Eric Braun - Curious Pearl Kicks Off Forces and Motion: 4D an Augmented Reading Science Experience

Curious Pearl here! Do you like science?

I sure do! I have all sorts of fun tools to help me observe and investigate, but my favorite tool is my science notebook. Thats where I write down questions and facts that help me learn more about science. Would you like to join me on my science adventures?

Youre in for a special surprise!

Its soccer Sunday! I play on the Rainbow Dragons with my kickin pals, Sabina and Sal. Today was our last game of the season. While I waited for my friends, I decided to rearrange the pumpkins on our front steps. Fall is a great season for decorating, dont you think?

Except, the big pumpkin was too heavy for me to lift. And the little one kept rolling down into the yard as if it had a mind of its own. Ugh!

When Sabina and Sal showed up, they saw me trying to lift that big old pumpkin and laughed. I guess I did look a little silly.

, Sal said.

Eureka! I said. A force is anything that pushes or pulls on an object. Gravity pulls everything down.

We better push ourselves along to the game, Sabina said. Well help you with this afterward.

While we warmed up for the game, I kept thinking about those pumpkins. How could I get the big one to the top step?

Sal kicked a ball up into the air, and I thought about all the different kinds of pushes and pulls there are. Gravity, kicks, wind... even if the air is still, it is pushing on us. Forces can have different strengths and directions.

Finally it was time to start the game. Our opponents, the Funky All-Stars, got to kick off. Sabina intercepted one of their passes. The ball was coming at her fast, but she stopped it with her foot.

Eureka! I shouted to her. Your foot was a or stop it.

What? she asked. She started dribbling toward the goal, but then she looked back. She was surprised at what she saw. Are you writing in your notebook?

Well, yes, I said. This is important.

I never go anywhere without my trusty science notebook! I jotted down what Id noticed.

Pushing or pulling on an object can start or stop its motion. It can also change the speed or direction of the motion.

A defender tried to take the ball away from Sabina, so she passed it to Sal. It went right to him.

Nice pass! I yelled.

Sal closed in on the goal and kicked the ball hard. Blammo! The goalie caught it.

Good try, Sal! I said. You put more force on the ball, making it go faster. A bigger push or pull makes things move more quickly. A softer force makes things move more slowly.

Great! Sal said. But watch outthe goalie is kicking the ball your way!

Im ready, I said.

The goalie kicked the ball really far! It went past me, and I didnt get it after all. What could I have done differently?

At halftime, Coach Lindsay had some advice. Dont go where the ball is. Go to where it will be! That way you can make a play, she said.

Coach? I asked. How do you know where the ball will be?

Coach Lindsay said, If you watch what the ball has been doing, you can usually , then you predict.

Now Coach was talking my languagescience language. I made a note in my notebook.

The patterns of an objects motion can be observed and measured. When past motion shows a regular pattern, future motion can be predicted from it.

We started warming up for the second half. I watched as the balls flew through the air, then rolled on the ground, then stopped. I remembered how Sabina stopped a ball with her foot during the game. But what made the balls stop?

Lucky for me, my soccer coach is also my science teacher! She knows practically everything there is to know about science. So I asked her what makes a ball stop when theres no force stopping it.

But there is a force stopping it, Coach said. Its called air are putting friction on the ball.

I think I get it! I said. I made a note in my science notebook.

Friction is a force that slows down objects. It also causes heat. Thats why we rub our hands together when we are cold!

Sal, Sabina, and I kicked a few more balls around. I kicked some hard and high. I kicked some soft. I kicked some straight and some sideways. My foot put a different amount of force on the ball every time.

Then I kicked one and it crashed into Sals ball. They both rolled away in different directions.

Hey! Sal joked. Leave my ball alone.

Sorry! I said. Buteureka!

What did you discover this time? Sal asked.

The force from my foot can push on the ball I kick. But it can push on another ball, too.

Guys! Sabina called. Time to get back on the field.

I made a quick note in my science notebook.

When two objects touch or collide, they push on each other and can change motion.

The ref blew the whistle to end halftime. I got to do the kickoff. As I looked at the ball, I thought about the forces that were acting on that ball. Gravity was pulling it down. Air was pushing in all around it. But the ball wasnt moving. Before I kicked, I made a quick note in my notebook.

An object at rest will stay at rest unless a force acts on it. This is called .

Then I kicked the ball. That kick was the biggest force of all!