We realized that forces happening in pairs were going in opposite directions and with equal amounts.  But we were really curious about how variables like speed and force could affect forces!  

Here's a snapshot of data we collected as a class (for the speed investigation) and then for the mass investigation.

Here were some patterns we noticed as we compared data in each class:

1.  Regardless of speed or mass, forces still occurred in pairs and were approximately equal (we recognize there is some error in our data collection that accounts for differences).

2.  We recognized that the maximum peak force for each trial matched the maximum peak force in the opposite direction.

3.  When we increased the mass and speed, we also increased the KE.

4.  And when there more more KE, this resulted in a greater peak force!

It looks like all this data collection we've been doing can move our thinking forward.  Time to update our consensus model!

Investigations dealing with different speeds and masses and what this means for the forces in the collisions!

After lots of slow-mo videos of various solids we thought were certainly not deforming, we realized they all were to some point, even before it possibly broke!  We think that every material deforms, and that the amount of force needed to deform an object might be different.  So...

We returned to our DQB to realize that there we questions about force, and each class suggested finding a way to measure force (like with a suitcase scale)! 

So Mrs. Brinza turned to the science storage closet again, and there were these "suitcase" like scales called spring scales.  We agreed to use them to begin measuring the force needed to deform everyday materials like wood and pasta!

Using class data from an investigation we did together, we are seeing that there is some elasticity in every material, and there is a point at which the elasticity is compromised and the material doesn't return to where it started.  From there, the breaking point is inevitable, and the material is bound to break with a certain amount of force in a collision!

So thinking back to all the related phenomena we came up with that launched our unit, we are thinking that all the forces in various collisions make a difference in how much something deforms and whether or not a material gets damaged.  We are also seeing that every time there's a collision, two things are coming in contact.  So is one always doing the pushing or pulling?  What's the other thing doing if it's getting deformed?

After comparing the results of our cart investigations, we are in agreement that there may be some changing of shape for all objects, especially if energy is transferred and that energy has to go somewhere.  We agreed that more evidence from slow-mo videos with other objects may be the way to go.

With some carts lying around in one of the science storage rooms, students agreed that using these carts could be wayyyyy better at controlling variables than dropping objects to collide from various heights and at various speeds.  After colliding these carts with different materials on a track, we saw a lot of patterns:

1.  There always seemed to be an energy transfer--the cart that was going faster became slower when it hit the other cart and the cart that was moving slower became faster the moment it collided with something else.
2.  There was always some kind of bounce-back.

Students still felt that the collisions were moving too fast for them to really see if there was any deforming/misshaping happening.  So Mr. Carmalt and Mrs. Brinza made some slow-mo videos of each of the controlled investigations we saw.

It was so cool to see that in some of the slow-mo videos, some of the solids deformed.  This got us thinking...does every material deform somewhat?

It was unanimous!  If we were going to figure out more about collisions, each 6th grade class agreed that we needed to do more collisions to see what would happen.  Since it was after spring break, Mrs. Brinza had an opportunity to gather lots of random items based on student interest.  Here are some pictures of various tests that students did!

We dropped tennis balls, bricks, and books on things like marbles, sugar glass, and golf balls!  After sharing out what happened in each of the various investigations, we realized there were so many variables we tested that we couldn't really come to any conclusions.  Next steps--design some controlled investigations!