Smithsonian Science for the Classroom™: How Can We Predict Patterns of Motion? 1-Use Module

Grade 3. Module Highlights: In 15 lessons over 19 class sessions, students explore how objects can exert forces on other objects and predict an object's future motion based on observations of patterns of motion. In the first focus question, students manipulate model swings and balls and see that contact forces can start and stop motion. They practice forming scientific questions and carry out investigations to explain what happens when balanced and unbalanced forces act on objects at rest. In the second focus question, students obtain information about bicycles and clock pendulums and describe the repeating patterns of motion that these, and other, objects exhibit. In focus question three, students observe examples of non-contact forces causing objects to move and investigate these cause-and-effect relationships. They participate in a static electricity-fueled race and investigate at what distance different magnets are able to attract objects. Focus question four is all about application. Students obtain information from text about uses of magnets in transportation and communication. They identify problems and how criteria and constraints are important factors when designing solutions. Groups then use magnets to design, build, and test a solution to a trash-sorting problem. In the final focus question, students engage in a two-part summative assessment. In the written assessment, students recap their understanding of forces, with a focus on magnetic forces, and apply their science knowledge to an engineering problem. Students then face a science challenge, where they must investigate how magnets affect the motion of a steel pendulum. They work in groups to ask a scientific question, plan and carry out an investigation, and use their data to predict the pattern of motion of a model swing that interacts with magnets. Individual students then write a claim to formally answer their research question.

This module includes a teacher guide, 10 Student Activity Guides, 16 Smithsonian Science Stories student readers, and enough materials for 32 students to use 1 time.

Next Generation Science Standards*
Performance Expectations

• 3-PS2-1: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
• 3-PS2-2: Make observations and/or measurements of an object's motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.
• 3-PS2-3: Ask questions to determine cause-and-effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.
• 3-PS2-4: Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying scientific ideas about magnets.
• 3-5-ETS1-1: Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.

Disciplinary Core Ideas
PS2.A: Forces and Motion

• Each force acts on one particular object and has both strength and a direction. An object at rest typically has multiple forces acting on it, but they add to give zero net force on the object. Forces that do not sum to zero can cause changes in the object's speed or direction of motion.
• The patterns of an object's motion in various situations can be observed and measured; when that past motion exhibits a regular pattern, future motion can be predicted from it.

PS2.B: Types of Interactions

• Objects in contact exert forces on each other.
• Electric and magnetic forces between a pair of objects do not require that the objects be in contact. The sizes of the forces in each situation depend on the properties of the objects and their distances apart and, for forces between two magnets, on their orientation relative to each other.

ETS1.A: Defining and delimiting engineering problems

• Possible solutions to a problem are limited by available materials and resources (constraints). The success of a designed solution is determined by considering the desired features of a solution (criteria). Different proposals for solutions can be compared on the basis of how well each one meets the specified criteria for success or how well each takes the constraints into account.

ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions**

• At whatever stage, communicating with peers about proposed solutions is an important part of the design process, and shared ideas can lead to improved designs. (3-5-ETS1-2)

**Indicates a DCI that is addressed in the module but not summatively assessed.
Science and Engineering Practices
Focal:

• Asking questions
• Defining problems
• Developing and using models
• Planning and carrying out investigations
• Analyzing and interpreting data
• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Supporting:

• Using mathematics and computational thinking
• Constructing explanations
• Designing solutions
• Engaging in argument from evidence

Crosscutting Concepts
Focal:

• Patterns
• Cause and effect
• Systems and system models

Supporting:

• Scale, proportion, and quantity

Concepts and Practices Storyline
Focus Question 1: How do forces applied by touch affect an object's motion?
Lesson 1: Playground Science
Objects in contact exert forces and cause motion.
Students explore model playground swings to gather evidence that applied forces affect the motion of objects. They work together to ask questions and identify data collection methods to further investigate this phenomenon.
Lesson 2: Play Ball!
Unbalanced forces will affect an object's motion.
Students carry out investigations into how forces affect the motion of balls. They use models to diagram the cause-and-effect relationships between forces and motion.
Lesson 3: Tug-of-War
Unbalanced forces will cause a change in an object's motion. Balanced forces will not.
Students ask questions. Groups carry out investigations to answer questions about what happens when balanced and unbalanced contact forces are applied to an object. They identify patterns in their data to form an explanation of the effects of the forces.
Focus Question 2: How can we observe and measure repeating patterns of motion?
Lesson 4: Around and Around, Back and Forth
Natural and designed objects exhibit repeating patterns of motion.
Students obtain information from a reading, videos, and personal experience and combine them to identify patterns of repeated motion in various kinds of phenomena. They analyze the different types of patterns of motion to form categories of how objects move.
Lesson 5: Pendulum Swings
Observations of patterns of motion can be used to predict future motion.
Groups plan and carry out investigations and identify patterns in their data to answer their questions.
Lesson 6: Tick Tock
Humans can take advantage of naturally repeating patterns of motion.
Students read a brief history of pendulum clocks and obtain information from the reading to explain the relationship between a pendulum's length and its period. Students analyze patterns in data to predict the motion of a second pendulum.
Focus Question 3: What kinds of forces can act at a distance?
Lesson 7: Supercharged Science
Static electricity is a force that can act between objects that are not in contact with each other.
After observing a static electricity demonstration, students carry out an investigation to see how they can cause an object to move without touching it. They use models to diagram the effect of static electric forces that are applied from a distance.
Lesson 8: Stuck on You
Magnetic forces can act between objects that are not in contact with each other.
Students carry out an investigation and analyze patterns in their data to see what materials are attracted by a magnet and observe that a magnetic force can attract an object without touching it. They use models to diagram the effect of these forces that are applied from a distance.
Lesson 9: Magnet vs. Magnet
Magnets attract objects with similar properties, and the strength of the force they apply depends on the distance to an object. They interact with each other in specific ways, based on their relative orientation.
Students carry out investigations into how magnets interact with other magnets. They analyze their data, looking for patterns to provide evidence that all magnets attract the same types of materials and that the magnetic force lessens as distance is increased.
Focus Question 4: How can magnets be used to solve problems?
Lesson 10: Making Magnets Work for You
The predictable forces of magnets can be used to design solutions to meet specified criteria and constraints.
Students obtain information from a reading on how the attractive and repulsive effects of magnets have been used to solve problems. As an introduction to criteria and constraints, they identify how these were defined for the problems in the reading.
Lesson 11: Trash Matters
Solutions to real-world problems are designed to meet specified criteria and constraints.
Students design a solution to a problem that can be solved using magnets, specifying criteria for success and design constraints. They design a solution model.
Lesson 12: Putting Trash in Its Place
The predictable forces of magnets can be used to design solutions to meet specified criteria and constraints.
Students build a model of their device that solves a real-world problem. They test the model to determine whether the design meets the criteria of the problem.
Science Challenge
Focus Question 5: How can magnets affect the pattern of motion of a pendulum?
Lesson 13: The Dynamic Duo Swing Ride Part 1
Magnetic forces acting between objects that are not in contact with each other can be used to influence patterns of motion in predictable ways.
Students ask questions about how magnets affect the pattern of motion of a steel pendulum.
Lesson 14: The Dynamic Duo Swing Ride Part 2
Magnetic forces acting between objects that are not in contact with each other can be used to influence patterns of motion in predictable ways.
Students plan an investigation to answer a question about how magnets affect the pattern of motion of a steel pendulum.
Lesson 15: The Dynamic Duo Swing Ride Part 3
Humans can take advantage of naturally repeating patterns of motion.
Students carry out an investigation to answer a question about how magnets affect the pattern of motion of a pendulum. They use their data to predict the future motion of their swing and write a claim that answers their question.

*Next Generation Science Standards® is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.