Force =Mass X Acceleration

Third graders experiment with force and motion by breaking apart the formula Force =Mass X Acceleration. (F=MxA). With a simple directions and easily found materials, students control for mass or acceleration and determine how each changes force.

[amymanhart]

I love hearing about elementary kids learning science- thank you. Just a reminder, weight is different than mass. Weight is a gravitational force. You want to calculate the mass of the balls, not the weight.

[DrLumpy]

I'd like to ask the presenter, or any teacher who has tried this experiment with their students, did those young kids see the trend/difference in force due to Mass vs force due to Accel? Seems like a pretty abstract concept for kids that young.

[bookoffholicbookwart]

this demo seems to be a really interesting one. you teach it to the 3rd grades but unfortunately in india, a 2nd year undergraduate sees it for the first time. It was really useful
.

[clintdensham]

This is a nice experiment, but... If you are measuring the distance it travels to determine the work done, that is equivalent to energy, not force. This is energy originally comes from gravitational potential energy(mgh) which is then transferred into kinetic energy (0.5mv^2) using the ramp which is then used to do work on the block. The relationship between force and acceleration, as defined in F=ma, is not demonstrated in this experiment.

[GuerrasLaws]

“Without” applying the Energy from within you, choose an object of your choice, and apply only the Force or Net Force needed to push it away from you or pull it towards you. Please let me know if you’re able to. Thank you. ~Guadalupe Guerra

[DrLumpy]

f=ma for 3rd graders. ... I talk to 15 year olds daily who don't know how to subtract whole numbers. I rarely meet a HS age kid that knows what a variable or an exponent or pi is, or how to figure the area of a triangle/rectangle/circle. Forget about trig or calc. But they're really good at minecraft.

[sandyhan]

Thank you for sharing this. Very helpful.

[Linkongreentech]

I'm amazed, why I couldn't figure it out for my kid when I tried to be is master.

[RJD]

Its great that you're teaching little kids this. It still helped with my exams.

[HappyKidsVids]

Awesome. Well done! will be using this for my class tomorrow.