Action and Reactions

We watch the world around us and we learn.
We know that when a leaf drops from a branch it falls to the ground.
Morah Katie: Why doesn't it just float away?
Judah: Gravity keeps it to the earth.
Morah Katie: What will happen if I let go of my marker? 
Ari: It will be in the air for a few minutes and then it will drop, it doesn't float away.
I let go of the marker and it did drop to the ground.
We had a question; made a guess; tested our idea; looked at what happened; gained an answer.

We are taking the next few weeks to use the scientific method to explore our world through physics and chemistry.
We are beginning with Newtonian laws of motion.

#1. An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion, unless acted upon.

Ari confirmed that when he blocked the log, it stopped moving.

Ari: Look! When I put this here the log doesn't roll any more.

And if the bottle is straight and not laying down it doesn't roll because it isn't round anymore.

The incline of our path affects the speed of the rolling object.

It was also discovered that a wobbly structure will not support a steep incline.

#2. Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass.
The greater the mass, the greater the amount of force needed to accelerate the object.

#3. For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action.

Clara, Olivia and Morah Bailey recreate the balloon rocket.

Augie saw that as the ball hit the wall, its force sent it back to him!

Morah Katie: What did we learn today?
Abram: About balloon rockets.
Morah Katie: What balloon rockets teach us?
Augie: The air explodes out and pushes the balloon away.
Morah Katie: What else did we learn from our experiments?
Judah: It's easier to push an empty bike because people can be heavy and people on bikes make bikes heavy so you have to push harder.
Morah Katie: Anything else?
Augie: If a ball isn't moving it won't unless it is pushed.
Judah: And Issac (Newton) was a physicist who named this stuff.

The children's joy because of the results is evident, as is their lack of surprise to these laws of nature.  As Newton once watched his natural world, these children watch and interact with these laws daily.

Augie was returning the glue; 

he walked into Morah Bailey's chair causing him to trip and spill the glue.

He was in motion, and then was not.

It takes greater force to move a full bucket of sand
 than an empty bucket.

Pushing on the pedals causes the crank and wheels on the bike to move.

Grabbing a classmate's toy causes tears, 

 while sharing causes a smile.

This week has been short but delightful. 

We look forward to experiments involving lemons, bubbles, sound, raisins and much more.