Balloon Bear and the Birth of the Motorcycle
Learner activity and assessment | Suggested Grades 5–6

OUR QUESTION
Does adding tread change our model vehicle’s movement?
Name: __________________ Date: __________________

BEFORE TESTING
Prediction and reason: ___________________________________________
Draw and label: rubber band, frame, driven axle and driven wheels. Add arrows showing the motion path.
Drawing space: __________________________________________________
Winding count: __________ Test surface: __________
Conditions kept consistent: ______________________________________
Ask an adult to check the vehicle and clear the test lane.

RECORD ALL TRIALS
Measure forward displacement from the front axle’s starting position. Do not push at release. Record unsuccessful trials too.
Arrangement | Trial | Distance (cm) | Wheel spin, sticking or drift
Bare wheels | 1 | __________ | __________________
Bare wheels | 2 | __________ | __________________
Bare wheels | 3 | __________ | __________________
Tread added | 1 | __________ | __________________
Tread added | 2 | __________ | __________________
Tread added | 3 | __________ | __________________

EXPLAIN YOUR EVIDENCE
What differences did you observe? _________________________________
Which distances and observations support your explanation? _________
One trial that differed from the others, and a possible reason: _____
One limitation of the comparison: _________________________________
A useful next test: _______________________________________________

DISCUSS AFTER READING
1. Why can more than one machine represent a beginning of motorcycle history?
2. Why might a power source operate while the vehicle stays still?
3. What can our comparison establish, and what can it not establish?

HISTORY AND EVIDENCE
Choose one historical claim from pages 4, 6, 11 or 15.
Claim in your own words: __________________________________________
Named organization or collection: _________________________________
Date given by the source, including “about” or “around”: ____________
What does this source support? ____________________________________
What does it leave uncertain? _____________________________________

EXIT TASK
Complete: Powered movement needs _________________________________
Explain how that applies to our model: ____________________________
Explain one way our model differs from a motorcycle: ______________

OLDER-LEARNER EXTENSION
Calculate each arrangement’s mean distance by adding its three distances and dividing by three. Compare the smallest and largest distances too. Does the difference in means tell the whole story?
Bare-wheel mean: __________ Tread mean: __________
Explain the variation: ____________________________________________