Forces
In Science this half term we have looked at the effect of friction. We carried out an investigation where we measured the force (using a Newton meter) of a weight being pulled across the different surfaces. This helped us to decide which surfaces had the most and least friction in the classroom.
We have looked at the effect of water resistance, by dropping a piece of plasticine into a vase of water and measuring the time it took. We changed the same piece of plasticine into different shapes to see how that would change the time it took. We realised that flatter shapes (with a larger surface area) took longer to fall to the bottom and therefore, had more water resistance.
Year 5 have also looked at air resistance and have created parachutes to save their 'Eggstronauts'. We tried to create a parachute that would protect the egg and give it a safer landing. We realised we needed to increase the air resistance to slow our egg down. We dropped our eggs from the classroom window onto the playground, some parachutes were more successful than others...!