Jet Toy Force and Motion

There are several mathematical concepts which could be introduced and solidified through the Jet Toy curriculum which would be beneficial for 4-6th graders. Students work on recording and analyzing data while applying graphing and problem solving skills. These concepts are absolutely appropriate for these grade bands. Students will also learn and reinforce the idea that speed=distance/time in this lesson. I would ask students to come up with different factors in car design which would contribute to the speed and distance traveled. I would then ask the students in groups to come up with experiments where they change different factors on the cars, noting these differences, and graph their results. I would then ask them to come up with theories about what they have proven in their experiment. I would focus mainly on Newton's 1st and 3rd laws of motion. After reading Newton's first law of motion, that, "Every object in a state of motion tends to remain in a state of motion unless external force is applied to it," I would ask students to discuss in small groups what force they think caused their car to not remain in a state of motion. I would then ask them to share their answers and if necesary use leading questions to bring up the concept of friction. I would also adress the 3rd law of motion which states, "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I would ask the students in their groups to discuss how this applied to their jet toy's speed and distance traveled. We would then have a class discusion exploring these different factors in context of Newton's law.