Student Worksheet

Ramp It Up - Activity Instructions

Ever wondered how to get your race car to go a bit faster? Different surfaces create different kinds of friction and can really slow your car down or let it speed up. This is an easy and fun activity that you won’t need many tools to do.

Objects move faster or slower based on the friction they encounter. Have you ever noticed that you go faster down a smooth plastic slide than you would a bumpy ramp? This is because when two objects rub against each other they create something called friction.

Safety advice: If you are using a measuring tape such as the one shown, the edges of the tape can be very sharp!

Part A: Setting Up The Experiment

Step 1.

Lay out your different ramps and guess which one will have the fastest time and longest distance. Write your guess down to see if you got it right at the end!

Step 2.

Get your container and angle the cardboard plank to make a ramp at the desired elevation.

Step 3.

Using your parent's/caregiver's help, get your stopwatch ready!

Step 4.

Instructions: Ready Set Go! Let the car/rolling object go and either remember or record the time taken for the car to stop moving.

Step 5.

Measure the distance that the car/rolling object travelled.

Part B: Next Ramp!

Step 1.

Instructions: Cover the cardboard plank with foil. You can leave it smooth or ruffle it in places if you desire.

Step 2.

Repeat Steps 4 and 5 in Part A. Did the car go any further? Did the car take a shorter or longer amount of time to stop?

Step 3.

Now cover the cardboard plank with sandpaper and repeat Steps 4 and 5 in Part A.

Taking It Further

Change the elevation of the ramp (by propping the high end up higher) and try it again. See how the speed changes when you have a different steepness to the ramp. Use different objects that you find around your house (such as beads, yoyos, balls, trucks) to roll down the ramp to see how different weights and designs will affect the speed of the objects.

Write your observations on the Observation worksheet.

Ramp It Up (home learning)

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