When we go to the desert to camp for a few days, we wonder how many of the rzrs and the sandrails make it up the tall sand walls!
Well, the last time we went there, we made a lesson out of it! We learned about the physics of the inclined plane!
The Physics of the Inclined Plane for Kids
We love the thrill of a crazy desert ride.
Hitting the sand bowls, racing around, hanging out with friends, campfires at night and the beautiful, incomparable desert night sky.
But as magical as everything sounds, it isn’t everything! There is so much to learn out there!
We have studied cacti, why there aren’t many plants in the desert, why sand is that color, why it’s hard to walk on sand and the list goes on and on!
But this time, we wanted to go the physics route.
We were sitting atop the highest and steepest sand wall watching the bikes, quads, razors and sand rails going up and down it and wondered how gravity, force, friction and other stuff works.
Gravity Lesson Plans
We had so much fun combining our family vacation with our Science curriculum with a great once and gravity lesson plan with an emphasis friction and force.
Take a look at all we covered in our awesome Nancy Larson Science 2 curriculum.
We did those, but also came to see cars and inclined planes at a huge scale!
Forces Make Things Move (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)Move It!: Motion, Forces and You (Primary Physical
&
Physics for Kids
If you look at the road picture above, you can see how the wind and traffic can make trails quite bumpy.
It is crazy! We have to slow down in order to not get a drink in our necks, but it actually gave us a great introduction to a very interesting conversation.
The said conversation was about friction.
It is harder to travel at a higher speed when there are bumps or textures on the surface that is being traveled.
Same goes with gravity.
It takes more force/effort to go up an inclined plane that it is to go down the said inclined plane.
Doing the demonstrations at home and watching this happen live helped to bring the concepts to a whole new level!
Gravity for Kids
What did you think of the video?
I just had to show you what exactly we were looking at and I hope the amount of force, gravity and friction affect the going up and down the massive sand wall.
Don’t you think that this is such an awesome lesson on gravity for kids to understand and learn better?
I highly recommend using a high-quality Science curriculum that is super homeschool friendly.
It inspires us to think in a scientific way everywhere we go and with everything we do.
Nancy Larson Publishers has a wonderful set of programs that focus on a great variety of topics that kids will love.
Here are our posts from Science 1. You will find them fascinating and super fun!
We Love our New Science Curriculum!
The Life Stages of Human Beings Unit
Observing Parts of Trees & Plants {Lessons, Hands-on Activities & Books}
Exploring Sunlight, Water and Soil: And Earth Science Unit
Investigating Animals & Their Habitats
Anatomy of the Human Body Unit
Examining the Characteristics and Life Cycles of Insects (and Spiders)
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