Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello,
My daughter is doing a science fair project based on Satellite Science and for the data collection part we have a question. We are not sure if we can use negative numbers as in the experiment some of the deviation readings are before the number zero. We are not sure if we can use negative numbers because then when we make the graph she doesn't know how to display the data for that part. Can we have positive and negative numbers on a graph??

Thank you

Hello Rkvasal,
Welcome to Science Buddies! Is your daughter doing this project: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure?

Looking at the Procedures section of this project, I see that you will be calculating deviations from a straight track or a straight trajectory. So some of these deviations could indeed be negative.

And, yes, it is possible to display negative and positive numbers on a graph. Just label the axis with the range of the numbers you've observed. For example, if you observe deviations as small as -5 and as large as +10, then you would label the appropriate axis with tick marks from -5, -4, ..., 0, +1, + 2, ..., +10.

Let us know if this helps and be sure to let us know if you have more questions.

Thank you very much! This helps a lot! Also do you have any suggestions for a model she could make and display to show to the judges regarding this project. Something with satellites and planets or something??

Thanks, Rkvasal

Oh dear! Now you're stumping the "expert"! I will see if there are some real experts who might have ideas. I'm not sure how you could use physical models to illustrate the trajectory. But you could make colorful drawings like Figure 5 and/or Figure 6 in the background section of this project. These 2 figures illustrate how speed and altitude affect the trajectory of a satellite. Having the color drawings should make your display board attractive and catch the eye of the judges!

By the way, if you do replicate these drawings, you should add a footnote to give credit to the Science Buddies project as the source for the drawing.

Hello,

My daughter is doing an experiment on satellites. The project is: https:www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Astro_p041/astronomy/how-does-speed-affect-satellite-orbiting-altitude#summary, it is called Satellite Science. We need an idea for making a model to represent how satellites move/orbit in space. If you have any model ideas for what we could make to show to judges as a visual representation of the overview of this project (how satellites orbit in space or how the gravitational pull works) please let us know.

Thanks,
Rkvasal

Hello Rkvasal and daughter,
Perhaps you could use those colorful foam "noodles" that kids play with in the swimming pool to illustrate the different trajectories shown in Figure 6 (Background). Or, if you want a smaller display, maybe use colorful ribbons, one color for each trajectory. Maybe you could use different sized marbles for the planet and satellite.

Let us know what you do decide to do - or if you have more questions. Good luck!

Hello MadelineB,

Thank you for your reply and this helped us! She is probably gong to do the ribbon one and I thought that was a great idea!

Thanks a lot for all of your replies to our questions,

Rkvasal