Leadership and Physics
Topic or Unit of Study: Elastic Materials
Grade/Level: 4-8
Objective
Students will know how to define, identify and characterize elastic materials. Students will also develop leadership abilities.
Summary
Students will first observe how an elastic material, natural rubber, is made. Then they
will identify elastic materials and name several. Next they will characterize several
elastic materials by measuring how far weights stretch them. They will measure and
record in tables the lengths of the materials before and after stretching. To predict how
many rubber bands they can chain together to keep a suspended weight just above the
floor, they will add, multiply or divide measured distances and lengths.
Learning Context
Assume the students have the capability to rank items by characteristics such as length,
color and shape. Assume they also have the capability to perform basic mathematical operations,
such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. This lesson enables them to
apply their mathematical skills and encourages them to characterize items quantitatively
as well as qualitatively.
Teaching Strategies
1. Realia display of a variety of elastic and nonelastic materials and short videos of the
manufacture and properties of such materials
2. Real time polling with Socrative before, during and after the lesson to engage students
3. Prezi presentation software to zoom in and highlight stretching of materials
4. Three Ring software to capture and process video of materials stretching
5. Use differences in real time polling before and after lesson to assess learning
6. Student modeling (leadership)
Time Allotment
Two ninety minute periods or four fifty minute periods
Sample Student Products
1. One table containing measurements of chain length, both with and without the weight,
versus the number of links in the chain
2. Documentation of calculation of the predicted maximum number of links in the chain, both stretched with the weight and unstretched
without the weight, before the suspended weight touches the floor
3. One table ranking the materials by the weight required to stretch the material one unit of length
4. Video of the testing of the construction of at least one chain
5. Report summarizing major experimental activities and reasons supporting relative ranking of materials for elasticity
Author's Comments & Reflections
This is a leadership development activity as well as a physics lesson. Student
volunteers will develop leadership skills as they serve as quartermasters issuing and
collecting materials. The quartermasters will also act as advisors to their colleagues. All
students will have leadership responsibilities on their experimental teams. The exercise
starts with the simple mathematical operation of adding one rubber band at a time to see
how many are needed to position a given mass near the floor. As one-by-one addition
gets tedious, students will realize that maybe simple measurements and calculations
will both save time and be interesting.
Anticipatory Set
First show students both elastic and inelastic materials without telling them which is
which. Next administer the Socrative poll to check their knowledge of elastic materials
and of the property of elasticity. Then show a short video of how rubber is grown and
processed. Finally, pose the problem: how many pieces of various elastic strips can be
strung together and still suspend a weight above the floor from a height of about one
meter? Announce that those who document a reasonable prediction of the maximum
number of links in the chain will qualify for the after school egg bungee jump.
Modeling
First show the students a short video showing how an elastic band stretches whenever a
weight is added. The video also shows how an elastic band shrinks when a weight is
removed. Then model the answer to the question with a lab stand on a table top.
Suspend a weight from one rubber band, entering the mass and position of the weight in
a table as each of three rubber bands is added. Then calculate the distance one rubber
band stretches when a weight is added. Use that result and the distance to the floor to
calculate the greatest number of rubber bands in a chain that will still suspend the
weight above the floor.
Guided Practice
Inform the students that they will now work in teams of two to four to determine how
many rubber bands they can chain together with paper clips to still suspend a mass
hanging from their desk above the floor. Ensure that the teams are organized, preferably
by appointing team members to cover the following functions:
1) test director (Finish testing before class ends!);
2) lead designer (How many links?);
3) experimental leader (Ensures that the experiments work e.g. good drop techniques, measuring
techniques.); and
4) scribe (Have we recorded the data?)
Test director sees that team gets needed supplies from the student quartermasters. The quartermasters will also
serve as instructional aids and videographers. The scribe ensures that students
measure the height of the weight after each rubber band is added to the chain. Teacher
helps students with the calculations from which they can estimate how many rubber
bands they can chain together. Then test director has his or her team construct and test
a chain with that many rubber bands.
Independent Practice
Instruct the students to construct chains with links made from at least two other
materials. Except for the materials, and perhaps the connections between the links, the
steps will be identical to those with rubber bands serving as the links. Encourage the
videographers to document the construction and testing of at least one chain for each
material. Have the students answer the Socrative poll about the maximum number of
links they could add for each material they tested. Once all students have answered the
question, display the results. For each material, have them plot the chain length versus
the number of links. Ask each student to then rank the materials in order of elasticity,
starting with the least elastic first. Ensure that students discover that the most elastic
materials have the fewest links in the chain. After student teams finish they write up
how they determined the maxiumum number of links in a chain and the reasons they
ranked one material as more elastic than another. Reasons should include not only the
ranking table but their own observations as well, such as what happened when they tried
stretching the materials with their hands. Students can also either help other teams or
experiment with designing bungee cords for different masses.
Closure
Nature produces elastic materials and man uses them for a variety of items ranging
from rubber bands to sling shots, bows for arrows and bungee cords. It is time
consuming and boring to simply use trial and error to select materials or different lengths
of materials to construct these devices. It is much quicker to do a few calculations to
design the device first. Middle school students learn how to quantitatively characterize
elasticity, a property of elastic materials that is essential to inexpensively making rubber
bands, sling shots and bungee cords. In today's exercise students found that a few
measurements recorded in a table and a few calculations quickly let them move on to
more exciting things like bungee jumping. [10 second clip of a bungee jump here.]
FollowUp
Students will be encouraged to experiment more with elasticity in an after school
activity, egg bungee jumping. When they reach middle school, students will vary the
mass suspended rather than the number of links in the chain. By varying the weight,
they will be able to calculate the most fundamental quantity that characterizes an elastic
material the distance a standard length of material stretches when it is stretched by a
force. This property is referred to as Hooke's constant. When students reach high
school, they could use the bungee jump to develop abstract and quantitative algebra and
to model with mathematics.
Instructional Materials
See separate Table of Instructional Materials in Appendix A for descriptions of instructional
materials.
1. Realia
2. Two Socrative Polls
3. One Prezi Presentation
4. Two devices for shooting videos
5. Three Ring media manager
6. Video of Rubber Band Manufacturing
7. Video of Stretching an Elastic Band
8. Video of World's Highest Bungee Jump
9. Mind Map Customized for Study of Elastic Materials
10. Experimental protocol
11. Blank table of chain length versus number of chain links
12. Blank table of chain length with suspended weight versus material
13. Templates for graphs of chain length (with and without weight) versus number of chain links
Resources
1) Tretter, Thomas, 2005. "Egg Bungee Jump," pp. 1218
in Science Scope, February. [http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=50195]
2) PBS Kids. "Egg Bungee Jump," Zoom Into Engineering.
[http://wwwtc.pbskids.org/zoom/printables/activities/pdfs/eggbungeejump.pdf]
3) The Ignite Show. "The Algebra of a Bungee Jump," Ignite Curriculum Guide for High School, Aligned to
The Common Core Standards." [http://www.gpb.org/files/the_ignite_show_cg_algebra_of_a_bungee_jump.pdf]]
Standards
5-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions
5-PS1-3 Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties
[Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include density or distinguishing mass and weight.]
[Author's Note: This project uses changes in length to identify materials rather than changes in weight or mass.]
Science and Engineering Practices
Developing and Using Models
Modeling builds and revises simple models and uses models to represent events and design solutions. Develop a model to describe
phenomena (5-PS1-1).
Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
These investigations are to answer questions or test solutions with investigations that
control variables and provide evidence to support explanations or design solutions. Conduct
an investigation collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, using fair
tests in which variables are controlled and the number of trials considered. (5-PS1-4)
Make observations and measurements to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence
for an explanation of a phenomenon. (5-PS1-3)
Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
Mathematical and computational thinking includes quantitative measurements of a variety of physical
properties and using computation and mathematics to analyze data and compare
alternative design solutions. Measure and graph quantities such as weight to address
scientific and engineering questions and problems. (5-PS1-2)
Assessment Plan
Compare student responses, both individual and collective, before and after the
Socrative poll on realia. Provide oral feedback to each team on their performance as a
team and as as individual members. Assess the accuracy of the ranking of the
materials by each student, especially the reasoning they describe in their written report.
Assess the adequacy of the written report for documenting the major activities.
Assessment/Rubrics
See Table 2, Rubrics for Assessing Elastic Materials Activity, in Appendix A.
The rubrics provide guidelines for assessing performance in three categories:
1. Understanding the nature of elastic materials
2. Proficiency with mathematical operations and problem solving
3. Leadership
Appendix A - Miscellaneous
1. Application of Technology Standards to Selection and Creation of Instructional Materials
2. Table 1: Instructional Materials for Characterizing Elastic Materials
3. Table 2: Rubrics for Assessing Elastic Materials Activity - Student and Teachers Achievement
Grade/Level: 4-8
Objective
Students will know how to define, identify and characterize elastic materials. Students will also develop leadership abilities.
Summary
Students will first observe how an elastic material, natural rubber, is made. Then they
will identify elastic materials and name several. Next they will characterize several
elastic materials by measuring how far weights stretch them. They will measure and
record in tables the lengths of the materials before and after stretching. To predict how
many rubber bands they can chain together to keep a suspended weight just above the
floor, they will add, multiply or divide measured distances and lengths.
Learning Context
Assume the students have the capability to rank items by characteristics such as length,
color and shape. Assume they also have the capability to perform basic mathematical operations,
such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. This lesson enables them to
apply their mathematical skills and encourages them to characterize items quantitatively
as well as qualitatively.
Teaching Strategies
1. Realia display of a variety of elastic and nonelastic materials and short videos of the
manufacture and properties of such materials
2. Real time polling with Socrative before, during and after the lesson to engage students
3. Prezi presentation software to zoom in and highlight stretching of materials
4. Three Ring software to capture and process video of materials stretching
5. Use differences in real time polling before and after lesson to assess learning
6. Student modeling (leadership)
Time Allotment
Two ninety minute periods or four fifty minute periods
Sample Student Products
1. One table containing measurements of chain length, both with and without the weight,
versus the number of links in the chain
2. Documentation of calculation of the predicted maximum number of links in the chain, both stretched with the weight and unstretched
without the weight, before the suspended weight touches the floor
3. One table ranking the materials by the weight required to stretch the material one unit of length
4. Video of the testing of the construction of at least one chain
5. Report summarizing major experimental activities and reasons supporting relative ranking of materials for elasticity
Author's Comments & Reflections
This is a leadership development activity as well as a physics lesson. Student
volunteers will develop leadership skills as they serve as quartermasters issuing and
collecting materials. The quartermasters will also act as advisors to their colleagues. All
students will have leadership responsibilities on their experimental teams. The exercise
starts with the simple mathematical operation of adding one rubber band at a time to see
how many are needed to position a given mass near the floor. As one-by-one addition
gets tedious, students will realize that maybe simple measurements and calculations
will both save time and be interesting.
Anticipatory Set
First show students both elastic and inelastic materials without telling them which is
which. Next administer the Socrative poll to check their knowledge of elastic materials
and of the property of elasticity. Then show a short video of how rubber is grown and
processed. Finally, pose the problem: how many pieces of various elastic strips can be
strung together and still suspend a weight above the floor from a height of about one
meter? Announce that those who document a reasonable prediction of the maximum
number of links in the chain will qualify for the after school egg bungee jump.
Modeling
First show the students a short video showing how an elastic band stretches whenever a
weight is added. The video also shows how an elastic band shrinks when a weight is
removed. Then model the answer to the question with a lab stand on a table top.
Suspend a weight from one rubber band, entering the mass and position of the weight in
a table as each of three rubber bands is added. Then calculate the distance one rubber
band stretches when a weight is added. Use that result and the distance to the floor to
calculate the greatest number of rubber bands in a chain that will still suspend the
weight above the floor.
Guided Practice
Inform the students that they will now work in teams of two to four to determine how
many rubber bands they can chain together with paper clips to still suspend a mass
hanging from their desk above the floor. Ensure that the teams are organized, preferably
by appointing team members to cover the following functions:
1) test director (Finish testing before class ends!);
2) lead designer (How many links?);
3) experimental leader (Ensures that the experiments work e.g. good drop techniques, measuring
techniques.); and
4) scribe (Have we recorded the data?)
Test director sees that team gets needed supplies from the student quartermasters. The quartermasters will also
serve as instructional aids and videographers. The scribe ensures that students
measure the height of the weight after each rubber band is added to the chain. Teacher
helps students with the calculations from which they can estimate how many rubber
bands they can chain together. Then test director has his or her team construct and test
a chain with that many rubber bands.
Independent Practice
Instruct the students to construct chains with links made from at least two other
materials. Except for the materials, and perhaps the connections between the links, the
steps will be identical to those with rubber bands serving as the links. Encourage the
videographers to document the construction and testing of at least one chain for each
material. Have the students answer the Socrative poll about the maximum number of
links they could add for each material they tested. Once all students have answered the
question, display the results. For each material, have them plot the chain length versus
the number of links. Ask each student to then rank the materials in order of elasticity,
starting with the least elastic first. Ensure that students discover that the most elastic
materials have the fewest links in the chain. After student teams finish they write up
how they determined the maxiumum number of links in a chain and the reasons they
ranked one material as more elastic than another. Reasons should include not only the
ranking table but their own observations as well, such as what happened when they tried
stretching the materials with their hands. Students can also either help other teams or
experiment with designing bungee cords for different masses.
Closure
Nature produces elastic materials and man uses them for a variety of items ranging
from rubber bands to sling shots, bows for arrows and bungee cords. It is time
consuming and boring to simply use trial and error to select materials or different lengths
of materials to construct these devices. It is much quicker to do a few calculations to
design the device first. Middle school students learn how to quantitatively characterize
elasticity, a property of elastic materials that is essential to inexpensively making rubber
bands, sling shots and bungee cords. In today's exercise students found that a few
measurements recorded in a table and a few calculations quickly let them move on to
more exciting things like bungee jumping. [10 second clip of a bungee jump here.]
FollowUp
Students will be encouraged to experiment more with elasticity in an after school
activity, egg bungee jumping. When they reach middle school, students will vary the
mass suspended rather than the number of links in the chain. By varying the weight,
they will be able to calculate the most fundamental quantity that characterizes an elastic
material the distance a standard length of material stretches when it is stretched by a
force. This property is referred to as Hooke's constant. When students reach high
school, they could use the bungee jump to develop abstract and quantitative algebra and
to model with mathematics.
Instructional Materials
See separate Table of Instructional Materials in Appendix A for descriptions of instructional
materials.
1. Realia
2. Two Socrative Polls
3. One Prezi Presentation
4. Two devices for shooting videos
5. Three Ring media manager
6. Video of Rubber Band Manufacturing
7. Video of Stretching an Elastic Band
8. Video of World's Highest Bungee Jump
9. Mind Map Customized for Study of Elastic Materials
10. Experimental protocol
11. Blank table of chain length versus number of chain links
12. Blank table of chain length with suspended weight versus material
13. Templates for graphs of chain length (with and without weight) versus number of chain links
Resources
1) Tretter, Thomas, 2005. "Egg Bungee Jump," pp. 1218
in Science Scope, February. [http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=50195]
2) PBS Kids. "Egg Bungee Jump," Zoom Into Engineering.
[http://wwwtc.pbskids.org/zoom/printables/activities/pdfs/eggbungeejump.pdf]
3) The Ignite Show. "The Algebra of a Bungee Jump," Ignite Curriculum Guide for High School, Aligned to
The Common Core Standards." [http://www.gpb.org/files/the_ignite_show_cg_algebra_of_a_bungee_jump.pdf]]
Standards
5-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions
5-PS1-3 Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties
[Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include density or distinguishing mass and weight.]
[Author's Note: This project uses changes in length to identify materials rather than changes in weight or mass.]
Science and Engineering Practices
Developing and Using Models
Modeling builds and revises simple models and uses models to represent events and design solutions. Develop a model to describe
phenomena (5-PS1-1).
Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
These investigations are to answer questions or test solutions with investigations that
control variables and provide evidence to support explanations or design solutions. Conduct
an investigation collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, using fair
tests in which variables are controlled and the number of trials considered. (5-PS1-4)
Make observations and measurements to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence
for an explanation of a phenomenon. (5-PS1-3)
Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
Mathematical and computational thinking includes quantitative measurements of a variety of physical
properties and using computation and mathematics to analyze data and compare
alternative design solutions. Measure and graph quantities such as weight to address
scientific and engineering questions and problems. (5-PS1-2)
Assessment Plan
Compare student responses, both individual and collective, before and after the
Socrative poll on realia. Provide oral feedback to each team on their performance as a
team and as as individual members. Assess the accuracy of the ranking of the
materials by each student, especially the reasoning they describe in their written report.
Assess the adequacy of the written report for documenting the major activities.
Assessment/Rubrics
See Table 2, Rubrics for Assessing Elastic Materials Activity, in Appendix A.
The rubrics provide guidelines for assessing performance in three categories:
1. Understanding the nature of elastic materials
2. Proficiency with mathematical operations and problem solving
3. Leadership
Appendix A - Miscellaneous
1. Application of Technology Standards to Selection and Creation of Instructional Materials
2. Table 1: Instructional Materials for Characterizing Elastic Materials
3. Table 2: Rubrics for Assessing Elastic Materials Activity - Student and Teachers Achievement
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