science week of 10/23

What science ideas did you learn?

1.We tested to find out which one was a better representation, north, south, east, and west.
2.We also tried to find different ways to communicate direction.
3. We wanted to see what pattern the car moved in. Did it move faster or slower each time.

How did you learn these ideas?

1. Which is more helpful, north, south, east, and west, or right and left? We tested this by first faceing each other and pointed left. Then we faced a diferent direction and pointed left. When we faced the front of the class we both pointed in the same direction, but when we faced each other and pointed left, we were pointing in different directions. Then we faced each other again but this time pointed west. After that we faced the front of the class and pointed west. When we did that, we were pointing the same direction both times. This proves our question,"Which is more helpful". the directions,(north,south,east,west), are most accurate. They are better than left or right because someones left can be another persons right. It all depends where you are standing and which direction you are standing in.

2. What other ways can you communicate direction? (other than N,S,E, and W or right and left). In class we came up with a different way to use direction. We used the idea of a coordinate grid. One direction was X, left horizontally, and Y, vertically or up and down. We also used positive and negative to use direction.

3. Last, does the car change paces or paterns? We tested this by letting the car start going at a specific point. Then, after every second, draw a line in front of the car. After 8 seconds, we measured the space between each line. The bigger space per second the faster the car was moving. The smaller the space between each line, the slower the car moved.This led me to conclude that the car sped up for a short time, but then slowed to a steady pace.


How does it apply to everyday life?

This applies to everyday life beause all the time you hear about cars on the news. Whether it was an accedent or a chase. When you first start a car, you kindof go faster than normal because the engines are still heating up and you need to find your "comfort speed". Once you are used to it, you go in a steady pace. For example, at first, you may go 60 mph. Then you get coftorable and go at a pace of 50 mph.