Primary 5 – Science: Making Mini Hovercraft Experiment
P5 students learnt types of force and how it worked in our daily life in Science class. To strengthen student’s understanding, they conducted an experiment by making mini hovercraft. This experiment was to find out how hovercraft reduced friction as it was moving.
At first, students recalled the friction material and prepared the things needed, such as used CD, plastic cap and balloon. Next, they also read the experiment’ method. Then, they did the experiment as it was written down in the method. The first step, they applied the glue on the bottom of the cap and pressed it down to the CD. Next, after they covered the cap with the balloon, they needed to inflate it and pinched the neck of the balloon. The last step was observing the CD as they released the air from the balloon. At the end of the experiment, student got confirmation that the air which was released from the balloon lift the CD and help it to reduce the friction as its moving.
The aim of the experiment was to find out how hovercraft reduced friction when it was moving. Based on the experiment result, students knew that the hovercraft released thin air to make it lifted. Therefore it could glide smoothly in any landscape. During the experiment, students need to follow the method safely. For example, applied the glue and inflate the balloon. Although, some students had difficulty to follow the method but they tried not to give up easily.
Through this experiment, P5 students can get more understanding about how force can be used in daily life. By having this knowledge, they can realize that it is important to optimize the use of force to make their life easier. Moreover, this experiment can be a great opportunity to make the students accustomed with the use of safely methods whenever they conduct any activity in the future.
