What happens when elephants are used in 8th grade science.

Today we had a winner for the show what you know writing exercise.  I asked the eight graders to show their understanding of using the formula for force. Force = mass x acceleration.

For the following known facts students were asked to write a short paragraph that included quantitative and qualitative statements and found the acceleration of one object.

Force = 150N

Mass = 1000 kg

Items that exert or receive force = an elephant and a truck.

The winning write up was this;

One day, an elephant walked upon a smelly Honda Pilot. Dark grey elephants are common in Dunbarton.  The elephant which had a mass of 1000 kg made a loud honking noise and stepped onto the truck. The 150N force of the elephant made the roof of the truck accelerate down at 0.15 m/s/s.  Unfortunately, the insurance company wouldn't pay for the truck because they didn't believe an elephant stepped on it.