Some of the students are very excited to make their boats move and have asked for the information sheets before we complete our movement experiments in class.
Here is the information.
Dear
Grade 2 Parents and Guardians:
Our boat challenge is coming
to an end! All the students had
fantastic boat designs. We had a great
wave challenge and it was warm enough to go outside and get a little wet.
Your child has seen some amazing boat designs in action. Many are very excited to make their boat move. I have sent your child’s boat home in order
to add on to their design for the last challenge making their boat move. Due to adding propellers and structures for
movement their boat can be larger. I
have attached two basic movement design ideas (paddle boat and balloon jet
boat) that can be altered to work for your child’s boat design. As well, in the next 2 weeks we will be
experimenting in class with different boat designs and movement in class to
help give the students ideas for their boat. However, feel free to experiment
with other movement designs.
Due Monday, May 9nd
Our last boat challenge is to modify/or /recreate a boat that will move
across a 4 foot area. Please remember
this is to be a fun activity for you and your child to work on together. Only use household objects, as I do not want
you to spend money on a boat which will probably end up sinking or falling
apart. Using household objects also makes
it a fair competition for all the children in the class.
Thanks for your cooperation
Dina Hannon
Wind or Air Movement
Probably the most obvious way to
propel a boat without touching it is to use air movement or wind. Try creating a sail and blowing on it. Sails are effective, although somewhat slow
and hard to steer. Sails are not in a
fixed position on a boat. Sails should
be able to move (swing) in order to catch the wind in any direction .
The Balloon Boat
(Students must be able to blow up and connect their
own balloons to their boat)
What you need:
• a floating container
(Styrofoam plate, plastic butter tub, milk carton, etc.)
• drinking straw with bendy tip
• rubber band
• balloon
• putty/clay/plasticine
(optional)
What you do:
1. Poke a hole in your floating
container as close to the size of the diameter of the
drinking straw as possible. The
hole should be located in such a way that it will be
underwater as your boat floats.
2. Attach the balloon to the
non‐bendy end of the straw with the rubber band. Make
the rubber band tight enough that the balloon won’t fly off, but not so tight
that the straw gets crushed.
3. Poke the bendy end of the
straw through the hole in the floating container. If
necessary, plug the space
around the straw with clay.
4. Inflate the balloon through
the straw and put your finger over the tip of the straw. Put
the straw underwater and let
your finger off the tip.
5. Experiment with the
design—add a rudder, change the length of the straw, and use your imagination.
Wind-up Propeller
What
you need:
·
a floating container (Styrofoam
plate, plastic butter tub, milk carton, etc.)
·
2 long pencils
·
Elastic
band
·
Plastic tub lid
·
Duct tape
What you do:
1. Tape two pencils exactly opposite each other on
two sides of the container. The pencils need to extend about 10 cm past the
bottom of the bottle.
2. Cut a paddle from the plastic tub lid. Make it
2.5 cm x 5 cm.
3. Loop the rubber band over the end of each
pencil.
4. Insert the paddle between the sides of the
rubber band.
5. Turn the paddle round and round towards you,
to wind the rubber band.
6. Place the boat in the basin of water
and release the paddle.
The stretched rubber band creates the potential energy which is
then transferred to kinetic energy. It is fast for short distances.
Magnet Repulsion
Remember moving train cars in a
wooden train set by reversing the magnets. It works with an egg carton boat,
too. The trick is to keep the magnets from filling over and attacting.
Detergent Power / Soap Propulsion
You may have seen instructions for a soap boat that
actually moves. This is not a chemical
reaction, the movement has to do with the surface tension of the water.
What you need:
Scissors
Cardboard
Liquid detergent or washing up liquid
Toothpick
Cup
How to:
Cut out a small boat shape from the card.
Using the scissors, make a little notch in
the cardboard at the back of the boat.
Place the boat gently on the water, so that
it floats.
Pour some of the liquid detergent into the
cup.
Use the toothpick to get a drop of liquid
detergent on the end.
Place the drop of detergent in the notch in
the end of the boat.
N.B. The experiment won't work if the water
already has soap or detergent in it.
If you are looking for a challenge there are many
examples on the internet of simple Chemical Reactions propelling a boat.
Chemical Reactions
·
Alka Seltzer tablet powered boats
·
Baking Soda and Vinegar.
The
following are some great web-sites with Boat Ideas and instructions:
This site has different ideas for paddles using elastic bands
and potential energy
