1 - Getting Started ~5 mins
What makes a toy car roll further: a steep hill or a gentle one? Hands up for steep. Hands up for gentle. How could we find out fairly, so the answer is one we can trust?
2 - Question and Predict ~5 mins
Today's words: force is a push or pull that can start, stop or change how something moves. A fair test means we change one thing, measure one thing, and keep the rest the same.
Our question: Does the height of the ramp change how far a toy car rolls?
Whisper to your partner: which ramp will send the car furthest, low, medium or high, and why? Be ready to share.
3 - Plan the Fair Test ~8 mins
We will plan our fair test together on the board. Five cards appear: ramp height, how far the car rolls, the car, starting point, and the floor.
Call out where each card belongs: Change, Measure, or Keep the same. Then write the plan on your Investigation Journal page.
How far will the car roll?
4 - Roll and Measure ~26 mins
Watch the first modelled run. Then work in your group:
- Set the ramp on 1 book.
- Place the car on the tape mark. Do not push. Let it roll.
- Measure from the end of the ramp to where the car stops, in centimetres.
- Do two more rolls at the same height.
- Order the three distances from smallest to largest and circle the middle value (the middle number after you put them in order).
- Raise the ramp to 2 books and repeat steps 2 to 5. Then try 3 books.
Keep the same car, start line and floor every time.
5 - Record Our Results ~8 mins
We will put results on the board together. One group will share their three middle values for 1 book, 2 books and 3 books. Watch as we type them into the table and show the chart.
On your Investigation Journal page, write your three middle values in the results table first. Only after we look at the chart, add one sentence about what the numbers show.
How far did the car roll?
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