Which paper bridge holds the most blocks: flat, folded once or folded like a fan?
- ✅ Nothing sharp, hot or small
My hypothesis
If I change how the paper is folded, then how many blocks it holds before it falls will ______, because ______.
You fill in the blanks. Think about which paper feels stiffest when you hold it out by one end. A guess is a good because: the test finds out.
Change, measure, keep the same
CHANGE
how the paper is folded: Flat, Folded once, Folded like a fan
MEASURE
how many blocks it holds before it falls, in blocks
KEEP THE SAME
- the same size of paper
- the same two piles of books
- adding blocks one at a time
Scientists call the thing you change the independent variable and the thing you measure the dependent variable. The things you keep the same are the controls: if one of them changed too, you wouldn't know which change made the difference. Try each of the 3 levels 3 times.
What you need
- Paper: 3 sheets the same size
- Some books: 2 piles the same height
- Dominoes, or small wooden blocks all the same size: about 20 small wooden blocks
- Crayons or markers
Steps
- Make two piles of books, a hand apart.
- Lay a flat sheet of paper across the gap to make a bridge.
- Put blocks in the middle one at a time, counting, until it falls.
- Your grown-up writes the number down. Do it two more times.
- Fold a sheet in half for a bridge, and test it three times.
- Your grown-up helps you fold a sheet back and forth like a fan. Test it three times.
- Colour a box for every block. Which bridge held the most?
Every step is one you can do yourself, with a grown-up nearby. Write each number down straight away, in the table below, so nothing is lost.
Your results table
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Which paper bridge holds the most blocks: flat, folded once or folded like a fan?
I changed: Bridge I measured: how many blocks it holds before it falls (blocks)
| Bridge | Try 1 (blocks) | Try 2 (blocks) | Try 3 (blocks) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | |||
| Folded once | |||
| Folded like a fan |
MY GRAPH (a bar graph: bridge along the bottom, blocks up the side)
What I noticed: ______________________________________________
Write each try's number in its box. Then draw a bar graph, one bar for each thing you tried.
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Which paper bridge holds the most blocks: flat, folded once or folded like a fan?
If I change how the paper is folded, then how many blocks it holds before it falls will ________________, because _____________________________________________
| I CHANGE | I MEASURE | I KEEP THE SAME |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge: Flat, Folded once, Folded like a fan | how many blocks it holds before it falls (blocks) |
|
What I think will happen, in my own words:
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Which paper bridge holds the most blocks: flat, folded once or folded like a fan?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Which paper bridge holds the most blocks: flat, folded once or folded like a fan?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Which paper bridge holds the most blocks: flat, folded once or folded like a fan?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Which paper bridge holds the most blocks: flat, folded once or folded like a fan?
My hypothesis was ☐ right ☐ partly right ☐ not right.
I know because my numbers show:
What surprised me, or what might have gone wrong (7th and up):
Next time I would test:
Idea: Change a second thing: make the gap between the books wider, and test all three bridges again.
Why it works
Flat paper bends easily in the middle. Folding it makes it thicker and stiffer, and a fan fold makes lots of little walls that hold the blocks up.
Going further (7th and up): Change a second thing: make the gap between the books wider, and test all three bridges again.
My picture board
A kindergarten board is one page: the question, a guess to tick, a drawing of the test, a box coloured for each count, and what your child found out, in their words. Glue it to a folded card, or the middle of a tri-fold.
Which paper bridge holds the most blocks: flat, folded once or folded like a fan?
I think… tick one:
- ☐ Flat
- ☐ Folded once
- ☐ Folded like a fan
This is my test: draw it.
I counted: colour one box for each block, for my first try.
I found out:
Board layout
- ❓ Question (10 × 8 in): Which paper bridge holds the most blocks: flat, folded once or folded like a fan?
- 💭 Hypothesis (10 × 9 in): If I change how the paper is folded, then how many blocks it holds before it falls will ______, because ______.
- 🧺 Materials (10 × 12 in): 4 things: see your list.
- 🪜 Steps (22 × 9 in): 7 steps, three tries at each level.
- 📊 Results (22 × 16 in): Your table (Bridge down the side, tries across) and your bar graph.
- ✅ Conclusion (10 × 14 in): My hypothesis was right / partly right / not right. I know because…
Materials to list: Paper; Some books; Dominoes, or small wooden blocks all the same size; Crayons or markers.
Bring photos or drawings of your test. Nothing wet, hot, powered or alive on the table.
This project at your grade
| Kindergarten | Tries: three at each level (one is fine at a first fair). The table: levels and tries, numbers or pictures. The graph: a picture, or a simple bar graph. The conclusion: what happened, in their words. |
|---|
From 4th grade up, the table gets a mean column. See every project for kindergarten, or print a blank results table.
What a judge will ask
- What did you change, and what did you measure? I changed how the paper is folded and measured how many blocks it holds before it falls, in blocks.
- What did you keep the same, and why does that matter? I kept the same size of paper and the same two piles of books the same, so the only difference was how the paper is folded.
- How many times did you test it? 3 times at each of my 3 levels.
- If you did it again, what would you change or test next? I'd make the gap between the books wider, and test all three bridges again.
Make it yours
Keep this project on this device and Peabody counts down to your fair day, with a plan for each day. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Try next
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