Lesson 4 of 7 · Motion and Forces

Experiment⭐ 30 XP⚡ Spark Lab

Air Resistance and Drag

🧪Lab Brief #4

Motion and Forces.

🎯 Your mission

Run the experiment. Find out what really happens.

⚡ The twist

The opposite of what you expect is often what happens.

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Mind = Blown

🎢 You feel weightless on a roller coaster because you and the seat are falling at the same speed.

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Make a hypothesis first

Predict: what happens if you double the force?

What You'll Learn

Air resistance, also called drag, is a force that pushes against objects moving through the air. A falling feather drifts down slowly because air resistance acts on its wide surface, while a compact stone meets less drag and falls faster.

Key Words

Tap a word to see its definition.

Materials Needed

weights
spring scale

Safety First

Have an adult check your set-up before you start, and tidy everything away afterwards.

Steps

Step 1 — Read

Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.

Step 2 — Do

Test friction: pull a weighted box across 4 surfaces (carpet, tile, sandpaper, foil). Use a spring scale to measure the force needed for each.

Step 3 — Observe

Draw a detailed diagram of what you observe.

Step 4 — Record

Write a conclusion: what did your results show? Did they match your prediction?

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

What is gravity?

How sure are you going to be?😐 maybe

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Where you see this in real life

This is why airplanes can fly and why rockets reach space.

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Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

This week, find one thing in your house that turns one kind of energy into another.

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For the dinner table

“Show me something at home that uses this kind of energy.”

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