Browse Activities
Balancing Act PhET Lab
| Title | Balancing Act PhET Lab |
| Description | First version of this lab for my physical science kids. I have no student results yet, and would appreciate feedback. Thanks for looking. |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Answers Included | No |
| Language | English |
| Keywords | balance, equilibrium, force, torque |
| Simulation(s) | Balancing Act |
| Author(s) | Chris Bires |
| Contact Email | bires1@hotmail.com |
| School / Organization | Boulder City HS |
| Date submitted | 1/19/12 |
| Date updated | 1/19/12 |
Comments
I like this activity. The sim has a game tab that we found was very motivating for students. You might want to add a section where the students are invited to try the game and report their scores.
Trish
1/23/12
I like the activity, but I am not sure what to do with the gifts at the bottom of the worksheet. Can someone please explain?
Richelle Krumsiek
Richelle Krumsiek
3/29/12
The "gifts" at the bottom of the worksheet probably refer to the gifts in the simulation. They are on the second tab called "Balance Lab". Use the yellow arrows on the "Bricks" which scrolls to people and Mystery Objects. The values are not published, so they can be used to check students' understanding.
Trish
4/3/12
You should have the board continue to rotate until it reaches the ground for all unbalanced situations. If the torque is not zero, it will not stop at some non-horizontal position. It will continue to rotate. Don't give the false impression that a small imbalance will produce a small tilt. It won't.
On the other side of this, if you do have a zero torque situation, you can tilt the board and it will remain there. It won't rotate back to level.
This is all assuming that you are ignoring vertical displacements of centers of mass.
Bill Nettles
4/13/12
