STEP 1: Get 2 sheets of 8½ by 11 paper and 2 sheets of aluminumfoil. You will need to cut the aluminum foil so that both sheetsare 8½ by 11.
STEP 2: Ball up one of the sheets of paper and one of the sheetsof aluminum foil.
STEP 3: Take the remaining sheet of paper and fold it in halftwice so that instead of being 8½ by 11 it is 4¼ by 5½ (roughly, itdoesnt have to be exact). Then do the same with the remaining sheetof aluminum foil. In the end, the folded sheet of paper and thefolded sheet of aluminum foil should be roughly the same size.
STEP 4 You now have four objects (2 balled & 2 folded). Youwill now conduct races between the objects in the following manner.Take two of the objects, hold them at the same height (at leastshoulder level) and drop them simultaneously. Observe which onestrikes the ground first. It should be obvious which one strikesthe ground first. If it is not then the race is a tie. You shouldconduct each race multiple times to verify your results. Part APerform the following races and then enter the winner of the racein the space provided. For example, in the first race, if theballed paper wins, then type 1. If the folded paper wins, then type2. If it is a tie, then type 3. Your answers to Part B will bebased on the results of your races.
1. Race 1 (1) balled paper vs. (2) folded paper
Race 2 (1) balled paper vs. (2) folded aluminum foil
Race 3 (1) balled aluminum foil vs. (2) folded paper
Race 4 (1) balled aluminum foil vs. (2) folded aluminum foil
Race 5 (1) folded paper vs. (2) folded aluminum foil
6. Race 6 (1) balled paper vs. (2) balled aluminum foil
Part B Based on the results of your races from Part A,answer the following questions.
7. Identify the trend for the first 4races.
The balled object always won.
The paper object always beat the foiled object.
The folded object always won.
The foiled object always beat the paper object. It was always atie.
8. Which one of the following statements best explainsthe trend you observed in the first 4 races?
The two objects had no significant differences between them.
Gravity pulled harder on the winning object than it did on theother object.
The winning object had a significantly smaller surface area thanthe other object.
The winning object was significantly heavier than the otherobject.
Although one object was significantly heavier, the other objecthad a significantly smaller surface area. These two differencescanceled each other out.
9. Which one of the following statements best explainsthe results of Race 5?
Since they both had roughly the same weight, surface area, &shape, the race was a tie.
Since they both had roughly the same surface area & shape,most likely the winning object had significantly more weight andthus had a higher terminal velocity.
The material the winning object is made from cuts through theair significantly better than the material the other object is madefrom.
The race was a tie because in the absence of air drag allobjects will fall with the same acceleration.
It is impossible to explain the results.
10. Which one of the following statements best explainsthe results of Race 6?
Since they both had roughly the same weight, surface area, &shape, the race was a tie.
Since they both had roughly the same surface area & shape,most likely the winning object had significantly more weight andthus had a higher terminal velocity.
The material the winning object is made from cuts through theair significantly better than the material the other object is madefrom.
The race was a tie because in the absence of air drag allobjects will fall with the same acceleration.
It is impossible to explain the results.
