1. Forces In Action presentation Aligned to Grade 5 Quarter 1
Essential Lab 3 Forces In Action (Student) Essential Lab 3 Forces In Action (Teacher)
See essential lab # 3 for TE that includes benchmarks.
Mary Tweedy
Science Curriculum Support Specialist

2. Forces in Action (Engage)
What will happen when the two objects being held up are dropped?
Were your predictions correct?
Will the same thing happen when any two objects are dropped at the same time? (piece of paper and a toy)
What happened and why?
Will balling up the paper affect how it drops?
Will they land at the same time or different times and why?
How the does the way the second paper fell relate to how a parachute works?
How does a parachute work?
Engage: Give a volunteer student two objects (a toy car and a toy animal) to hold in his/her hands. Then ask the class to predict what will happen when the two objects are dropped at the same time. Next have the volunteer student drop the objects. Ask what happened? (Gravity pulled both down at the same time) Were your predictions correct? Ask students will the same thing happen when any two objects are dropped at the same time? Say let’s find out. Next, give a student a toy car and a sheet of paper. Have the student drop the toy car and a sheet of paper. Have students describe and discuss what happened. (Air resistance slowed down the drop of the paper). Now, have a student ball up an identical sheet of paper and drop it with the toy car. Ask why both objects landed at the same time this time. (Balling up the paper changed the surface area of the paper resulting in less air resistance.) Ask how the does the way the second paper fell relate to how a parachute works. Show a sample of the small parachute the students will build in their lab. Have volunteers demonstrate the parachute dropping. Then ask if we make a second parachute whose canopy is larger will its larger size affect its drop rate. Tell students that we will explore the relationship of parachute canopy size to its drop rate in today’s lab.

3. A Parachute Drop (Engage)
Let’s observe a sample of one of the small parachutes you will build in today’s lab drop.
If we make a second parachute whose canopy is larger will its larger size affect its drop rate?
Today we will explore the relationship of parachute’s canopy size to its drop rate in our lab.
Engage continued

4. Forces in Action (Explore)
Problem Statement
Hypothesis
Does the size of a parachute affect its drop rate? Does a smaller parachute drop at a faster or slower rate than a larger parachute?
If two parachutes are released at the same time, one with a diameter of 15 cm (smaller) and one with a diameter of 30 cm (larger) then the parachute with the _______ (choose smaller or larger) diameter will drop faster.
Explore

5. Forces in Action (Explore)
Materials
Variables
Plastic garbage bags String (8 pieces 50cm in length) Ruler Stopwatch Paper Clip Tape Scissors Permanent Markers
Test Variable: Outcome Variable: Constant Variables:
Explore continued

6. Procedures: Make two square parachutes from a garbage bag with
the following dimensions:
a. The small square parachute should have all sides 15 cm
in length.
b. The large square parachute should have all sides 30 cm
2. Measure the surface areas of both parachute canopies by
multiplying length x width and record on data table.
3. Cut eight pieces of string 30 cm in length for the two
parachutes.
4. Attach one 30 cm string using transparent tape to each of
the four corners of the small parachute canopy.
5. Bring the 4 strings of the small parachute canopy
together and tie to a large paperclip (load).
Explore continued

7. Procedures Continued:
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the large parachute. 7. Determine a good launching site. 8. Drop each parachute one at a time from the same height and time their descents. The time should be rounded to the nearest second and recorded in the data table. 9. Repeat step 8 for two more trials. 10. Analyze the data.
Explore continued

8. Drop Time for Parachutes in Seconds
(Explore)
Group Data
Drop Time for Parachutes in Seconds
Group
 ______
Small Parachute
surface area ___sq. cm
Large Parachute
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average
Explore
Which parachute actually dropped slower in your group’s trial?

9. Class Drop Time Averages in Seconds
Class Data
(Explain)
Class Drop Time Averages in Seconds
Group Number
Small Parachute
Large Parachute  1 2 3 4 5 6
Explain
How do your results compare to the other group’s trials?
What is the relationship between the size and the rate at which a parachute
drops?

10. Conclusion What was investigated?
(Explain/Evaluate)
What was investigated?
Was your hypothesis supported by the data?
What were the major findings?
What possible explanations can you offer for your findings?
Explain/evaluate

11. Application How can the investigation be improved?
(Explain/Evaluate)
Application
How can the investigation be improved?
What are some possible applications of the experiment?
What questions has your experiment lead you to ask that could be tested in a new an investigation.
Explain/evaluate