The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

The Physics of LEGO Skiing

The Physics of LEGO Skiing

A 7th Grade STEM Lesson

Amanda Sibley

April 2023

Notes for Teachers

This lesson plan uses BricQ Motion Prime Lesson- Ski Slope

​

This lesson plan is designed for students to explore Newton’s second law of motion.

List of Materials

• BricQ Lego Sets- enough for each group
• Building directions
• Student created lab sheet
• masking tape
• meter stick

Standards

Arizona Science Standards 7.P3U1.4

Use non-algebraic mathematics and computational thinking to explain Newton’s laws of motion.

Core Idea: Forces that act at a distance (gravitational, electric, and magnetic) can be explained by force fields that extend through space and can be mapped by their effect on a test object (a ball, a charged object, or a magnet, respectively). (6.P2U1.4)

Science and Engineering Practice: Element: Use mathematical arguments to describe and support scientific conclusions and design solutions.

Cross-Cutting Concept: Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.

• ​
• ​

Arizona Math Standards- Develop understanding of proportional relationships.

Supporting mathematical standard- 7.RP.A Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve mathematical problems and problems in real-world context.

Arizona Educational Technology Standards

Standard 5 (5b)- Computational Thinker

Students find and organize data and use technology to analyze and represent it to solve problems and make decisions.

Objective(s):

​

Students will work together in small groups to create a ski slope and skier. Students will collect data to see how changing the mass of the skier changes the distance it travels.

Agenda (Two Days)

Day 1:

• Put students into small groups.
• Allow students this first day to build.
• Ask students to test the first skier (without the mass added).

Day 2:

• Put students into the same small groups.
• Ask students to create their data table and lab.
• Allow students the time to redo the skier from yesterday and time to add mass to the skier.

Driving Question

​

​

How does adding mass change the distance a skier can travel?

Day 1

• Students in small groups (2-4)
• Give students time to work on building their slopes. (LEGO directions)
• Ask students to put together the first LEGO

person and measure the distance the LEGO figure will travel.

• Allow students time to work at this even if they make mistakes.

​

​

​

Day 2

• Students in small groups (2-4)
• Ask students to complete their lab sheet with their small group.
• Give students time to work together and complete their lab.
• As students complete their lab, ask them to choose one way to demonstrate their findings in a graphical format.

​

​

Assessment

​

Collect the student created lab sheets and their data analysis as their assessment. This lesson is designed to be introductory, so the goal isn’t assessment but building understanding together and finding misconceptions to help create the following lessons to help students explore them.

Differentiation

Small groups- assign roles for the small groups to allow all students a chance to be successful.

​

The lab can easily be teacher-created (not student-driven) or the class could create the list of procedures together before beginning.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Students can be asked to change another variable to test the impact. An easy way to do this would be adjust the angle at which the skier goes down the slope. Advanced students or students who finish earlier could test those variables.