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The Backyard Feeder Perch Journal

Use a student's backyard feeder journal to investigate balanced and unbalanced pulls, motion data, and fair tests.

Grade 3ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to3-PS2-1

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 NGSS standard
Printable answer key
15 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 3
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students investigate how balanced and unbalanced forces affect an object's motion.
Students use motion data as evidence about changes in speed.
Students plan a fair test by changing one condition and keeping others the same.

How to use

Read the field journal together, then have students use the records and graph as evidence. Ask students to explain how the starting motion affects the result of the same pulls.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

3-PS2-1

Investigate how balanced and unbalanced forces change, or do not change, an object's motion.

Preview

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Name Date

The Backyard Feeder Perch Journal

Use field notes to explain how forces change motion.

Read the field journal

Read Rowan's notes about a feeder-perch model. Use the journal and graph to answer the questions.

Rowan's Feeder-Perch Journal

Rowan wanted to learn why the wooden perch on a backyard bird feeder sometimes stayed still and sometimes moved. Rowan made a small perch model on a smooth board. Cords pulled the model from the left and right. A spring scale helped Rowan make the pulls equal or unequal. Rowan recorded the model's motion during each one-second interval.

On Day 1, the model started at rest. A 4-unit pull acted left and a 4-unit pull acted right. It stayed at rest during three seconds. On Day 2, the model was already moving right. The same 4-unit pulls acted in opposite directions. It moved 5 centimeters during each of three seconds.

On Day 3, the model started at rest. A 7-unit pull acted right and a 3-unit pull acted left. It moved 3 centimeters in the first second, 6 centimeters in the second, and 9 centimeters in the third. On Day 4, the model was already moving right. A 7-unit pull acted left and a 3-unit pull acted right. It moved 9 centimeters in the first second, 6 centimeters in the second, and 3 centimeters in the third. Rowan kept the board, model, and timing the same for these tests.