Patterns of Motion: Predicting What Comes Next
Lumi the glowing firefly hovers beside a playground swing and a bouncing ball, tracing their repeating paths with sparkling light trails
- Identify when an object's motion repeats in a regular pattern.
- Describe the repeating pattern of a swing, a bouncing ball, or a spinning wheel.
- Predict where a moving object will be next by using its observed pattern.
- Explain that a steady, repeating pattern lets you predict future motion.
Key terms
- motion
- when something is moving from place to place
- pattern
- a motion that repeats the same way
- predict
- to say what will happen next
- repeat
- to do the same thing again and again
Motion That Repeats
Some things move in a pattern, which means the motion repeats the same way each time. Push a swing and it goes forward, then back, then forward, then back, over and over. A bouncing ball goes down, up, down, up. A spinning fan blade comes back to the same spot every turn. When you watch carefully, you can spot the part of the motion that happens again and again. That repeating part is the pattern you are looking for.
Using Patterns to Predict
Here is the cool part. When motion repeats in a steady, regular way, you can predict what comes next. If a swing went forward, back, forward, you know it will go back again. You watched the pattern, so you can tell the future of the motion. Scientists do this too. They watch how the Sun, Moon, and stars move in steady patterns, then predict where they will be tomorrow night.
Worked examples
A swing goes forward, back, forward, back. What comes next?
- Look for the part that repeats: forward then back.
- The swing just finished back, so the pattern starts again.
- After back comes forward, just like every time before.
Answer: The swing will go forward again, continuing the pattern.
A bouncing ball goes down, up, down. What comes next?
- Find the repeating part: down then up, again and again.
- The ball just went down, so up comes next.
- The steady pattern tells you what to expect.
Answer: The ball will go up next, following its repeating pattern.
Activity
Watch each repeating motion, then choose what the object will do next.
Practice
Watch a swing and tell what its motion will do next.
Describe the repeating pattern you see in a bouncing ball.
Common mistakes to avoid
- spinning has no patternA spinning thing turns in a steady pattern, so you can predict its return.
- moving things are always randomMany things repeat the same motion, which lets you predict what comes next.
Check your understanding
A swing goes forward, back, forward, back. What will it most likely do next?
Why can you predict where a bouncing ball will go next?
A spinning fan blade passes the same spot each turn. A friend says you can NEVER guess when it returns. Why is the friend wrong?
Recap
Some motion repeats in a steady, regular pattern, like a swing going forward and back or a ball bouncing down and up. When you find the part that repeats, you can predict what the object will do next, just like scientists predict the Sun and Moon.
Reflect
What repeating motion did you watch, and what came next?