Activities

1. You are holding a small ball at the top of the wedge. When you let go it will move because it is being acted upon by
   1. Momentum
   2. Friction
   3. Gravity
   4. Air pressure
      
      
2. Forces can:
   1. Change the speed, shape, or direction of an object
   2. Only speed up or slow down a moving object
   3. Not change the shape of an object
   4. Both a & b
      
      
3. The sidewalk in front of your school is covered in ice which makes it slippery and hard for you and your friends to walk from the bus to the school. What force makes it hard to walk on the sidewalk? Explain how you could increase this force on the icy sidewalk?
   
   
4. When you throw a ball it follows a certain path because of gravity. Draw a picture of a person throwing a ball and illustrate the path the ball will take. Explain what would happen if you threw the ball and gravity did not exist.
   
   
5. You are studying friction. Your teacher assigns you a lab that has you rolling three objects down a ramp and measuring how far each object travels. The data you collected is represented in the chart below. Using the results from your experiment, create a graph and write a brief conclusion that explains which object created the least amount of friction.
   
   
   
   
6. Explain how an arm wrestling match could be used to represent balanced and unbalanced forces.
   
   

Answer Key/Rubric

1. C
   
   
2. A
   
   
3. Acceptable responses might include, but not be limited to:
   The force being lowered by the ice is friction. A way to increase friction to make it easier to walk on the icy sidewalk would be to sprinkle salt, sand, or ash on it.
   
   
4. Acceptable responses might include, but not be limited to:

       If gravity did not exist then the ball would continue to go straight up and never come back down.

5. Acceptable responses might include, but not be limited to:

The small ball created the least amount of friction. My answer is based on the average distance it traveled after rolling of the ramp. The small ball rolled an average of 208.33 cm compared to the toy car that traveled 83.33 cm and the raison only rolled 5 cm.

6. Acceptable responses might include, but not be limited to:
   Balanced force could be represented by an arm wrestling competition when both participants are pushing as hard as they can but neither person’s arm is moving. Unbalanced force is when one person is stronger and they are pushing the other person’s arm down towards the table.