Introduction
Keep calm and pay attention! You were fiddling around with the Time Machine at the Natural History Museum even though the sign said, “Do Not Touch!”. A few buttons were pressed that initiated an accidental time travel! After a strange and speedy trip back through geologic time, you’ve found yourselves peering up through a thick forest of palms where you can see pterodactyls gliding by! The complicated motherboard of the Time Machine has a ‘Reverse Trip’ button, so you have decided to push it.
The Machine begins to make some grumbling sounds and a robotic voice says:
This ship will depart at thirty past eight.
It will leave without you if you are late.
The answers to questions will be the key
to unlock the codes presented to thee.
Yesterday is tomorrow, the future is past,
this place where you’ve traveled could be your last. There are dangers here with large bodies and teeth, so watch your back as you pass through the leaf. When one minute is left you will hear a loud bell; whether you make it, only time will tell!
This contraption of wiring on the Time Machine’s wall begins to flash with lights. You realize that it is a portable computer with a screen, so you assume that you should bring it with you on this excursion. You have just____ minutes to follow the voice’s instructions so you can make it out of prehistoric times alive! Be careful and good luck!
Task
Task 1:
Alright, the time is ticking and you don’t know what creatures could be out in this wilderness! This time travel mission is going to require you to answer questions about motion and forces. All you have to do here is define some important terms and write the letter associated with each of your answers on your answer sheet.
1.) The best definition for mass is...
W: the amount of space that an object takes up G: the amount of matter in an object
P: the weight of an object
2.) The best definition for velocity is...
R: an object’s resistance to motion
C: the rate of change in position of an object N: the speed and direction of an object
3.) The most accurate definition for acceleration is... L: the rate of change in velocity
B: the average speed of an object over time K: the mass of an object times its velocity
Now, use the portable computer from the Time Machine to access the Time Traveler Program by typing the following web address into a browser: http://tinyurl.com/y2xejy76. Type the letters from your answers above into the box in order from #|-#3,
in all capitals and with NO spaces.
Task 2:
You have successfully ventured into this Triassic forest! Answer the following questions by using the word bank and write the number associated with each answer on your answer sheet.
Which type of motion do the following units represent?:
| 12: speed | 4: velocity | 10: acceleration | 8: force |
1.) m/s 2.) m/s2 3.) N
4) You are not going to be strolling leisurely through this dinosaur-laden forest! In which of the following situations would you have the fastest speed?:
M: You walk 6 meters every 4 seconds
D: You walk 7 meters every 3 seconds
S: You walk 5 meters every 2 seconds
Now, convert your answer to #4 into a number using the Time Code. Add up the numbers associated with each of your answers on this clue. Convert just the first digit of that sum into a clock image using the Time Code.
Task 3:
Great work! But watch out for those pterodactyls above! Did you know that their name means “winged finger” because of the muscle membrane that connects their fourth finger to their wings? They can also walk on all four of their limbs like a vampire bat!
But their hunting style is to swoop and catch fish in their pelican-like pouch! If a pterodactyl is flying west at a velocity of 25 meters per second and he speeds up to 3| meters per second in 6 seconds, what is his rate of acceleration? Write the letter associated with your answer on your answer sheet:
T: 9.3m/s2
J: -|m/s2
F: 6 m/s2
C: | m/s2
This answer will be important for cracking the next code. But in the meantime, do you smell smoke??
Task 4:
Yikes! The volcano is going to erupt! You need launch yourselves out of the Triassic period before you end up preserved in lava! Write your answers to these questions on your answer sheet:
1.) A pterodactyl flying at constant velocity means his acceleration is:
15: positive
16: negative
11: zero
17: increasing
2.) Lava flows fast for a few hours and then slow for a few hours. Overall, its average speed is:
F: the same as the final speed of the lava
W: greater than the final speed of the lava
G: less than the final speed of the lava
V: zero
Now, convert all of your answers from this clue and the previous clue into numbers using the Time Code. Add up these three numbers and add 1,000. Go back to the Time Traveler Program and type this new number into the next code box.
Task 5:
Alright, time travelers! You’ve found the nest of eggs but you better answer these questions and get out of here quick before she returns to check on her nest!
1.) The Diplodocus’s tail makes a booming sound because she can whip it through the air at supersonic speed!
How much time (in seconds) would it take the Diplodocus to whip its tail a distance if 44 meters at the speed of 343 m/s?
You may want to use the speed triangle to help find the formula to use for this problem.
Do the work and write your answer on your answer sheet.
Now, multiply your answer by 100, round this product to the nearest whole number, and then subtract 3.
Convert this number into an image using the Time Code.
Task 6:
Alright! You have reached a fossilized cycad, which you may recognize from back in the Triassic Period! Now that you’re in the Jurassic Period, there are big herds of gigantic dinosaurs called brachiosaurs. Decide which of the following graphs represents the motion described. Write the letter corresponding to your answer on your answer sheet.
N: X: M: Q:
1.) The herd is not moving.
2.) The herd is coming closer to you. 3.) The herd is slowing down.
Your answers from this clue will be important for cracking the next code.
Task 7:
Okay, time travelers, you have navigated around some large creatures! These are the footprints of the Allosaurus, the top predator in this North American Jurassic food chain. If you peek over that cliff, you’ll see an Allosaurus heading for some Diplodocus eggs that he rolled over the cliff edge.
The dinosaur found a nest with different sized eggs. He rolled all of them over the cliff to try to crack them open on some rocks below. Write your answers to these questions on your answer sheet:
1.) If the Allosaurus pushed three eggs with different masses using the same amount of force on each, which egg would accelerate most?
M: the most massive egg
K: the least massive egg
B: all of the eggs would accelerate at the same rate
2.) Ignoring air resistance, if the Allosaurs pushed all three eggs off the cliff at the same exact time, which one would hit the ground first?
M: the most massive egg
K: the least massive egg
B: all of the eggs would land at the same time
Now, type the letters of your answers to the last clue and this clue in order into the next code box in the Time Traveler Program.
Task 8:
You’ve successfully found a fossilized nautilus and time traveled into the Cretaceous Period! But, um, you might want to know that despite the name of the movie ‘Jurassic Park’, this is actually the most prevalent Period of the D.I.N.O.S.A.U.R.S.! And you have just found yourselves staring across a swamp at a Stegosaurus! You’re going to want to be extra careful and quick as you follow your clues through the Cretaceous, because maybe you know what’s coming towards the end of this geologic era? Let’s just say that you’d better be safe in the Time Machine well before the big event if you don’t want to end up extinct yourself! Use the key below to decide which of Newton’s Laws of Motion are being described in each scenario. Write the Law on your answer sheet:
Newton’s First Law Newton’s Second Law Newton’s Third Law
1.) As a giant frog jumps off its lily pad, the lily pad floats backwards.
2.) An enormous boulder has been sitting in the same place since the Triassic Period.
3.) A mama Diplodocus teaches her baby to accelerate its tail as a self-defense against the T-Rex. The baby can swing its tail with less force to gain the same acceleration as its mama.
Evaluation
The Homo erectus that you’ve met are quite nice! They’re amazed to see such advanced looking creatures and they’re impressed with the T-Rex bones you’ve found. The lights on the Time Machine are blinking like crazy— probably to warn you of the time you have until it returns without you to the Natural History Museum! The Homo erectus are motioning for you to follow them into a dark cave.
Share the codes you have created on your answer sheet and check your work with another group to see if you can crack the code on the Time Machine to get you back to the future!
Conclusion
WE ARE ALL TIME TRAVELERS MOVING AT THE SPEED OF 60 MINUTES PER HOUR
CONGRATULATIONS! You have really proven your understanding of Motion and Forces by reaching this pivotal moment.
The final code has been cracked and you have secured your place on the Time Machine so you can get BACK TO THE FUTURE!
Excellent job!