After completing these modules, students will learn about the variables that affect the gravitational force on an object and how changing the variables affects it. |
Content Standard B: Physical Science.
As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop an understanding of motions and forces.
- An object that is not being subjected to a force will continue to move at a constant speed and in a straight line.
- More than one force acting on an object along a straight line will reinforce or cancel one another, depending on their direction and magnitude. Unbalanced forces will cause changes in the speed or direction of an object's motion.
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4. The Physical Setting:
G. Forces of Nature.
By the end of the 8th grade, students should know that:
- Every object exerts gravitational force on every other object. The force depends on how much mass the objects have and on how far apart they are. The force is hard to detect unless at least one of the objects has a lot of mass.
F. Motion.
By the end of the 8th grade, students should know that:
- An unbalanced force acting on an object changes its speed or direction of motion, or both. If the force acts toward a single center, the object's path may curve into an orbit around the center.
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Science Standard 10.
Level III (Grade 6-8) Benchmark 1:
Understands general concepts related to gravitational force (e.g., every object exerts gravitational force on every other object; this force depends on the mass of the objects and their distance from one another; gravitational force is hard to detect unless at least one of the objects, such as the Earth, has a lot of mass).
Benchmark 4:
Understands effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on an object's motion (e.g., if more than one force acts on an object along a straight line, then the forces will reinforce or cancel one another, depending on their direction and magnitude; unbalanced forces such as friction will cause changes in the speed or direction on an object's motion). |
Students will use the module simulations to conduct a scientific investigation to identify and control the variables that affect gravitational force. |
Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry.
As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry.
- Design and conduct scientific investigation. Students should develop general abilities, such as systematic observation, making accurate measurements, and identifying and controlling variables. They should also develop the ability to clarify their ideas that are influencing and guiding the inquiry, and to understand how those ideas compare with current scientific knowledge. Students can learn to formulate questions, design investigations, execute investigations, interpret data, use evidence to generate explanations, propose alternative explanations, and critique explanations and procedures.
- Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations. Thinking critically about evidence includes deciding what evidence should be used and accounting for anomalous data. Specifically, students should be able to review data from a simple experiment, summarize the data, and form a logical argument about the cause-and-effect relationships in the experiment. Students should begin to state some explanations in terms of the relationship between two or more variables.
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Science Standard 12.
Level III (Grade 6-8) Benchmark 3:
Designs and conducts a scientific investigation (e.g., formulates hypotheses, designs and executes investigations, interprets data, synthesizes evidence into explanations, proposes alternative explanations for observations, critiques explanations and procedures). |
