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What happened when the straw met the potato? Did the straw break? Was the potato pierced? Did they shake hands?

This little experiment also teaches you about motion and force, and is a lot of fun to try and try again. You may find yourself pushing straws at a lot more than potatoes.

• A raw potato
• A couple of paper straws

1. Place the potato on a counter or table, and hold it firmly with one hand. Be sure that the palm of your hand is not under the potato.
2. Try piercing the potato with the straw very quickly with a lot of force.
3. Did the straw bend? If it did, try with another straw, or another potato. It should go right in.

What Happened:

Because the potato is not moving, it provides an obstacle for the moving object (the straw.) This experiment exhibits that non-moving objects remain still, and moving objects keep moving– unless they are affected by external forces.