SBP Physical Science class “drops the ball”

Recently students in Betty Wallace’s physical science class dropped the ball for a good reason.  Wallace’s class took to the gazebo on the grounds of St. Bernard Prep to get a hands-on lesson in calculating the acceleration of an object.

Students were grouped into four groups of four.  Each group was armed with a secretary, board, timer, tape measure, ball, string and a recording sheet.“Instead of just using formulas in class, this experiment  gets them out of the classroom and gives them a better understanding of calculating acceleration,” Wallace said.

While one student dropped the ball, another timed how long it took to hit the board.  Students repeated this step six times to get an average time.  Then students measured the length of the drop with their string.

Once all measurements had been obtained, students headed back to the classroom to calculate the final speed.   
 “These kinds of assignments are fun,” Wallace said.  “Students tend to retain this for a long time.”