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This video will show you that ramps, rolling balls, and falling sticks can do some amazing tricks. Here are things to watch for and talk about.
Does this video give you ideas for your own chain reaction?
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Here are some images and short videos to get you thinking.
What ideas do you have for using everyday objects in your chain reaction?
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Use a plastic egg, a roll of tape, a toy car, a rubber ball, or even a marker.
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A binder becomes a ramp when a falling domino yanks out the support that keeps it level.
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Newsela offers readings about engineering design. Here are three great readings, free with registration.
Learn about teenage girls who designed an underwater robot to solve some challenging problems.
Why would engineers shake a steel building until it collapsed? Hint: think about earthquakes.
How could a robot help scientists study wild penguins? (Sometimes great ideas sound crazy at first.)
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Grade 4
Energy, Energy Transfer, & Electricity
Energy Transfer & Engineering
4-PS3-4, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-3
In this lesson, students learn about storing, releasing, and transferring energy. In the activity, Build a Chain Reaction (Part II), students complete the chain-reaction machine they started building in the previous lesson.
Preview activity| Chain-Reaction Starter Kit printout | Print 30 copies |
| Pop-Up Sign printout | Print 30 copies |
|
Hardcover Books
|
45 books |
|
Lever from Previous Lesson
|
15 built levers |
|
Markers
|
15 markers |
|
Ramp from Previous Lesson
|
15 built ramps |
|
Scissors
|
15 pairs |
|
Dixie Cups (3 oz)
|
15 cups |
|
File Folder Labels (Stickers)
We prefer stickers because they are easier to distribute in a classroom.
Or pieces of tape.
|
Details
60 labels
|
|
Index Cards (3x5)
|
15 cards |
|
Paper Clips (Jumbo)
Double the quantity if using normal-sized paper clips (do not use tiny).
|
Details
60 clips
|
|
Small Marbles
1/2" marbles will also work.
|
Details
15 marbles
|
We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students can work on their own.
To complete this lesson, students will need the ramps and levers they built in the previous lesson.
Students can also add a variety of materials to extend their chain-reaction machines. You can ask them to bring things in, or gather some basic materials to keep in the classroom. See the list below for items we recommend having on hand. Or, for more ideas, watch "Inspiration for Chain Reaction Builders" in Extensions before you start this activity to see some possibilities.
Each Chain Reaction Machine will take up several feet. Each student or group of students will need a table or several desks pushed together as a work space.
Marbles are very fun, but can be very distracting! We suggest waiting to distribute marbles to students until Step 14 of the activity.
Grade 4
Energy, Energy Transfer, & Electricity
Energy Transfer & Engineering
4-PS3-4, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-3
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