Graphing with

Motion Sensors
Karen MacAulay
Elizabeth Kaplan

Watertown Middle School

Watertown,
Massachusetts
 Suburban community outside of Boston &
Cambridge, MA
 Diverse population
 576 students – 309 boys; 267 girls
 27% from homes where English is not first
language
 25-30% Special Education learners
 Middle School Science
 Grade 7

 Adaptable for grades 6-8

 Fits with Motion, Forces & Energy unit

 Aligned with Prentice Hall: Science

Explorer modules
Distance vs Time
Graphs
Create

Interpret

Experience
 Technology at Watertown
Middle School
Educational Technology Program:
Ensures that students are prepared to live
and work in the 21st Century.
Students will effectively use information,
communication, and problem solving
technologies to be life-long learners. This
is accomplished by providing leadership,
instruction, and equitable access to
resources for all students and staff.
 Technology at Watertown
Middle School
Hardware


2 full lap top carts (25 each)
 3 half lap top carts (12 each)
 1 lap top for each teacher

15 library desktop computers
 National Science
Standards

 Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry

 Understandings about scientific inquiry
 Motions and forces
 Understandings about science and
technology
 Project 2061 Benchmarks
for Scientific Literacy
 Use the units of the inputs to a calculation
to determine what units (such as seconds,
square inches, or dollars per tankful)
should be used in expressing an answer.

 Convert quantities expressed in one unit of

measurement into another unit of
measurement when necessary to solve a
real-world problem.

 Make accurate measurements of length,

volume, weight, elapsed time, rates, and
temperature by using appropriate devices.
 Project 2061 Benchmarks
for Scientific Literacy
Select the proper tool for completing a
particular task.

Organize information in simple tables and

graphs and identify relationships they
reveal.

Read simple tables and graphs produced

by others and describe in words what they
show.
 Massachusetts Science and
Technology/Engineering Curriculum
Framework October 2006
Content Standards

 Explainand give examples of how

the motion of an object can be
described by its position, direction of
motion, and speed.

 Graphand interpret distance vs. time

graphs for constant speed.
 PRE-ASSESSMENT
Brainstorm all the words and terms
you associate with this question:

What is motion?
 The graph below shows a beetle’s
movement along a plant stem.

During which span of time was the beetle

not moving?
 Who do you think is correct?
Which answer do you agree with?
Why?
A Aisha says it’s not moving from 0 to 4
minutes

B Byron disagrees. “It’s definitely from 4

to 6 minutes”, he confidently claims.

C Cindy shakes her head. “Listen…it’s not

moving from 6 to 14 minutes, you
guys.”

D Dien whispers, “It is not moving from

14 to 16 minutes.”
 What is Speed?
Inquiry Activity

Task: Determine the speed of the car

using only the materials provided.
 Scientific Method
 Question/Problem: How is speed measured?

 Hypothesis:

 Materials (per group):

 1 toy car
 1 piece of wood

various books and/or binders

stop watch

ruler
 Scientific Method
Procedure: Test your results more than
once!

Results: Show all data in your table.

Conclusion: How is speed measured?

Was your hypothesis correct?

 s = d/t

speed = distance /
time
Apply & Practice…

T S
Collecting Speed Data
Stopwatches, Tape, Clipboards
Management: Practice Problems
 Science Skills
add in some Metric Review Practice…
Graph the data
What do the lines tell us?
Use your data to make an Excel
graph
distance
distance in meters

25
20
15
(m)

10
5
0
0 2 4 6 8
time in seconds (s)
 GO! MOTION
SENSORS
TASK:
Create a graph with:

 A rise
 A fall
 A straight line
Sample Result
 Why we do this?
 Uses 21st Century skills: Using digital
technologies to collect and evaluate data
Increase student engagement through
technology

 Uses students’ bodies to create the motion that

is graphed on the computer

 Students connect their actions to the screen

display

 Many different “correct” versions

 GO! Motion Sensors
 Connect to laptop or desktop

 Use Go! Motion Logger Lite software and

sensors

 Available from Vernier

 May be able to borrow them from local

university…
 Materials
 6-8 Stopwatches
 Class set of Clipboards
 Masking tape
 6-8 Meter sticks
 6-8 Toy cars
 6-8 pieces of wood for ramps
 Computers with Excel
 Graph paper
 Resources
 Science Formative Assessment
75 Practical Strategies for Linking
Assessment, Instruction, and Learning
Keeley, Page. Corwin Press. Thousand Oaks, CA,
2008.
 Forces, Motion & Energy. Holt, Rinehart
and Winston. New York, 2005.
 Motion, Forces, and Energy. Pearson
Education, Inc. Boston, 2009