Area

We are going over area again in math with our focus being on finding the area in "square units." 

Please help your child to carefully count squares in a shape, and to mark or number each square so they do not lose track.

Please quiz them whenever you have a free moment about whether a unit square should be counted as 0, 1/2, or 1.

A square that has less then half shaded/within the boundary is counted as 0.

A square that is exactly 1/2 shaded/within the boundary is counted as 1/2, and two 1/2 units are counted as 1 unit.

A square that is more than half shaded/within the boundary is counted as 1.

Thank you and have a great week!!

Kinetic and Potential Energy

Energy - the ability to cause change

Potential Energy - the energy an object has because of where it is and its shape

Ex. A ball sitting at the top of a hill.

Kinetic Energy - energy of motion

Ex. A ball rolling down a hill.

Kinetic and Potential energy almost constantly convert from one to the other everywhere. A child on a swing has potential energy at the top of the swing, and kinetic as they go down and back up again. The child is constantly converting their energy from potential to kinetic and back again.

Fractions on a Number Line

Force, Motion, and Simple Machines

Vocabulary

• Force- a push or a pull
• Motion- a change in position
• Speed- the measure of how fast something moves over a certain distance
• Gravity- the force that pulls objects towards each other.
• Weight- a measure of the pull of gravity on an object
• Friction- force of resistance between two objects rubbing against each other
• Work- the measure of force it takes to move an object a certain distance
• Simple Machine- a tool that helps people do work
• Lever- a bar that moves on or around a fixed point
• Inclined Plane- a flat surface set at an angle to another surface

There are many forces in the world such as wind blowing on an object, you pulling a wagon, or water pushing on sand.

How much force it takes to pull something is measured with a tool called a spring scale.

When a strong force is applied it can cause an object to move, but not all forces cause motion. Sometimes they are not strong enough.

An example would be an ant trying to push a toy car vs. a child pushing a toy car. Which one will make the car move?

An object will only move if a force is applied to it, and the more strength the force has, the faster the motion will be. This is called speed.

The object will then only stop if another force is applied to it.

So, why does something like a rolling ball eventually stop without you putting your foot on it?

The reason the ball will eventually stop is because of gravity and friction.

These are invisible forces that are acting on the ball as well.

Gravity pulls the ball down against the ground, and friction begins to build between the ball and the ground.

This will eventually cause the ball to slow down and stop.

There are many simple machines in the world that we use without even realizing it.

Many of the things we use in our daily lives have various simple machines in them.

Fractions

What is a fraction?
   -A number that can represent part of a whole.

   Number of Shaded Parts: 3
   Total Number of Parts: 5
   Fraction in Words: Three-fifths

   Model B shows 1/3 that is shaded. 
   This is because when you are modeling fractions, you have to make sure that the object is divided into equal parts.
   When doing this you're actually creating Unit Fractions.

What is a unit fraction?
    - Any fraction with a 1 as the numerator.
      Ex. 1/2     1/3    1/5    1/7    1/100

You can create fractions by adding unit fractions.

1/5 + 1/5 +1/5 = 3/5

When the numerator and the denominator are the same number, it equals 1 whole.

Mass and Weight

Weight and Weight

Vocabulary:

• Mass - the amount of matter in an object
• Weight - the downward force of gravity on an object
• Balance - a tool used to compare two masses

Mass vs. Weight:

   If an object has more mass then it will have more weight.
   This is why a marble made of wood would float, but a marble made of glass would sink despite the fact that they are the same size.

Total Weight:

    When you have an object made of multiple parts, the weight of the object will depend upon the individual weights of each part.
    If you have one part that weighs 3 pounds, one that weighs 2 pounds, and one that weighs 1 pound, how much would the object weigh?
    If we were to put it together in a different way, would the weight change?