Ace Your Forces and Motion Science Project: Great Science Fair Ideas Book

Introduction 7

The Scientific Method 8

Science Fairs 10

Safety First 11

Chapter 1 The Three Laws of Motion 13

1.1 First Law: An Object at Rest or in Motion 17

1.2 First Law at the Bowling Alley 20

1.3 What Is Friction? 24

1.4 Second Law: Force and Acceleration 26

1.5 Third Law: Action and Reaction Are Equal 29

Chapter 2 Forces, Buoyancy, Levers, and Balances 35

2.1 Archimedes and Buoyant Forces 36

2.2 How Do Pressure and Buoyancy Affect Submarines? 38

2.3 How Do Levers and Balances Work? 41

2.4 Making a Sensitive Balance 44

2.5 What Is the Coriolis Force? 48

2.6 How to Build Hero's Engine 52

2.7 What Makes a Shower Curtain Move? 56

2.8 The Transfer of Motion 57

Chapter 3 Pushes, Pulls, and Acceleration 59

3.1 How to Build an Accelerometer 60

3.2 What Happens to Acceleration as the Force Increases? 63

3.3 How Does Adding Weight Affect Acceleration? 64

3.4 How Does the Speed of Spinning Objects Affect Acceleration? 65

3.5 What Is Centripetal Force? 67

3.6 How to Build a Rocket Boat 70

3.7 How to Build a "Friction Tester" 71

Chapter 4 Forces on Toy Cars and Trucks 75

4.1 Toy Cars on Hills 76

4.2 Marbles and Balls on Hills 80

4.3 The Effect of Gravity on Hills 82

4.4 Cars That Loop-the-Loop and Defy Gravity 85

4.5 Cars, Hills, Brakes, and Gravity 89

4.6 Magnetic Cars That Go Bump but Do Not Touch 92

4.7 Cars With "Springs" That Bump 96

4.8 Ride Safely on a Toy Car 101

Chapter 5 Forces and the Bicycle 105

5.1 Friction and Your Bicycle 107

5.2 Bicycle Wheels and Ball Bearings 112

5.3 How Does Pedal Position Affect the Force? 113

5.4 Bikes, Brakes, and Levers 119

5.5 A Bicycle-Wheel Centrifuge123

Further Reading and Internet Addresses 125

Index 126