Activity: Who’s the Fastest?                                          

Grade:  7th                                                                         

Subject:  Science                               

Topic:  Average Speed

Kentucky World Class Standards:  An object’s motion can be described by it’s position, direction of motion, and speed.  Operationally define speed, velocity, and acceleration, differentiate between speed and velocity.  Explain that force has both magnitude and direction.

ISTE Standards: 1,3,4,5

 

 

Materials needed:  data collected during the previous day’s lesson, computers, graph paper

 

Lesson:     

  1. Build a data table based on the average time listed by each group for their elevation.
  2. Label A1 Elevation
  3. Label B1 as distance
  4. Label C1 as Team 1
  5. Label D1 as Team 2
  6. Label E1 as Team 3
  7. Label F1 as Team 4
  8. Label G1 as average speed
  9. Fill in the data table for teams one through four.

10.How do you calculate average?

11. Go to G1 and highlight the area.

12. Now go to the summation icon on the tool bar, and drag down until you get to average.

13. What are the names of the cells we need to add together to find the average?

14. In the formula bar type in C2,D2,E2,F2 and hit enter.

15.  What happened?

16.  Now highlight G2 and copy it.

17.  Highlight G3,G4,G5,G6 and hit paste.

18.  Now that you have the average speeds for the elevations, make a speed graph using all the averages on the same grid.

 

FOLLOW UP ACTIVITY

 

Make a data table using Excel to graph the results of the Boat Races.

 

 

 

 

 

RUBRIC

       

WAS THE DATA TABLE CONSTRUCTED CORRECTLY?

 

1       2  3  4  5

 

 

WAS THE DATA TABLE COMPLETE?

 

1       2  3  4  5

 

 

WERE CALCULATIONS FIGURED CORRECTLY?

 

1       2  3  4  5

 

 

DID SPEED GRAPH INCLUDE LABELS?

 

1       2  3  4  5

 

 

WAS ALL INFORMATION INCLUDED ON GRAPHS?

1       2  3  4  5