General Science Apologia Module 2

General Science Apologia Module 2 

Week 18 C (Jan 4-9, 2016)

Experiment 2.1Air Resistance differs due to the size and shape of an object.  Air resistance refers to the fact that air actually slows objects down as they fall.  The heavier an object is the less it is affected by air resistance.
This was a fun experiment, but I didn't take a big series of photo's to show all we did.  I thought it would just be easier to type out a quick description.
We tested and compared how fast two objects fell.  Standing on our chair (Officer Buckle and Gloria, would not be pleased!) we dropped two objects to see which hit the ground first.
Typing paper vs cardstock paper
Typing paper vs cardboard
Typing paper vs crumpled up typing paper
Typing paper vs a paperclip
Book and cardboard


The point was to learn how the weight of something, and the shape (surface area) will effect how quickly things would fall.  Gravity effects heavier object more than light objects.....Dd didn't find this experiment very fun, but I had a good time!  We did this experiment two days in a row, b/c on day two *I* wanted to give it a go!  When Dd dropped things she only dropped them 2-3 feet, but I got up on chair and lifted each thing up to the ceiling so the objects would have a lot more time falling.  I wanted to see if having a longer fall would change the results, and it kinda did.  Dd's falling papers were very close to landing at exactly the same time, but when given more time the landings were more divided.

 

Experiment 2.1  The Scientific Method

This experiment was just using our deductive reasoning skills.  The notes had me do various things to make the flashlight not work, and then Dd had to figure out what I had done and fix it.  This picture was when I put a piece of paper between the top connection and the battery, so the current couldn't flow.  Dd guessed what I was going to do before I did it...

After pulling out the paper, the light worked again

This was when I put tape over the connector to stop the current, Dd made her hypothesis from observing the possible problem, then she made a theory and removed the tape and she tested to see if that fixed the problem, and it did!

We learned:

The Scientific Method:
Starts with an OBSERVATION,
followed by the formulation of an educated explanation called HYPOTHESIS
Consistent Testing of a significant amount of data leads to a
THEORY
Finally this is confirmed by many experimental tests that are consistent with generations of data.

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