IntroductionBreaking Down Science makes a comparison between the methods of breakdancers and scientists. It highlights the importance of inquisitive-ness and curiosity in both of these endeavors. The show utilizes both a variety of breakdancing moves and captivating science demonstrations to excite students about science.

The Scientific ProcessThe Scientific Process involves identifying a problem, forming a hypoth-esis, doing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, forming a conclu-sion and sharing your work with other scientists.

Breakdancers do something very similar to this when they are trying to create a new move. They identify the type of move they would like to work on, for example, a variation of the windmill. Perhaps they hypoth-esize that they could do the windmill with no hands. They then begin to experiment with how this might be done. They practice the windmill over and over, each time trying to figure out how they can achieve their goal. They learn from their experiments and they change their technique until they can repeat the new move over and over. Then they give it a name and finally, they show it to their friends.

Experiments with FrictionOne of the principles that is going to be discussed is friction. Friction is the resistance that occurs when one surface rubs against another. Break-dancers need to reduce friction in order to accomplish some of their moves, such as the backspin or the windmill. They often bring a smooth surface to perform on such as linoleum or cardboard. Everyone can expe-rience friction by doing a simple experiment. Push your hands together and rub them back and forth. Your hands will start to get hot. That is be-cause friction causes heat. Sometimes you need friction. If there was no friction, you would not be able to stop your bicycle or walk without falling down.

Learn how to do the BackspinIt can be fun to learn a breakdancing move and you can start with a basic move called the backspin.

Start by sitting on the floor with one leg bent in front of you and one be-hind.

Kick the leg that is behind you out to the side with a lot of force. As you kick your leg, lie down onto your back and pull both your arms and your legs in tightly, hugging them to your chest.

The force of your kick will start you spinning. When you lie down and pull your arms and legs in, you will spin faster. You will feel a force trying to pull you over to one side; resist this by pressing down into the floor with your back. Remember, the harder you kick your leg, the faster you will spin!

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The Science of the BackspinNow that you know how to do the backspin, we are going to take a look at the science involved.

When you kick your leg, you are using it as a lever to make your body spin.

A lever is a simple machine. This introduces the principle of Conserva-tion of Angular Momentum. When you pull your arms and legs in, you experience Conservation of Angular Momentum. That means you speed up. You have probably seen this when an ice skater pulls in their arms when they are spinning on the ice. Experience it for yourself by sitting in a spinning chair with your arms and legs extended.

Have someone spin you and then pull your arms and legs in. When you do this, you will spin faster!

Newton's LawsSir Isaac Newton was a famous scientist who made a lot of important con-tributions to our understanding of the world.

He formulated his Universal Law of Gravitation while sitting under an ap-ple tree watching an apple fall to the ground. This law explains that the force that pulls things down on earth is the same force that causes the moon to rotate around the earth and the planets to rotate around the sun.

Newton also discovered three Laws of Motion. These laws describe how things move. His first law says that ‘a body at rest will stay at rest and a body in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.’

We have all experienced this law of motion. A ball on the ground does not move until we kick it. What are the forces that cause it to stop mov-ing? We know that gravity pulls things to the ground and friction slows things down, so these are the forces that cause the ball to stop. If we kicked a ball in outer space where there is not much gravity or friction, it would keep going forever.

Another one of Newton's Laws says that 'every action has an equal and opposite reaction'. This can be hard to experience on earth because the forces of friction and gravity make it hard to feel. If you threw a ball in space, the ball would actually throw you as well. It would move in one di-rection and you would move in the other. In the show we use a hovercraft that floats on a cushion of air to demonstrate this in front of an audience. You can also feel it by sitting in a chair on wheels, close to a wall; if you push against the wall, the wall pushes back and your chair moves back-ward.

Air pressureThe hovercraft floats because a blower forces a cushion of air under it until there is enough air to support the weight of the hovercraft and the person riding it. This is called Bernoulli’s Principle. We also make a beach ball float in mid-air using the same principle. At home you can make a ping-pong ball float by using a hair dryer.

HypothesisWhat is a hypothesis? A hypothesis is an educated guess based on some knowledge or idea that you have. A hypothesis is used in science to an-swer questions that we do not know the answer to yet. A scientist will form a hypothesis based on what is known about a problem and then will design experiments to test the hypothesis. If the experiments prove a hypothesis to be true, the scientist will share it with other scientists and they will also test it to confirm that it is true. If the experiments prove the hypothesis to be wrong, it is discarded and the scientist will try to come up with a new hypothesis.

Rotational InertiaThe way things spin has been an important area of study in science. It is also important for breakdancers because many of their moves require spinning. Using the spinning top to demonstrate, the heavier top will have more Rotational Inertia and therefore will spin longer. Rotational Iner-tia is a principle that is not just determined by weight, but the placement of the weight is also a factor. The further the weight is from the center, the more Rotational Inertia a spinning object will have. We demonstrate this by spinning a top that is light and a heavy top that has its weight dis-tributed around the outside of the circle. The lighter top does not spin as long as the heavy top. This is why breakdancers keep their legs spread as wide as possible in the windmill because it distributes the weight of their bodies towards the outside of the spin, increasing their Rotational Iner-tia. We also demonstrate this principle with a six foot metal wheel that has so much Rotational Inertia that a person can actually spin inside it like a top.

Wave motionMany things move in waves such as water, sound, and light. Soundwaves move through the air. When someone speaks, the movement of their mouth causes the air to vibrate. This vibration then moves through the air in the form of a wave to your ear where it causes your eardrum to vibrate allowing you to hear. We demonstrate this by holding the ends of a rope and flipping it to create a wave. If you flip the rope once, only one wave travels across it. If you keep moving the rope, waves move continuously across it.

You can make small waves by giving the rope little shakes or big ones by moving your arm in big motions. The size of a wave is called its ampli-tude. Frequency describes how close together the waves can travel.

Waves can also travel through your body. Breakdancers have a move called the wave, in which a pulse of energy travels from their fingertips through their arm, to their shoulders, down one leg, up the other and out through their second arm. See if you can make waves move through your body!

BalanceThe last science principle we look at is Center-of-gravity. In order for something to balance, its Center-of-Gravity must be supported. Center-of-gravity is the point in an object or a person around which all the parts balance. Breakdancers do a number of different balances called freezes. If you are observant, you will notice that no matter what shape they are in, they are always supporting their Center-of-Gravity.

Try standing against a wall with your heels touching it. Now try to lean forward and touch you toes without falling over. You can not do it! Your feet no longer support your Center-of-Gravity as you lean forward, so you fall over. If you lean forward when you are not against a wall, your hips move backwards slightly in order to keep your Center-of-Gravity over your feet.

FREEZE!

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A Special Thank You To The Volunteers:Keily Ros

Sekou HamerGideon Parker

Breaking Down Science harnesses the fascination and excitement of breakdancing to hook students on the scientific method. This interactive performance uncovers the hidden world of science in the twists, spins and flips of the breakdancer and the use of fun props like gigantic tops, a hover-craft, and a six-foot Circus Wheel.