A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively
engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.
You may save this Learning Activity to your hard drive as an .html file by
selecting “File”,then “Save As” from your browser’s
pull down menu. The file name extension must be .html.
Phase:
During/Explore/Explain
Activity:
How is the force of a rubber band changed as the rubber band is stretched?
Students will place a rubber band around one of the meter sticks and move it to the middle of the meter stick.
Students will then place the meter stick with the rubber band around it on the floor or along the edge of a lab table.
On both ends of the meter stick with the rubber band around it, two students will need to anchor down the meter stick so that it does not move. (If the students tape the meter stick down, they may not need to anchor the meter stick down.)
Students will then place the second meter stick on the floor or along the edge of a lab table so it is perpendicular to the meter stick with the rubber band around it. (Students may need to tape down the meter stick with the rubber band around it to the floor or table to ensure it does not move during the activity.)
Students will hook a spring scale to the free end of the rubber band. (The rubber band should be laying flat and not stretched at the beginning of the activity.)
One student will pull the spring scale in order to observe and record the spring scale’s force reading on the Student Sheet.
Repeat stretching the rubber band and recording the reading for each additional 4.0 cm shown on the worksheet.
Students will answer questions from Assessment Strategies to check for understanding.
Assessment Strategies:
Determine if the students understand the relationship between the force of the rubber band and the amount it stretches by using the following open-ended questions (the following questions are on the Student Sheet):
What does your chart tell you about the relationship between force needed to stretch the rubber band and the distance it stretches? The force exerted on the rubber band increases as the rubber band was stretched.
Did the force needed to stretch the rubber band increase by the same amount each time it stretched an additional 4.0 cm? Answers will vary due to the elasticity of the rubber bands.
What is the effect of increasing the stretch of a rubber band on its elastic potential energy? As the rubber band is stretched the elastic potential energy increases.
Advanced Preparation:
The teacher should gather the following materials to complete this learning asset:
Students will need to be placed in groups of three to four