MI BIG
Motion of Objects IV.3

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• All students will describe how things around us move, explain why things move as they do, and demonstrate and explain how we control the motion of objects.

• All students will relate motion to energy and energy conversions.

Overview

A child's world is full of motion. Running, jumping, swinging, and sliding are all wonderfully rich concepts upon which teachers can build scientific knowledge. This is important since the ability to describe the motions of objects is critical for scientific literacy.

Essential Background Narrative

Describe how things around us move, explain why things move as they do, and demonstrate and explain how we control the motion of objects.
Relate motion to energy and energy conversions.

Describe how things around us move, explain why things move as they do, and demonstrate and explain how we control the motion of objects.

Young children should become acquainted with the scientific descriptions of the motion of objects, which generally includes discussion of speed, direction and changes in speed or direction. The understanding of the force/motion relationship can become increasingly quantitative, as the students get older. Instruction should be included which will help students overcome a common belief that sustained motion always requires sustained force.

As older elementary children study motion, they discover that an object moves in a straight line and at a constant speed as long as balanced forces act on it. When a force acts on an object, it can change speed or direction. The greater the force acting on the object, the greater the change in the object's speed and/or direction. Scientists attribute all changes in motion to forces, pushes, or pulls exerted by people, machines, magnets, friction and gravity. As students reach middle school level, they will continue to find the description of motion challenging and need to be aware that changes in speed or direction are associated with unbalanced forces.

Early elementary students can develop a foundation for understanding magnetic attraction through various investigations of magnetism. Determining categories of objects that are attracted to a magnet, distances through which a magnet will attract objects and how many small objects a particular magnet will attract helps children consolidate their experiences into scientific knowledge.

Middle school students can analyze the attractive and repulsive forces exerted by electrical and magnetic fields and experiment to create magnetic objects with the use of electric current. Experiences with electromagnets, doorbells, speakers, and magnetic switches assist students in understanding the relationship between magnetism and electricity. Simple electric motors work when a permanent magnet is combined with an electromagnet. Electricity is converted into magnetic fields, which in turn causes something to move. Electrical circuits are an aspect of electricity and magnetism encountered every day.

Elementary students should be able to understand that simple machines are devices controlling forces. A lever can transform a small downward force into a large upward force thus making a task easier. Simple machines help us to accomplish tasks that would otherwise be impossible. Young children can see simple machines all around them. Homes and playgrounds offer rich experiences for children to experiment with concepts related to simple machines. By middle school, students should be able to not only identify the types of simple machines but also design applications for use of them. High school students should be able to analyze patterns of force and motion in complex machines. They should be able to explain how the machine works and predict the effect changing a component will have on the machine.

Relate motion to energy and energy conversions.

High school students should be able to relate motion to energy and energy conversion. There are no corresponding benchmarks at the elementary or middle school levels. Analyses of the motions of objects and the workings of machines involve the concept of energy as well as force. Energy occurs in many forms and is often converted from one form to another. Students should be able to identify forms of energy and the energy conversions that take place within simple and complex machines, such as roller coasters and pendulums.