Science Reasoning Center - Momentum

There were three Momentum passages in the Legacy version that targeted students' science reasoning abilities. They have each been converted to a Version 2 activity. We have included the links below:


Marshmallow Launcher
This passage describes an experiment in which students alter and test variables that impact the effectiveness of a marshmallow launcher. Data is provided in the form of a table and two diagrams. Questions target a student's ability to identify the effect of changes in a variable upon an outcome, to identify dependent and independent variables, to interpolate and extrapolate from provided data, to understand the design of an experiment, to draw conclusions that are consistent with the provided data, and to extend the findings of an experiment to a new situation.



Air Bag Inflation and Passenger Safety
This passage describes the factors that affect the safe functioning of air bags. Data regarding delay time before inflation, inflation rates and inflation pressures are presented in the form of a table and a graph. Questions target a student's ability to find basic information in a body of text, to recognize patterns within a table of data, to draw conclusions that are consistent with data, to translate information from a table to a graph, to interpret the slope of a graph, and to recognize the implications of experimental findings.




Collisions
This passage describes two experiments in which the inelastic and elastic collisions of two carts on a track are investigated. Mass, pre-collision velocities, and post-collision velocities of the carts are described using two data tables. Questions target a student's ability to understand the experimental design, to identify the effect of one variable on another, to draw conclusions consistent with the data, and to interpolate and extrapolate from the given data in order to predict the result of additional trials.