Sound Buttons Blue Ping Pong Ball Transparent Png

Instructions Instrucciones

1
Here are some of the materials you can use
- duct tape
- 3–5 paint stirrers (from a paint supply store or hardware store)
- paper cup (3-oz.)
- 1 Ping-Pong ball
- 1 wooden block or spool
2
Prepare ahead of time
- Have paper and pencil ready to write down ideas and sketches as you design.
- Clear out a landing zone area.
- Look around for different things that use levers, such as saws, scissors, wheelbarrows, and your arm.
3
Think about the challenge
- What is a lever? How does a lever work?
- What are the different parts of a lever?
- How will using a lever help you launch the ball high enough so you can catch it?
- What force will you use to send your Ping-Pong ball flying?
- TIP: Levers are handy tools because they can convert a small motion (for example, the flick of your foot) into a large motion (the end of the lever flinging your ball into the air).
- TIP: A lever is not effective on its own. It needs to pivot or turn on something at a certain point in order to lift a load (such as a Ping-Pong ball) with less effort. That point is called the fulcrum. A screw on a pair of scissors is a fulcrum.
4
Think about and write down your ideas
- List some devices that you know that launch items into the air using a lever. (Baseball bat, catapult)
- List different ways you can create the force, or impact or pressure, to launch the Ping-Pong ball into the air.
- What can you do to make your launch impressive?
- TIP: Inventors' and engineers' first ideas rarely solve a problem. They brainstorm ideas, try different ideas, learn from mistakes, and try again––this is part of the design process.
5
Look at the materials
- What materials do you have to build the different parts of your launcher?
- What will you use to hold the Ping-Pong ball in place?
- How will you develop the force you need to send the ball flying?
6
Design and build the launcher
- Decide whether your launcher will sit on the table or be held in your hand.
- Decide how you will create the force to launch the Ping-Pong ball.
- Choose your materials and build the pop fly launcher.
- TIP: A launcher changes stored (potential) energy into motion (kinetic) energy. The resulting force sends the ball flying.
7
Design and attach the bucket
- Decide how you will keep the Ping-Pong ball in place.
- Choose the materials and build the bucket.
- Attach it to the launcher.
8
Ready, set, launch
- Place the Ping-Pong ball in the bucket.
- Launch it and let it fly!
- TIP: If the ball doesn't fly high enough for you to catch, try moving the location of the fulcrum.
9
Did you know?
- Inside the Engineering
  Levers, levers, everywhere. Who doesn't want to get more done with little effort? Baseball players use a lever every time they are up at bat. When you swing a bat, you move the part you're holding just a little bit. But the other end of the bat moves quite a lot. The same thing happens with the flippers on pinball machines—a little flick sends the ball flying. A see-saw is a big lever, though you would need a lot of force to send someone flying! And hundreds of years ago, soldiers hurled heavy rocks using catapults, which use a lever system to send them flying.
10
Try this next!
- Increase the number of balls you launch. Redesign your launcher so it can send two balls in the air at the same time.
- Play a launch and catch game. Set up a target in your landing zone and challenge a friend to a launch and catch game.
- Think big. Make a supersize pop fly launcher.