interval using data from all three trials.

O GRAPH IT!!!

PRESENT FINDINGSO One person from each group will present their

graph to the class.O Answer these questions:What do all of the graphs have in common?What do they think the straight line means if there is one?Are there any differences in the graph?What is the speed of your group’s car? Use your formula. distance÷time or distance/timeHow do the graphs with slow cars differ from the graphs with fast cars?What is causing the difference in distance?

THINK ABOUT IT…O If each car operates with the same

motor (force causing the car to move) why do some of them travel at slower speeds?

LET’S TAKE A LOOK!

AssessmentO Turn in your line graph you created

with your group.O ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ON THE

SHEET OF PAPER GIVEN. USE COMPLETE SENTENCES!!!!!