Motion and Forces by Tamra Orr, 2011, Science Made Simple Series, Rosen Publishing Group
Do you like amusement park rides? Have you ever ridden on bumper cars or roller coasters? Think about how many rides involve force and motion. What did Newton and Galileo contribute to making these rides fun for all of us? Do you want to learn even more about force and motion? This book has lots of additional sources to get you started.
The Science of Hitting a Home Run: Forces and Motion in Action by Jim Whiting, 2010, Fact Finders Action Science Series, Capstone Press
Batter up! You may not have thought of a ballpark as a science lab but it can be if you pay close attention. See how the airflow, wake, and drag from a regular pitch differ from when a curveball is thrown. Learn about the kinetic energy and vibrations of batting. Look inside a baseball to see how it holds up to the high- speed crack of the bat. Now take a few friends outside and start playing baseball science.
Boy in Motion; Rick Hansen’s Story by Ainslie Manson, 2007, Greystone Books
What do hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky and Rick Hansen have in common? They were both awarded the 1983 athlete of the year award in their home country, Canada. Rick was selected because, along with many other accomplishments, he won three world championships for international wheelchair marathons. Meet Rick as a young boy. Find out about his life-changing accident. Then learn how he later founded the Man in Motion World Tour.
Force and Motion: Laws of Movement by Don Nardo, 2008, Compass Point Books
Mass, weight, gravity, energy and speed all come together in the laws of motion. Try the spinning-egg experiment to learn about the first law and inertia. Think about how a hockey puck gliding on the ice illustrates Newton’s second law. The third law can be demonstrated by a squid moving through the water. See if you can design your own example of each of Newton’s three laws of motion.
In the Spin of Things: Poetry of Motion by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, 2003, Boyds Mills Press
You can see movement in the simplest things: windshield wipers, waterfalls, washing machines, and wind chimes. Cereal, classroom globes, carousels, and candle flames. Look around you. Find something that moves and compose your own poetry of motion.
Showing Motion in Art by Joy Richardson, 2000, How to Look at Art Series, Gareth Stevens Publishing
This is your opportunity to learn from some great artists. Look at these 11 famous paintings and then at the enlarged details. You can actually see running, twirling, skating, skipping, jumping, swinging, dancing, and much more. Study closely Bruegel’s Children’s Games and find the boys playing leapfrog. Look for the lightning in Rousseau’s Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprise). Now get moving and make your own motion in art.
A Crash Course in Forces and Motion with Max Axiom, Super Scientist by Emily Sohn, Capstone
Max Axiom is at it again. This time, he takes on forces and motion at an amusement park. He demonstrates Newton’s laws with bungee jumping, riding the roller coaster, and other fantastic feats. Did you know that to feel the most speed on a roller coaster you need to sit in the last seat? Experience the action and reaction of bumper cars. And, if you’re looking for the fastest ride on a merry-go-round, choose an animal on the outside of the ring.
Sir Isaac Newton: Using the Laws of Motion to Solve Problems by Kerri O’Donnell, 2007, Rosen Publishing Group
You don’t hear much about the plague any more. But when Newton was in college at Cambridge University, the plague broke out and the university closed. He returned to his home and began to study on his own. Newton made many discoveries that led to his three laws of motion. So you might say that the plague helped Newton become famous. Try some of these simple activities shown here and then design some of your own to demonstrate Newton’s laws of motion.
Gravity: Forces and Motion by Rachel Lynette, 2008, Do It Yourself Science Series, Heinemann.
In 1971, astronaut David Scott did an experiment on the Moon. Maybe you’ve heard of it. He used a hammer and a feather to test gravitational pull. Galileo did something similar on Earth over 400 years ago. There are many ways to show what gravity can do. Use the instructions here to balance an orange on the tip of a pencil. Make a balloon rocket or a spoon catapult. There’s no end to the possibilities when you work with gravity.
Auguste & Louis Lumiére and the Rise of Motion Pictures by Jim Whiting, 2005, Uncharted, Unexplored, and Unexplained: Scientific Advancements of the 19th Century Series, Mitchell Lane Publishers
Early motion pictures depended on George Eastman’s special celluloid material and the right kind of projection machine. Some of the first projectors had strange names such as zoopraxiscope, kinetograph, cinèmatographe, and vitascope. Read about the men who invented them. See how these inventions led the way to Toy Story, the 1995 first completely computer-animated feature film.
Motion by Darlene Lauw & Cheng Puay Lim, 2002, Science Alive Series, Crabtree Publishing
What’s the opposite of motion? Why do some things move and others don’t? And what happens if something can’t stop moving? That’s what happens in some car accidents. Try experiments with inertia, momentum, speed, acceleration, and more. See what a bicycle and a gyroscope have in common.
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