As we saw in the first article about the science projects students have taken on in Mr. Montemayor’s class, learning science can be a lot of fun! Here are four more projects his students have worked on this year. Check out the cool videos of many of these projects on Tucson International Academy’s Youtube Channel!
Egg Drop Project
The object of this physics-based project is to design and construct a device that would protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a specific height. The height ended up being 13 feet, the distance from the top of the school roof to the ground, with Mr. Montemayor himself climbing onto the roof to drop each student’s contraption. This project was also a competition between the students, but it was harder to decide the winner fairly since conditions, such as wind speeds, were changing variables. However this “glitch” in itself provided a rich teachable opportunity about the importance of keeping variables equal when conducting scientific experiments.Rubberband Racers
Using cardboard, push pins, rubber bands, and 3 unsharpened pencils the students designed and then competed with cars that would race up to 9 feet. Using trial and error, the students kept redesigning their vehicles to achieve the fastest speeds. The winner ended up going 9 feet in 1.1 seconds! The students learned all about tension and torsion in this fun competition.Catapults
This was another project that illustrated the physics concept of tension and torsion on a much bigger scale. Using large pieces of wood the students designed and constructed everything from slingshots to actual catapults. The slow motion videos taken of the final designs in action are amazing. The students put a lot of effort into this project and the results were impressive!Rockets
This last project, by Mr. Montemayor’s own admission, was a little scary! Each student used a PVC pipe as their rocket body, employing clay to fill any gaps. Then they used basic chemistry knowledge to formulate their combustible engine fuel from potassium nitrate and confectioner’s sugar. Because Mr. Montemayor instructs his students that safety is the priority, the students were able to ignite their rockets without even one mishap. Link to Part I: Amazing Science ProjectWant your child to attend a school where they learn how to learn? Look into enrolling them at Tucson International Academy online!