Things Are Hopping at School 12!

Students in Ms. Albritton’s 5th grade class learned principles of physics by studying how paper frogs jump. In the picture below, Art PIR Sandler introduces the lesson.

The students first created their frogs using Origami paper-folding techniques.  In the process they
reviewed their math vocabulary (for example, geometric shapes, parallel or non-parallel lines, symmetry) and skills (for example, measurement and fractions.)  Students used different colored papers to individualize their frogs so that each frog was a unique “specimen.”

By pressing down on the back of the frog, and then releasing the pressure, a student could make his or her frog hop forward.  Pressing down stores energy as potential energy, while releasing the pressure allows it to be converted to kinetic energy.  This experiment teaches the concept that energy may be converted from one form into another.

The students competed to see who could make their frogs travel the farthest, and explored various ways of manipulating their frogs to achieve the greatest distance.