sci
™
eed
What You N
cardboard
• large piece of
bout
or foam core (a
)
es
20 x 30 inch
• ruler
• masking tape
ials (things
• building mater
n paper,
like constructio
bes,
paper towel tu
, cloth,
sandpaper, yarn
ge, clay)
on
cotton balls, sp
• marble
e
d
i
R
Marble
Scoop
Engineering e marble, you need
eed of th
e of the
To slow the sp
things: the angl
o
tw
t
ou
ab
k
to thin
per the
tion.The stee
ramps and fric
ill speed up.
w
e
bl
ar
re the m
ramps, the mo
the less the
p the ramps,
The less stee
arble moves
d up. As the m
marble will spee
between
o
e is fricti n
er
th
p,
m
ra
a
n
dow
n is a
the ramp. Frictio
the marble and
when
s
en
pp
ha
rce that
dragging fo
t each other.
r slide agains
objects roll o
e friction
es produce mor
Rough surfac
u roll a
yo
if
surfaces. So
than smooth
like a ramp
e,
ac
rf
su
a rough
marble across
ill be more
paper, there w
covered in sand
did you
w it down. How
as slow
friction to slo
as
w
it
e ride so
bl
ar
m
ur
yo
n
desig
as possible?
marble.
er ride for a
st
a
o
c
r
e
ll
o
slow, so it
1 Design a r
your marble go
ve
ha
to
is
al
The go
from the
possible to go
as
ng
lo
as
s
ke
ta
ttom.
ard to the bo
top of the bo
board.
p a marble ride
u
t
se
t
rs
Fi
2
board or foam
Lean the card
wall.
core against a
bottom is
Make sure the
m the wall.
8 inches fro
n you do
design.What ca
3 Plan your
the marble?
to slow down
ing!
4 Start build
Ride,
to your Marble
rt
pa
w
ne
a
d
u ad
5 Each time yo
ur marble.
test it with yo
ble to
takes your mar
it
ng
lo
w
ho
the table
ready, time
your result in
rd
6 When you’re
o
c
re
n
he
T
finish.
go from start to
this sheet.
on the back of
It!
n
g
i
s
e
Red
Make changes to your
Marble Ride so it lasts
longer.What other
materials can you add to
slow down the marble?
What changes can you
make to increase
friction? Choose one
thing to change (that’s
the variable) and make
a prediction.Then
test it and send your
results to ZOOM.
Sent i n by Jenny, Anna, Erin, Becky, Jessica, and Jackie of Page, AZ
© 2003 WGBH Educational Foundation. All rights reserved. ZOOM and the ZOOM words and related indicia are trademarks of the WGBH
Educational Foundation. Used with permission. ZOOM is produced by WGBH Boston. Funding for ZOOM is provided by the National Science
Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations
expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. All submissions
become the property of ZOOM and will be eligible for inclusion in all ZOOMmedia.This means that we can share your ideas with other
ZOOMers on TV, the Web, in print materials, and in other media. So, send it to ZOOM.Thanks! Illustrations by Stephen Schudlich.
Engineer’s Notebook
Marble Ride
TM/© 2003 WGBH Educational Foundation.
.
e
d
i
r
e
l
b
r
a
m
y
Here’s m
s.)
and label the part
(Draw your design
ZOOM !
Send It to ur
design at
TM
Tell us about yo
om
pbskids.org/zo
Test your Marble Ride three times and record the times
below.Then figure out your average time.
Trial 1
Time
(in seconds)
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average Time
(Add each time
together.Then
divide the sum by 3.)