Blog Archives

Forces and Interactions

Forces surround us! Whether we can physically see them or not, they affect us in our daily lives constantly. Whether the force is gravity, the attraction between two magnets, or the pull of static electricity between a balloon and a sweater, forces truly influence our lives. Third graders will be looking at the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object and the cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other. They will then able to apply their understanding of magnetic interactions to define a simple design problem that can be solved with magnets.

New Criteria...

3/31/2015

Mrs. Brinza is putting the third graders up to a challenge! She's adding one final criteria to their obstacle course challenge:

Magnets must be the only force that can move their cotton ball through their obstacle course.

Just how can they solve this problem? They'll be using what they know about how magnets interact with each other and with other materials.

Some initial questions students asked were...

"Does the magnet work through the cardboard?"
"How can I get it up the ramp...it's stuck now?"

Let's see how they solve this problem! May the force be with you! Ha!

Forces NOT in contact!?!?!

3/30/2015

Magnetic forces between a pair of objects are unique. They don't require that two objects be in contact with each other in order to make an object move. WAIT...WHAT?

Objects that are magnetic don't have to touch a magnet in order to move it? Check out these examples...

Third graders will be using this new found knowledge in their cotton ball obstacle courses. How can they get their cotton ball to move using magnetic forces and NOT the wind? Check back soon to see how they met the new criteria for this engineering design challenge!

Evaluating designs and offering feedback!

3/27/2015

Third graders are using the engineering design process to improve their obstacle course designs. Sometimes the force of their breath is too great for the design they're created, so they're working to manipulate the available materials to keep the cotton ball on track. Maybe the materials they chose are causing too much friction and the cotton ball can't move forward like it is intended to. They're also getting feedback from their peers, which is an incredibly important part of an engineer's work.

Building and Testing Obstacle Courses!

3/18/2015

Students are using their approved plans to build and test their obstacle courses! There are many parts of their obstacle courses that are showing the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces. Through the engineering design process, students are making sure they meet all of the criteria they intended to while working under time and materials constraints. Keep up the great work, third grade!

Communication is Key!

3/4/2015

Communication is a very important part of an engineer's work. They must be able to share their ideas, offer critiques and insight, and work with others.

Third graders have been teamed up with a partner to design their cotton ball obstacle courses. They'll be agreeing on which criteria they'll meet, how they'll design their layout making sure they're using balanced and unbalanced forces, and how to improve their ideas when they may or may not go the way they planned. Keep up the great work third grade!

Designing Obstacle Courses!

3/2/2015

Third graders are beginning to use the Engineering Design Process as they begin brainstorming how to move a cotton ball through a self-designed obstacle course. Students must be able to show how both balanced and unbalanced forces play a role in getting the cotton ball to successfully meander through the course.

Students must make sure that their cotton ball moves in at least three of these ways:

1. Up or down a ramp.
2. Through a tunnel.
3. Move forward 5 blocks, then stop.
4. Have a force acting on it but not be in motion.
5. Around a corner.

Check out some of the third graders' initial ideas for how they will meet these criteria within the given materials constraints.