Explore Gravitational Forces through balancing, sliding, rolling and playing! Our Gravitational Forces packet contains step-by-step project guides for three types of projects: Tilting Maze, Balance, and Ramp. This bundle contains all 3 step-by-step project guides. You can purchase each project individually in the shop.
Engineering with Paper project kits teach dozens of approaches to folding, cutting and taping paper for use in unlimited projects.
No printer? No problem! You can follow all instructions on-screen with regular copy paper.
If printing, we recommend printing your packet without scaling. Pages are sized to 8.5" x 11".
Included:
-Projects pages with project instructions and examples
-Student Worksheet
-Technique Pages: Basic Shapes, Tracks
Additional Supplies Needed:
Paper, scissors, tape, (optional) markers or colored pencils or crayons
This project meets these NGSS standards:
NGSSMS-PS2-1
Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects. Examples of practical problems could include the impact of collisions between two cars, between a car and stationary objects, and between a meteor and a space vehicle. Assessment is limited to vertical or horizontal interactions in one dimension.
NGSSK-PS2-1
Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object. Examples of pushes or pulls could include a string attached to an object being pulled, a person pushing an object, a person stopping a rolling ball, and two objects colliding and pushing on each other. Assessment is limited to different relative strengths or different directions, but not both at the same time. Assessment does not include non-contact pushes or pulls such as those produced by magnets.
NGSSK-PS2-2
Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull. Examples of problems requiring a solution could include having a marble or other object move a certain distance, follow a particular path, and knock down other objects. Examples of solutions could include tools such as a ramp to increase the speed of the object and a structure that would cause an object such as a marble or ball to turn. Assessment does not include friction as a mechanism for change in speed.
NGSSHS-PS2-6
Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials. Emphasis is on the attractive and repulsive forces that determine the functioning of the material. Examples could include why electrically conductive materials are often made of metal, flexible but durable materials are made up of long chained molecules, and pharmaceuticals are designed to interact with specific receptors. Assessment is limited to provided molecular structures of specific designed materials.
NGSS5-PS2-1
Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down. “Down” is a local description of the direction that points toward the center of the spherical Earth. Assessment does not include mathematical representation of gravitational force.
NGSSMS-PS2-2
Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object. Emphasis is on balanced (Newton’s First Law) and unbalanced forces in a system, qualitative comparisons of forces, mass and changes in motion (Newton’s Second Law), frame of reference, and specification of units. Assessment is limited to forces and changes in motion in one-dimension in an inertial reference frame, and to change in one variable at a time. Assessment does not include the use of trigonometry.
NGSS3-PS2-2
Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion. Examples of motion with a predictable pattern could include a child swinging in a swing, a ball rolling back and forth in a bowl, and two children on a see-saw. Assessment does not include technical terms such as period and frequency.
NGSS3-PS2-1
Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object. Examples could include an unbalanced force on one side of a ball can make it start moving; and, balanced forces pushing on a box from both sides will not produce any motion at all. Assessment is limited to one variable at a time: number, size, or direction of forces. Assessment does not include quantitative force size, only qualitative and relative. Assessment is limited to gravity being addressed as a force that pulls objects down.
NGSSK-2-ETS1-2
Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.