mini essay final draft

8/6/2019 Mini Essay Final Draft

1/4

Ordonez 1

Gabriel Ordonez

Professor Julia Raybould-Rodgers

English 514

30 June 2011

y To inform, write a serious process analysis that explain how to complete a science fairproject or other school project

Build a Cradle

Throughout history, there have been many scientists who have made many very

important discoveries and one of those scientists is Sir Isaac Newton. Newton is well-known for

discovering Universal Gravitation, creation of calculus, and the three universal laws of motion.

One of the famous apparatus named after Newton is the Newtons cradle. A giant Newtons

Cradle is very common apparatus and it consists of generally five pendulums next to each other

bouncing off each other. This object is famous in science fairs because it explains, in a very

simple way, how conservation on momentum works. According to theEncyclopedia Britannica,

conservation of momentum is a general law of physics according to which the quantity

called momentum that characterizes motion never changes in an isolated collection of objects;

that is, the total momentum ofa system remains constant. This simply means that energy is

conserved and never lost. Many kids are fascinated about building this famous giant Newtons

cradle because it is very entertaining to build, and because the understanding of the physics

behind is crucial for many other applications. A giant Newtons cradle could be a great

demonstration for a science fair, but its not built with the appropriate tools and built precisely, it

will not function appropriately.


2/4

Ordonez 2

The materials needed to build an efficient Newtons cradle are 14 pieces of dried studs

(8-10 feet long), about 70-75 feet of wire rope, 3-5 bowling balls with exactly the same weight,

stud plate ties, eyes bolts, and wood screws. All of these materials can be bought at any home

improvement retailer with the exception of the bowling balls. The bowling balls can usually be

donated by people who dont want them. It t is a great idea to go to a bowling place and ask the

people for old unused bowling balls since buying a bowling balls usually range from $50 to $150

each and the Newtons cradle needs 3-5 balls. After all the materials have been bought, the first

thing to do is to assemble the structure that supports the bowling balls. To do this, 12 pieces of

dried studs need to be connected forming a cube.T

he dried studs are connected by screwing the

stud plate ties at each corner between three of the dried studs. Then, the remaining 2 dried studs

are placed between two of the vertical columns for extra support.

After the supporting structure is finished, the next step is to hang the bowling balls on the

structure. To do this, a hole is drilled on each of the balls and an eye bolt is placed on each of the

holes. Then, the 75 feet wire rope is cut into 5 equal pieces of 15 feet. One end of the 15 feet

wire robes is attached to one of the top horizontal dried studs using an eye bolt and the other end

of the rope is attached to the opposite horizontal stud using another eye bolt. The spacing

between the ropes needs to be twice the radius of the bowling balls. This step is important

because if the spacing is more than twice the radius, some momentum will be lost and the

apparatus will not show the desired results. The final step is to hang the bowling balls on the

wire rope and the project is finished.

The process of building a Newtons cradle can be long and difficult, but after is it

finished, it usually gets a lot of attention at the science fairs. The Newtons cradles are the best

way to have fun and do science at the same time. In a science fair, they are usually one of the


3/4

Ordonez 3

most popular attractions because they are eye-catching and easy to understand and explain.

People dont really understand complicated things like how quantum physics works, or how eddy

currents are the basis of magnetic braking. But one thing people can understand is the simple fact

the energy is conserved and never lost. The energy is always there, it is just being transferred

from one bowling ball to another.


4/4

Ordonez 4

Work Cited

"Conservationofmomentum."Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica, 2011. Web.

30 Jun. 2011.

mini essay final draft

Documents