Measuring Mass of an Object

Mavi and I started some activities for Applied Science. Here, math and science works together to solve problems. Applied Science enables the child to do critical thinking.

Experimenting and predicting Mass (Weight)

I chose this lesson because I’ve always wanted to use our bucket balance which I got from Learning Resources. I had this since last year but Mavi has been using it for play and have not used it as an educational toy yet.

Materials needed:

• Balance scale or bucket balance from Learning Resources
• Items to weigh ( we have rugby ball, a small book and box of Jenga toys)
• Items to serve as measuring unit. I used transportation and fruit counters from Learning Resources (make sure they’re all similar) and crystal pebbles.

Objective:

• To develop skills in predicting and estimating the mass of the an object.
• To use knowledge in science and math to come up with a mathematical conclusion based on the experiment.

Mavi will predict the weight of the materials without putting them in the scale. The prediction of how heavy an object is will be based on the unit material we are using. For example, how many unit trains does the rugby ball weigh? Then we will determine if his predictions are correct by testing it in the balance against the number of units he predicted.

As you can see we keep a notebook here to record his data. There should be three columns with labels: [object] [prediction] [actual]

Once he has tested all the materials, we will then come up with a conclusion if his predictions are correct or not. Then compare each object, from the lightest to heaviest using the number of units each has.

Results:

Objects	Prediction	Actual
Rugby ball	17 pebbles	35 pebbles
Book	20 pebbles	33 pebbles
Box	10 pebbles	11 pebbles

We concluded that the heaviest item was the rugby ball and the lightest was the Jenga box.

This was an exciting activity for Mavi.  After our lesson he continued playing with the balance in his room, with his brother.  He’s trying to test how will two different objects balance.  Of course, he has a little helper.

 

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