Balance & Motion
Investigation 3
Part 2
Rolling Cups
Students roll paper cups down ramps, observe the way cups roll, and use the predictable curved cup rolling path to meet challenges. Students put cups together to make the cups roll straight, and weigh the cups in various ways to see how weight affects rolling.
3. Lesson set up and Management
Systems Approach: Identify the parts of a system, how the parts go together, and how they depend on each other. (ST01, STI02, STI03, & STI04)
Cups roll in the direction of the smaller cup end.
To roll straight, two cups can be taped together so that the ends are the same size.
The amount and location of an added weight can change the way a system rolls.
3. Lesson set up and Management
Materials:
Per student:
1 Large Paper Cup
1 Small Paper Cup
For each pair of students:
1 Cardboard Ramp
4 Clothes Pins
2 Pennies
Transparent Tape
Student Management:
Group students in pairs.
Have students work on the floor.
The transparent tape doesn’t stick very well to waxed cups, so students will have to handle their creations carefully. Masking tape works a little better.
Writing Support:
Have students draw what they did with their cups in their science notebooks.
Students can answer underneath their drawings, “Why did the cup roll in a circle?”
Reading Support:
“Rolling, Rolling, Rolling” in the FOSS Balance & Motion - Science Stories book, page 18.