This week in science and engineering, we finally got to use our pendulums to create some art! We did a class recap of all we've learned with gravity and discussed how we use gravity and engineering to generate electricity.
Two weeks ago, students received the pendulum challenge: build a pendulum that could swing a cup, holding the weight of a few small rocks, and be large enough to fit a piece of paper underneath. This week, they got to learn why their pendulum had to do all of this.
We filled our cups with different paint colors and let them swing and swirl over our art paper to create cool patterns and interesting blends of color. All their pendulums performed flawlessly, and everyone got to take home their unique creations.
Our unit on gravity and gravitational energy ended this week with a recap of all the big ideas discussed in class. Then, we explored the engineering aspects of gravity, discussing the basis for how we create electricity in motors. We learned about how gravity is used to produce electricity using dams, waterfalls, and rivers. Also, all about a more "recent" invention called the Gravity Light.
It was a great week, and perfect timing to end our unit on gravity before diving into our next unit after the break which will be elastic energy.
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