Does a higher ramp make a toy car roll farther?
- ✅ Nothing sharp, hot or small
My hypothesis
If I change how many books hold up the ramp, then how many heel-to-toe steps the car rolls will ______, because ______.
You fill in the blanks. Think about how fast you go down a tall slide, and how fast down a small one. A guess is a good because: the test finds out.
Change, measure, keep the same
CHANGE
how many books hold up the ramp: 1 book, 2 books, 3 books
MEASURE
how many heel-to-toe steps the car rolls, in steps
KEEP THE SAME
- the same toy car
- the same board for a ramp
- letting go, never pushing
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
- A toy car
- Some books: 3 the same size
- Flat cardboard: a long flat piece for the ramp
- Crayons or markers
Steps
- Lean the cardboard on one book to make a ramp.
- Hold the car at the top of the ramp and let go. Don't push.
- When it stops, walk heel to toe from the ramp to the car, counting your steps.
- Your grown-up writes the number down. Do it two more times.
- Put the ramp on 2 books, then 3 books, and roll it three times each.
- Colour a box for every step. Which ramp sent the car farthest?
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: Does a higher ramp make a toy car roll farther?
I changed: Books under the ramp I measured: how many heel-to-toe steps the car rolls (steps)
| Books under the ramp | Try 1 (steps) | Try 2 (steps) | Try 3 (steps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 book | |||
| 2 books | |||
| 3 books |
MY GRAPH (a bar graph: books under the ramp along the bottom, steps 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: Does a higher ramp make a toy car roll farther?
If I change how many books hold up the ramp, then how many heel-to-toe steps the car rolls will ________________, because _____________________________________________
| I CHANGE | I MEASURE | I KEEP THE SAME |
|---|---|---|
| Books under the ramp: 1 book, 2 books, 3 books | how many heel-to-toe steps the car rolls (steps) |
|
What I think will happen, in my own words:
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Does a higher ramp make a toy car roll farther?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Does a higher ramp make a toy car roll farther?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Does a higher ramp make a toy car roll farther?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Does a higher ramp make a toy car roll farther?
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: roll it from each ramp onto carpet as well as the hard floor.
Why it works
A car at the top of a higher ramp has farther to fall, so it is going faster at the bottom. A faster car keeps rolling for longer before the floor slows it down.
Going further (7th and up): Change a second thing: roll it from each ramp onto carpet as well as the hard floor.
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.
Does a higher ramp make a toy car roll farther?
I think… tick one:
- ☐ 1 book
- ☐ 2 books
- ☐ 3 books
This is my test: draw it.
I counted: colour one box for each step, for my first try.
I found out:
Board layout
- ❓ Question (10 × 8 in): Does a higher ramp make a toy car roll farther?
- 💭 Hypothesis (10 × 9 in): If I change how many books hold up the ramp, then how many heel-to-toe steps the car rolls will ______, because ______.
- 🧺 Materials (10 × 12 in): 4 things: see your list.
- 🪜 Steps (22 × 9 in): 6 steps, three tries at each level.
- 📊 Results (22 × 16 in): Your table (Books under the ramp 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: A toy car; Some books; Flat cardboard; 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 many books hold up the ramp and measured how many heel-to-toe steps the car rolls, in steps.
- What did you keep the same, and why does that matter? I kept the same toy car and the same board for a ramp the same, so the only difference was how many books hold up the ramp.
- 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 roll it from each ramp onto carpet as well as the hard floor.
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
👨👩👧 For grown-ups and teachers: how much to help, the safety rules, and running a school fair. Science fair v0.16.1 · Checked .