The Domino Challenge!
Primary | Energy | Views: 1793
- Get a box of dominoes and line them up so that the domino stands on it end.
- You will need a flat surface. Space the dominoes apart so that when one falls it knocks the next one over.
- How far apart do they have to be to make the most effective display? Explore your dominoes and then answer the following questions:
Questions
- What type of energy was used to place the dominoes on the table?
- Where did this energy come from?
- When they are all standing - what type of energy do the dominoes have?
- Now add a force - A simple push will do. What energy is being used now?
How does it work?
- When you lined up the dominoes on the table you gave them potential energy, without even knocking them over!
- To make the dominoes move you needed energy from your body. Energy does not make the dominoes fall over, forces do - a push force. That push came from you. The energy for this push was obtained from your food (chemical energy). The energy had been stored in your body and is a type of potential energy. The energy was released by your digestive system.
- Once you started the push the energy was transferred into kinetic energy and sound. The force from your pushy finger knocks the first domino, which in turn pushes the next domino and so on. This is energy transfer.
- Try some of the more unusual domino patterns. Remember to think about the energy transfers as you work.
« Back
