Lesson

Teacher
Grade Level

Forces and Equilibrium

Joseph DiBello
11-12

Instructional Objective:
This lab investigation will take 2 periods. The students will investigate ways to compare the
coefficient of friction for three different plastic sleds, each with a different material lining the
bottom. They will do this using their knowledge of forces and equilibrium in order to
experimentally find the force of friction on each sled.
Materials/Resources:
This lab requires a lot of specific equipment:
Vernier Dual-Range Force Sensors
1 laptop for each group (2-4 students)
Vernier LabVIEW software
OR
Vernier Labquest2 for each group (2-4 students)
Plastic sleds of equal mass with various surfaces on the bottome (i.e. cork, plastic, felt)
Various lab masses
Access to google apps
Smartboard/projector (Optional)
NGSS Domain and Standards:
HS-PS2-1 Analyze data to support the claim that Newtons second law of motion
describes the mathematical relationship
among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration.
PS2.A. Newtons second law accurately predicts changes in the
motion of macroscopic objects. (HS-PS2-1)
Instructional Procedure (include lesson starter and closing)
Students will be given the following problem. A medical research company is developing
plastic sleds that they want to be dragged along the floor in order to transport materials
within the lab. They want to know which of the following materials will have the lowest
frictional energy losses.

The students will develop a procedure to measure the coefficient of friction for each sled using
the Vernier dual range force probes. They will do this in groups of 2-4 students and I will
circulate the room, differentiating the procedure for each group by offering suggestions. The
students will pull the sleds using the force sensors with any amount of mass at a constant
velocity, maintaining equilibrium. This way, they can know that the force of friction is equal
and opposite of the force that they are pulling with. This allows them to take data of weight
and force of friction using the labview/labquest software. They will do this for each type of
sled.
Each group will enter their data into a shared spreadsheet which will be displayed on the
smartboard. The students will then be able to see the correlation between weight and force
required to pull the sled appear in real time. The slope of these graphs will represent the
coefficient of friction for that material. The students will use google sheets in order to analyze
these graphs and find the slope.
Once finished, the students will write a lab report on google docs and submit it via google
classroom. The process of using the labquest software as well as writing and submitting lab
reports using google apps will be very familiar to the students at the point of performing this
lab.
Differentiation/Modifications/Accommodations
I will be circulating throughout the room, moving from group to group throughout the entire
lesson. Most of the differentiation will occur during the writing of the procedure. As I meet
with each group, I will point each group in different directions, in terms of the complexity of
the procedure, depending on the makeup of the group. I will also suggest different jobs for
different students in order to prevent one student from monopolizing most of the work.
Formative Assessment
I will be able to watch the data coming from each group and assess them based on how that
data matches their particular procedure. The lab report will be form of summative assessment
for this concept.
Technology Infusion
The technology in this lesson is the usage of Vernier Force probes and the labVIEW or
labquest software. The students will also be using google apps in order to share their data,
analyze that data, and present their findings in an organized manner.