The Heavier, the Dizzier!

Discovering the effect of mass on motion.

By: Moneera Alroumi, Reema Aljomaih, Haifa Alhumaidhi

Section: 7/B

Teacher: Nadia Alhaj

DAS - Science Department

1. Problem/Purpose
2. Hypothesis
3. Variables
4. Research
5. Materials
6. Procedure
7. Visual Procedure
8. Data
9. Graphs
10. Data Analysis
11. Results
12. Conclusion
13. Applications

–What is the effect of the mass of the weights on a fidget spinner on its motion/inertia?

This question conveyes our goal/hope of finding out the effect of mass on motion and what it really resembles, by taking matters into our own hands and inquiring by ourselves, using the support from the teacher.

Our hypothesis was:

If we remove the weights of a fidget spinner, then its motion/inertia will decrease because the motion/inertia depends on an object’s mass.

Our variables were:

1.Dependent variable: The motion/inertia of the fidget spinner and the time of spinning for each fidget spinner.

2.Independent variable: The mass of the fidget spinner and its weights.

3.Controlled variable(s): Type of fidget spinner, Mass of the fidget spinner without weights and mass of each weights.

Our background research contained the following:

We researched mainly about the effect of mass on inertia/motion: All objects around us resist change in their state of motion, causing inertia, but every object’s tendency to do so differs. The difference is mass, since all objects have a different mass. Mass is the amount of matter in something while inertia is the property of mass that resists change, which means if an object’s mass is higher, its inertia increases. The inertia of an object is measured by its mass. Knowing the inertia of an object helps when studying it motion-wise.

We used the sources in the following slide, citing them in the proper APA format.

–Source #1: Inertia and mass. (n.d.). The Physics Classroom. https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/L...

Source #2: Momentum. (n.d.). California State University, Northridge. https://www.csun.edu/~psk17793/S9CP/S9%20Momentum... – –

Source #3: How to find the inertia of an object. (n.d.). Sciencing. https://www.csun.edu/~psk17793/S9CP/S9%20Momentum...

We need:

• –Fidget spinner frame –
• Fidget spinner weights –
• Camera –
• Table (flat surface) –
• Stopwatch –
• Notebook (to take notes and record observations)

The following steps helped us achieve our experiment:

1.Set the materials on a flat surface.

2.Place the fidget spinner frames in the middle of the table away from each other.

3.Insert 3 weights in fidget spinner 1 (75g).

4.Insert 2 weights in fidget spinner 2 (50g).

5.Insert 1 weight in fidget spinner 3 (25g).

6.Insert 0 weights in fidget spinner 4 (0g).

7.Start the stopwatch and stop it when the spinner stops spinning.

8.Repeat for all fidget spinners.

9.Record observations on an appropriate data table after each timing.

We presented our data in an appropriate table, which mentioned the amount of time each fidget spinner took to stop spinning, and recorded our observations about each one’s movement.

We presented the information in our data table on a line graph that showed the time it took each fidget spinner with a different mass to stop spinning. On the x axis, we wrote the different masses of each fidget spinner/its weights. Consequently, the y axis contained the time in seconds that each fidget spinner took to stop spinning.

We analyzed the motion of the fidget spinners:

1. The more mass there was on the fidget spinners due to the mass of the weights, the more time they spun. For example, the spinner that weighed 75 g spun faster than the fidget spinner that weighed 50 g.
2. However, the mass has to be distributed in a balanced way all around the fidget spinner/the object, and so the 2nd and 3rd fidget spinners were slower than the 4th one.

The results of our experiment were:

1. The fidget spinners with more mass spun more than the ones without much mass.
2. The fidget spinner without much mass spun more than the ones with unbalanced mass because although there wasn’t much mass, but the little mass was distributed in a balanced way amongst all sides.

We conclude that mass plays a huge role in motion/inertia, and that it is one of the most important factors that contribute to it, however, the mass has to be balanced around all sides of the object for it to have fixed motion and balanced steadiness. We found that out by spinner fidget spinners with different mass (using the weights around it) and the results support our conclusion.

Our conclusion can contribute to new discoveries in many industries that revolve around motion. A big industry in those is the automotive industry, since it relies on steady motion and movement to create great vehicles and automotive machinery. Using our conclusion, they can focus on giving their automotive vehicles more mass as well as distributing it in a balanced way, which will help make them move steadily and have outstanding activity. To add on, any motion industry can benefit from our experiment, by making their products more balanced in terms of mass, to a certain limit of their needs in that specific industry.

Throughout this project, we have developed many of our IB ATL skills:

1. Self-Management skills: We had the responsibility to submit our work on time and did, and we also were able to finish all our work in the best way we could do it.
2. Communication skills: Even though we had to finish this project through a screen, that didn't stop us from communicating in different ways, through teams, zoom, WhatsApp, etc. to be able to finish the project.
3. Research skills: We were able to apply these skills when doing the background research step, because we paraphrased and cited our sources in the proper APA format.