Wheel Experiments


Science: I can explore simple machines; I can test designs and make changes to see improvement; I can use scientific vocabulary

Throughout this week, we have been learning about wheels and axels. We learned about how humans invented the wheels. Wheels weren't just used for going on cars but also for spinning clay, and grinding grain. Over time, mankind started evolving and making wheels lighter that could travel across the world. We now use spokes to make the wheel lighter. 

In these pictures, we tried to create our own set of human rollers, just like what were used to build the Egyptian pyramids.  We had some fun (or torture?) racing across the gym.



Today, we made "Wheelies" out of cardboard and toilet paper rolls. We had to make them roll down a ramp and go as far as possible. It was important to make changes to our design after testing to make it go further. 

"I learned that your wheels could be any size and you could have as many as you want. It was really fun!" ~ Callie
"I found that if you wanted to make your wheelie go farther, you had to make your wheels even." ~ Oscar
"When I tried to make a real life working car out of cardboard, it did not work." ~ Seb C
"I learned that trying to make stuff with wheels and enough force for it to go by itself can be really tricky to do with cardboard. I learned that Ms Elder has more fun and exciting activities planned for us!" ~ Iggy
"I found that if you used more weight, it would go faster. The more cardboard I added, the further and faster it went." ~ Lillian
"I found that building a set of wheels that cannot move by itself is really hard." ~ Leo
"It was really fun building these wheels and axels but it was super hard to be able to replicate one wheel. You'd trim it, then have to trim the other, and it took a lot of time." ~ Seb K
"I learned from other people's wheels that they weren't trimmed as well and the edges were more square and they didn't go as far." ~ Seb C
"I learned that it was amazing to do it but it was hard to do!" ~ Daniel



Testing!

Congratulations to Seb C, Rochael, and Callie who were our Top Three finishers!!! 

Popular posts from this blog

Summer Solstice

Image
  SS: I can appreciate oral stories and how they teach us about Indigenous People and life lessons Art: I can experiment with different media Oki ! Happy Summer Solstice and National Indigenous Peoples Day! We learned about local Indigenous cultures and their Summer Solstice celebrations today in a few ways.  We started our day by learning about Natoosi (the sun, in Blackfoot) from Elder Saa'kokoto online. We listened to the Chickadee Story from Chantelle (Metis) online and participated in the Summer Solstice song gifted to the CBE by the Metis people.  We also worked on learning how to braid (either a basic 3-strand braid or an advanced 6-strand braid). This relates to the documentary we watched a few months ago called, Braves Wear Braids (click here, if you'd like to watch it at home) .  Yesterday, we also watched a clip from a documentary by Ryan Heavy Head (a knowledge keeper from Lethbridge). This was teaching us about animal behaviour during the Flower Moon p...
Read more

Chemical Changes!

Image
Science: I can explore household substances; I can use the scientific method to answer a question: I can design a fair test. In class, we have been learning about Chemistry and Matter. This week, we have been learning about physical and chemical changes. A Chemical Change is when there's a change that creates something new and a Physical Change is when its appearance changes but it's still the same substance.  Five clues that a chemical change has happened are:  Bubbles form  Heat is released Light is produced There is a colour change A smell is produced An example of a Physical Change would be changing States of Matter: An ice cube melting to water Yesterday, we put baking soda in a balloon and mixed it with vinegar to see what would happen. The balloons inflated. It was fun to watch them. When you mix baking soda and vinegar, it creates carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. They expanded because of the increase in carbon dioxide gas. We know the molecules, when they turn int...
Read more

Cooperative Games

Image
PE: I can cooperate with others and demonstrate teamwork.  In Gym class these last few weeks, we have been working on Cooperative Games. We did a hula hoop challenge where we had to get our team from one end of the compound and back stepping only inside the hula hoops. We also navigated a "blindfolded" classmate through a course full of pylons by only giving them oral instructions. Then, we worked silently with a team to re-arrange ourselves teetering on the wall behind the school. None of the games were a RACE, they were all challenges. Now, we are creating and leading our own Cooperative Game in groups for the class.  "My favourite thing about this was playing fun things made by awesome people, like llama tag." ~ Iggy "It was very hard to think of a cooperative game. My group took 2-3 days to think of one." ~ Lawrence "I liked making up a game and then getting to play other people's made-up or real games that I didn't know of."~ Hazel ...
Read more