MONDAY MORNING SCIENCE BLAST SPEED ZONE Heres a question for you: A farmer in northern India is on his way

to market. How fast is he walking if he passes two donkeys pulling a cart in the opposite direction and the time is 4:00 p.m. in Paris? What? Okay, try this: If a train is headed north at 25 mph and a second train is headed south at 20 mph, which will get to their destination first? Huh? Wait a minute: Calculating speed should be much easier than this! However, once you have your stopwatch and meter tape in hand and are ready to begin calculating, a few factors that affect speed must be considered, including the type of surface being traveled on, whether the traveler is headed uphill or downhill, are there any obstacles to be avoided, and, of course, whether were talking motorized transport or foot power. The current world unlimited land speed record holder is Thrust SSC, a twin turbofan jetpowered car which attained a speed of 763 mph (slightly under 1228 km/h) over one mile, breaking the sound barrier. This feat was achieved by British RAF pilot Andy Green on October 15, 1997, in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, USA. The Thrust Super Sonic Car's twin jet engines produced a combined total of 100,000 pounds-force (440 kN) of thrust force. During its record-breaking run, Thrust SSC accelerated to 600 mph (970 km/h) in just 16 seconds, becoming the first car to break the sound barrier. Records have also been set for motorcycles and steam-driven vehicles, but this list includes only the absolute speed records for wheeled vehicles on ground, without rails. The world unlimited water speed record of 511 km/h (317 mph) was set on October 8, 1978, by Ken Warby when he piloted his Spirit of Australia jet boat on Australias Blowering Dam to 290.3 mph (464.5 km/h), beating the previous water speed record of 286.875 mph (459 km/h) set by American Lee Taylor on Lake Guntersville, Alabama, on June 30, 1967. For this lab each student group needs a stopwatch, a meterstick and a 100m tape measure. To begin, have students mark a starting line in an area free of obstacles that can interfere with running or walking. From this line, measure out 50 m and make a finish line. Team members can now take turns timing how long it takes to walk 50 m and how long it takes to run the same distance. Each member of the team should make 3 timings of each event (walking and running) and record the times for each trial. Once the walk and run events are complete, have students find an area where they can clearly see cars driving along a road in such a way so they can time how long it takes a car to travel 50 m. Have students record the time it takes for one car to travel the 50 m distance. Have them repeat this process for two other cars. Once students have finished calculating speed, they should make a graph of their data and complete the questions. One group of students extended this activity by converting the speed of the cars in m/sec to miles/hour and then began compiling data on the speed of cars passing the school compared with posted speed limits. They discovered that many drivers alter their driving habits significantly when city police are nearby.
Copyright Daniel J. Wyrick 2008. All rights reserved

Speed Zone
QUESTION: How is speed calculated? MATERIALS Meterstick Metric ruler Stopwatch Tape measure (100 m)

PROCEDURE: 1. Mark a starting line in an area free of obstacles that can interfere with running or walking. From this line, measure out 50 m and make a finish line. 2. Have your partner time how fast you can run 50 m. Record your time. 3. Repeat Step 2, timing how fast you can walk 50 m. 4. Mark another starting line in an area where you can clearly see cars, and time cars on a street. 5. Work with your partner and time how long it takes a car to travel 50 m. Record. 6. Repeat Step 6 with two more cars. 7. Determine the speeds by using the speed equation: SPEED (S) = DISTANCE (d) TIME (t) DATA: EVENT Running 50 m Walking 50 m Car #1 Car #2 Car #3 DISTANCE TIME SPEED (m/s)

Copyright Daniel J. Wyrick 2008. All rights reserved

QUESTIONS: 1. How is speed calculated?

2.

What was the difference between your speed running and walking?

3.

What was the fastest running speed recorded by the class?

4.

What was the fastest walking speed recorded by the class?

5.

Which of the three cars you measured was the fastest?

6.

Which of the three cars you measured was the slowest?

7.

Did any of the cars you measured exceed the posted speed limit?

Copyright Daniel J. Wyrick 2008. All rights reserved