Exploring Forces - Gravity

TYPE: Short Activities
AUDIENCE: Ages 4 - Adult
TOPIC: Nanotechnology
In this activity, learners will discover that size can affect the way materials like water behave.
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DESCRIPTION

"Exploring Forces - Gravity" is a hands on activity in which visitors discover that it’s easy to pour water out of a regular-sized cup, but not out of a miniature cup. They learn that size can affect the way materials like water behave. "Explore Science - Zoom into Nano version Gravity Fail" (2016) version designed for groups and community outreach.

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  • young learners placing mini teacup in water to see what happens
  • Photo of a learner closely observing water tension on a tiny teacup
  • Photo of learners comparing what happens to water that is poured from a big cup vs from a tiny cup
  • Materials in the Zoom into Nano Gravity fail kit including full-size and dollhouse sized teacups
  • A water droplet sits on a superhydrophic leaf forming an almost perfect sphere of water.
  • young learners placing mini teacup in water to see what happens
  • Photo of a learner closely observing water tension on a tiny teacup
  • Photo of learners comparing what happens to water that is poured from a big cup vs from a tiny cup
  • Materials in the Zoom into Nano Gravity fail kit including full-size and dollhouse sized teacups
  • A water droplet sits on a superhydrophic leaf forming an almost perfect sphere of water.

DESCRIPTION

"Exploring Forces - Gravity" is a hands on activity in which visitors discover that it’s easy to pour water out of a regular-sized cup, but not out of a miniature cup. They learn that size can affect the way materials like water behave. "Explore Science - Zoom into Nano version Gravity Fail" (2016) version designed for groups and community outreach.

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TRAINING VIDEOS

OBJECTIVES

BIG IDEA

A material can act differently when it's nanometer-sized.

LEARNING GOALS

  • A material can act differently when it’s nanometer-sized.

  • Different physical forces dominate when things get very, very small. For example, gravity is very apparent to us on the macroscale, but it’s hardly noticeable on the nanoscale.

NANO CONTENT MAP

Nanometer-sized things are very small, and often behave differently than larger things do.

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TYPE:
Educational Resources
AUDIENCE:
Ages 4 - Adult
LANGUAGES:
English Spanish
ADDITIONAL TOPICS: Engineering and Technology Nanotechnology Physical Sciences Motion and Forces
KIT: Explore science zoom into nano logo in full color with leaf, atom, and Saturn logo Browse kit
KEYWORDS:

Credits

YEAR CREATED
2008
PROJECT
OWNING INSTITUTION

Science Museum of Minnesota

FUNDING

Developed for the NISE Network with funding from the National Science Foundation under Award Numbers 0532536 and 0940143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

PERMISSIONS

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US).
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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

NISE Network products are developed through an iterative collaborative process that includes scientific review, peer review, and visitor evaluation in accordance with an inclusive audiences approach. Products are designed to be easily edited and adapted for different audiences under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. To learn more, visit our Development Process page.