Investigating Slopes

Our Project in the Science Fair was called Investigating Slopes!

What we needed:

A Ramp

A Toy Car

Ramps with different surfaces

Frame for holding ramp at different heights

Metre stick for measuring

How we did it:

1. We put the ramp at the lowest level. We rolled the car down the ramp.

2.                       We measured how far the car traveled.

3.                       Next we moved the ramp to the next level.

4.   We rolled the car down and measured how far it traveled again.

 

5.      We continued doing this until we used all the levels on the frame.

              

             

 

Results:

We found out that:

The car went faster and traveled further when the ramp was steeper.

Level	Units traveled
1 (Lowest)	5
2	13
3	20
4	25
5 (steepest)	27

 Next we decided to use ramps with different surfaces: carpet, foam, sandpaper, smooth, rubber.

We tested each one at level 5 to see which one made the car travel the fastest and furthest.

Results:

We found out that:

Smooth surfaces helped the car to go faster and travel further. Rough surfaces slowed the car down.

Material on Ramp	Units Traveled
Carpet	21
Sandpaper	26
Soft smooth fabric	27
Foam	24

Content:

SCIENCE: Forces (Gravity, friction)

Materials (Properties and characteristics)

MATHS: Number: operations (estimate, calculate averages)

Shape and Space: lines and angles

Measures: length (standard or non-standard) time

Data: Represent and interpret

Skills: Predicting, investigating, experimenting, observing, recording;

Exploring, planning, making, evaluating (i.e. designing and making)