Lesson Materials

Per Class

• Ping-Pong ball

• digital scale

• plastic cup

• scissors

• tissue paper

• blank pieces of paper or chart paper

• hair dryer

• a new straw

• meter stick

• 20 magnetic marbles

• Ping-Pong ball

• chart paper

• marker

• 3 pieces of chart paper

• markers

Per Student

• disposable bendy straw 

• piece of tissue paper

• science notebook

Prep

Review 

• Lesson Plan

• Slides

Prepare 

Day 1: Straw and Tissue Paper Exploration

• Advance preparation: Have 1 disposable bendy straw and 1 small piece of tissue paper available per student.

Day 1: Investigation A: Comparing Weights

• Group size: Whole class

• Advance preparation: Watch the teacher orientation video showing the use of the Ping-Pong ball, hair dryer, and digital scale: Part 1 Investigation Set UP OSE

• Place the following in a materials bin:

  • Ping-Pong ball

  • digital scale (accurate to 0.1 oz)

  • plastic or paper cup

  • Scissors

  • 2 pieces of tissue paper per class

  • 1 disposable bendy straw per class

Investigation B: Comparing Air Forces

• Group size: Whole class

• Advance preparation: Set aside a meter stick and a hair dryer to use in the demonstration area.

• Safety: Make sure not to block the air intake vent on the hair dryer when you turn it on. Only run the hair dryer with the heat switched off (the heat setting to cool). Dispose of the straw used for this demonstration for each class.

• Storage: Except for the straw, all other materials can be stored and reused indefinitely.

Investigation C: Ping-Pong Ball Behavior

• Group size: Whole class

• Advance preparation: Prepare to reuse the equipment from both Investigation A and Investigation B.