Concept of motion and force with the use of ramps

Tuesday 3rd July 2018

As you may know, our Sunshine group have been exploring concepts in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).  

Our aim was for the children to investigate how different forces affect the movement of different things. We wanted to explore the use of physics to determine how gravity affects the acceleration of an object as it moves along an inclined plane. When you’re on or near the surface of the Earth, the pull of gravity is constant. It’s a constant force directed straight down. Through this planned activity, the children will be able to create force using gravity or from the use of their hands. 

What better way to learn about physics (gravity oriented problems) through the use of ramps. We have provided recycled tubes sawed in half and tennis balls (thanks to our wonderful resource centre in Richmond) to predict what may happen, testing out our ideas and reflecting on what happened and how we could readjust the setting to change the outcomes. 

What we want our children to learn: 

+ A force is a push or pull that can cause an object to move, change direction or speed, or stop and stay still.

+ When the same amount of force is pushing on all sides of an object, the object is balanced.

+ Children are constantly exploring force and motion with their bodies wherever they go. Playing on the playground and pushing and rolling a ball can help children learn about how force affects motion. 

We began with a simple prompt and question

“Hmmm….The ball isn’t moving. I wonder what we could do to put it in motion. How do we make the ball roll fast or slow?” We elaborated and said, “The ball needs force to move. If we push the ball will it move? If we use this ramp, will it help the ball move faster or slower? We could use a ramp and see if that will help the ball have enough of a force to move.” 

Hazel, Olivia and Mila constructed their own ramps by stacking a three and two row tower to test, which one would work better. The girls placed the tubes in a slanted position and Teddy assisted by extending the ramp by adding a tunnel to the end. Oscar added a barrier to the end of the ramp to stop the ball from rolling off. It was great to see the children work together as a team and apply some engineering skills.  

“The ball rolls faster with this one. Bigger.” Said Hazel, as she observed that the higher the stack of blocks and the more slanted it was, the faster the ball would roll compared to the other ramp. “Go through the hole.” Said Teddy as he saw that his tunnel did work with the ball rolling through easily.  

To extend on this experience, we could explore other ways motion occurs in our environment with wheels; spin tops, a rotating fan, trains, cars and balls. We want to ask, “What kind of motion can this object show us?” We can explore various ways force can be applied to make an object move (push, throw, bounce, kick, roll or drop). We will also prepare a bowling activity soon to provide another hands-on way in which our children can create force.