How a Drum Moves a Ball: Sound and Forces Reading
A short science reading for 7th graders that explains how striking a drum transfers force and energy through air to move a nearby ping-pong ball. It builds understanding of Newton's Third Law, deformation, vibration, and sound waves as energy transfer, and it is designed as a foundation reading before a modeling task in OpenSciEd-style units.
“I need to make sure my students have the following information ad background knowledge for our up coming units - This unit uses and builds upon Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) and other science ideas that students should have previously developed in OpenSciEd units 8.1 (Broken Things) and 8.2 (Sound): A sound wave needs a medium through which it is transmitted. (MS-PS4.A) A sound wave transfers energy through air. (MS-PS4-1) The change in motion of an object is determined by net force on the object. If total (net) force is not zero, motion will change. Greater mass means more force needed to change motion. More net force means more change in motion. (MS-PS2.A) When two objects interact, each one exerts a force on the other that can cause energy to be transferred to or from the object.(MS-PS3.C) Forces on an object can also change its shape. All solid objects deform elastically (up to a point) when forces are applied to them. (not a DCI element, but important for modeling the phenomenon) For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (MS-PS2.A) This unit reinforces and builds from the following DCI elements from grades 3 and 4. 3-PS2.A: Each force acts on one particular object and has both a strength and a direction. An object at rest typically has multiple forces acting on it, but they add to give zero net force on the object. Forces that do not sum to zero can cause changes in the object’s speed or direction of motion. 3-PS2.B: Objects in contact exert forces on each other. Electrical and magnetic forces between a pair of objects do not require that the objects be in contact. The sizes of the forces in each situation depend on the properties of the objects and their distances apart and, for forces between two magnets, on their orientation relative to each other. 4-PS3.B: Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light, or heat. When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another, thereby changing their motion. In such collisions, some energy is typically also transferred to the surrounding air; as a result, the air gets heated and sound is produced. Energy can also be transferred from place to place by electrical currents, which can then be used locally to produce motion, sound, heat, or light. 4-PS3.C: When objects collide, the contact forces transfer energy so as to change the objects’ motion.”
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use this as a 20-30 minute introductory reading before the modeling task, ideally after a quick review of the Broken Things and Sound units so students can connect prior ideas about forces and mediums.
- Discussion question: Why does the ping-pong ball move even though the drumstick never touches it, and what is carrying the energy across the gap?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Pause after each paragraph to have students sketch the chain of events (stick to drum skin to air molecules to ball) and label where force, deformation, and energy transfer occur.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to predict how changing the drum skin's tightness or the stick's mass would change the ball's motion, and justify the prediction using net force and mass ideas.
- Estimated time: about 25 minutes for reading and discussion, plus 5 minutes for the sketch-based check.
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Try Diffit for free“I need to make sure my students have the following information ad background knowledge for our up coming units - This unit uses and builds upon Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) and other science ideas that students should have previously developed in OpenSciEd units 8.1 (Broken Things) and 8.2 (Sound): A sound wave needs a medium through which it is transmitted. (MS-PS4.A) A sound wave transfers energy through air. (MS-PS4-1) The change in motion of an object is determined by net force on the object. If total (net) force is not zero, motion will change. Greater mass means more force needed to change motion. More net force means more change in motion. (MS-PS2.A) When two objects interact, each one exerts a force on the other that can cause energy to be transferred to or from the object.(MS-PS3.C) Forces on an object can also change its shape. All solid objects deform elastically (up to a point) when forces are applied to them. (not a DCI element, but important for modeling the phenomenon) For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (MS-PS2.A) This unit reinforces and builds from the following DCI elements from grades 3 and 4. 3-PS2.A: Each force acts on one particular object and has both a strength and a direction. An object at rest typically has multiple forces acting on it, but they add to give zero net force on the object. Forces that do not sum to zero can cause changes in the object’s speed or direction of motion. 3-PS2.B: Objects in contact exert forces on each other. Electrical and magnetic forces between a pair of objects do not require that the objects be in contact. The sizes of the forces in each situation depend on the properties of the objects and their distances apart and, for forces between two magnets, on their orientation relative to each other. 4-PS3.B: Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light, or heat. When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another, thereby changing their motion. In such collisions, some energy is typically also transferred to the surrounding air; as a result, the air gets heated and sound is produced. Energy can also be transferred from place to place by electrical currents, which can then be used locally to produce motion, sound, heat, or light. 4-PS3.C: When objects collide, the contact forces transfer energy so as to change the objects’ motion.”
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use this as a 20-30 minute introductory reading before the modeling task, ideally after a quick review of the Broken Things and Sound units so students can connect prior ideas about forces and mediums.
- Discussion question: Why does the ping-pong ball move even though the drumstick never touches it, and what is carrying the energy across the gap?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Pause after each paragraph to have students sketch the chain of events (stick to drum skin to air molecules to ball) and label where force, deformation, and energy transfer occur.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to predict how changing the drum skin's tightness or the stick's mass would change the ball's motion, and justify the prediction using net force and mass ideas.
- Estimated time: about 25 minutes for reading and discussion, plus 5 minutes for the sketch-based check.
How a Drum Moves a Ball: Sound and Forces Reading
A short science reading for 7th graders that explains how striking a drum transfers force and energy through air to move a nearby ping-pong ball. It builds understanding of Newton's Third Law, deformation, vibration, and sound waves as energy transfer, and it is designed as a foundation reading before a modeling task in OpenSciEd-style units.
What is Diffit?
Teachers use Diffit to get quality materials for their unique classrooms. Adjust difficulty, add scaffolds, or change the topic to get started.
Try Diffit for free