Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Step 2: Research
MDE 5th Grade Companion Document:
http://www.mi.gov/documents/mde/5-
Science_GLCE_Companion_Document_v.1.09_2_264472_7.pdf
Laura’s Protopage Resource for 5th Grade Science -Measuring Changes in Motion
Box: http://www.protopage.com/lchambless#Professional/5th_Grade_Science
Physics 4 Kids:
http://www.physics4kids.com/files/motion_intro.html
Formula of Force
F=ma
Mass
Amount of matter in an object
Acceleration
Step 3: Question
Does the steepness of a slope affect the distance that a matchbox car pushes a
wooden block?
Mass
Slope of car
Control
Variab
le
Distance of
block
Holding ruler
Type of
surface
Wood block
Ramp
Step 4: Variables
Manipulated Variable: placement of ramp
Responding Variable: number of centimeters the wooden block moves
Controlled Variables:
• Mass of matchbox car
• Distance between end of ramp and block
• Where to hold the ruler for the ramp
• Type of surface
• Mass of wooden block
• How ramp is made
• Length of ramp
Step 8: Procedure
Responding The number of centimeters the 12. Let car go down the ramp
Variable wooden block moves and hit the wooden block.
How will 13. Measure and record from
differences be the 19 g wooden block
observed or starting line to the part of the
measured? wooden block closest to the
starting line.
14. Repeat procedure for
three trials.
15. Repeat same procedure
as above for 8 cm and 21cm
height.
Step 9: Data
This experiment proved that setting the ramp at 8 cm high created the most force,
out of the three measurements picked to test, and moved the wooden block the
farthest with an average 22.37 cm. The lowest height ramp, 3 cm, moved the
wooden block an average of 9.83 cm. The highest height, 21 cm, created the least
amount of force and moved the wooden block on average of 8.33 cm.
Even though I was wrong in my hypothesis this experiment showed me that there is
a point where the height of the ramp is too high which will create a low amount of
force. Through more research I learned that when the height of the ramp is too
high, the car will hit the table first. This force acts as an opposing force and
decreases the amount of force that hits the blocks.
Force and motion is all around us. You can find many places where Newton’s Laws
of physics are in our lives. Engineers use this type of information when building
roller coasters, roads, or any ramps. We also use these laws of force and motion
when playing all kinds of sports. Another place where we use these laws is when
we are riding bikes, skateboards, four wheelers, motorcycles, or snowmobiles.
Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if changing the mass of cars and
leaving the ramp height the same would have similar results. I would also like to try
changing the surface to see how much friction plays into the results.
While playing with ramps and toy cars one day, I wondered at what height a slope
would create the most force. My hypothesis was that the steepest slope would have
the most force and move a wooden block the farthest. The results indicate that my
hypothesis should not be accepted. The steepest slope actually created the least
amount of force. I learned that there is a point where the slope gets too steep and
the car is stopped by the force of the table and not the force of the wooden block. In
my experiment, setting a ramp at 8 cm high created the most force, out of the three
measurements picked to test, and moved the wooden block on average 22.37 cm.
The lowest height ramp, 3 cm, moved the wooden block an average of 9.83 cm.
The highest height, 21 cm, created the least amount of force and moved the
wooden block on average of 8.33 cm. I used a 34 gram Matchbox car to run my
test. Next time I run an experiment, I would like to use different mass cars and the
same slope height. These would let me see if the weight of the car makes a
difference on the force.