What it shows
A car rolling down a slope speeds up. A steeper ramp gives it more speed, so it rolls farther along the floor.
The science
When the ramp is raised, the car starts from higher up, and gravity pulls it down the slope. It gains speed on the way down. The faster car keeps rolling on the floor until friction stops it. A higher ramp therefore means a longer roll.
Materials
Cost: free. Many items come from home or from waste; spare parts such as LEDs, motors and wire are in the store.
- A toy car (free)
- A flat board or a thick cardboard sheet about 60 cm long
- Three to five books
- A measuring tape or ruler
- Chalk or masking tape
- Paper and pencil
Safety
For this project: Keep the floor clear so no one trips on the car or the books.
Never use mains electricity: power models with cells, batteries or a low-voltage adapter. Sharp and hot tools, flames and lab chemicals need an adult or your teacher beside you. Keep magnets, button cells and small parts away from young children, and wash your hands after making.
All the safety rulesStep by step
8 steps. Do them in order, and test each part before you go on to the next. Write what you notice in a notebook as you go.
Make a ramp by resting one end of the board on one book.
Mark a start line near the top of the ramp with tape.
Let the car go from the start line without pushing it.
Mark where the car stops and measure from the bottom of the ramp.
Repeat three times and write all three numbers.
Raise the ramp to two books and repeat three rolls and measure.
Do the same with three and four books.
Make a bar chart of the average distance for each number of books.
What you should see
The more books under the ramp, the farther the car travels, and your chart rises like steps.
Viva questions
A teacher or a judge will ask how it works. Try to answer each question before you open it, then compare.
1What makes the car roll down?
Gravity.
2What stops the car at the end?
Friction between the wheels and the floor.
3Why did we roll three times?
To get a fair average and check the result.
4What did we change and what stayed the same?
We changed the height. The car and the start line stayed the same.
Take it further
Cover the floor with a cloth and see how the distance changes.
Change one thing, measure what happens, and add a table or chart of your readings: that is what turns a model into your own investigation.
Free ebooks for this project
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