Name ____________________________
Date ______________
Scientific Inquiry – The Scientific Process
How Does Weight Position Affect Velocity?
Purpose: - Practice the scientific process
- Discover how mass affects the velocity of a car on a ramp
Background:
Velocity is speed in a direction. The formula for calculating velocity is
Velocity = Distance OR Velocity = Distance ¸ Time
Time
Hypothesis:
What will happen to the velocity of a toy car if you change the position of a weight on the car from the front of the car to the middle of the car and then to the back of the car? Will the car go faster when the weight is at the back of the car, the middle or the front? Why? Write your hypothesis below.
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Materials:
Toy Car Ramp Washers for Added Weight Tape
Stopwatch / Timer set to seconds
Procedures:
1. Set up your Ramp. Keep the height of your ramp the same for the whole experiment.
2. Mark your starting line with one piece of tape at the top of the ramp.
3. Measure the distance to the bottom of the ramp in centimeters (cm). Record the distance on your data table. You will keep the distance the same for the whole experiment.
4. Tape washers onto the front of your car. Using only gravity to move the car, let the car roll from the starting line to the bottom of the ramp. Record the time it took for the front of the car to reach the bottom of the ramp (in seconds).
5. Repeat two more times.
6. Move the same weights and tape to the center of the car and record the time three times.
7. Move the same weights and tape to the back of the car. Record the three times.
8. Calculate the average time for each weight position.
9. Use the average time and distance to calculate the velocity of the car at each position.
10. Write your conclusions. How did changing the location of added weight affect the velocity of a car on a ramp?
Data:
Distance down the ramp = ____________________ cm
| | Time 1 (seconds) | Time 2 (seconds) | Time 3 (seconds) | Average Time (seconds) |
|
Weight In Front | | | | |
|
Weight In Middle | | | | |
| Weight In Back | | | | |
Velocity with weight in the front = __________________ cm/s
Velocity with weight in the middle = _________________ cm/s
Velocity with weight in the back = ___________________ cm/s
