Skateboarding anyone? Exploring the Physical World~

Skateboarding is a common activity amongst middle school students. When there is a skate park across the street from a school, it is a community built laboratory for physics. The students are well aware of the behaviors of their boards but rarely do they know the physics behind the play. To teach how different surfaces affect the momentum of an object, relating it to their skill set is the best way to make science “real” for them.

            After carting the marbles down to the park and letting them go off of the various ramps, I could see that there were some issues with using the park with my students. The cement was not conducive to rolling small objects such as marbles, especially if they were of a material that bounces readily. If I rolled more than two, it was difficult to track where each went. Positioning on the ramps was just as important. A few marbles rolled up adjoining ramps. It was impossible to judge the effect of a double roll on the ramp materials. I know my students would not know how to differentiate the effect.

            If I were to do this with my students, I would use larger, heavier balls, such as bowling balls or shot puts. Another option would be the use of skateboards (without the accompanying rider). I could offer students a variety of surface treatments they could use such as remnant carpets of varying piles and cardboard sheets (old refrigerator boxes). I would offer rolling guides (1”x1” wooden strips taped to the cement) on the ramps to keep the objects from rolling astray. I would also have a strip of wood to place in front of the objects as a lift release for each the rolling event. This would eliminate the variable of an accidental (or not) push.

            The simple idea of a marble rolling down a hill can involve many physics concepts such as Potential and Kinetic energy, momentum, friction, speed, velocity, force, and gravity. I had thought that constructing a ramp in the hallway or the class would be interesting; but the skate park offers a connection that relates directly to something they enjoy. Addressing those concepts in the context of using the park and marbles or skateboards as instructional tools seems ideal and fun. I think that when they apply these concepts in this setting, they will forever change how they view their sport. Maybe inspire them to create a skate park that challenges them with different surfaces. Now that would be interesting!