PhysicsRamp madnessDavid MartinezCydeni Carter

Science Fair Project

Statement of the Problem

How does plastic, cardboard, and metal affect the speed of the car?

Project Overview

We are going to test how metal, plastic, and cardboard ramps will affect the speed of a toy car. Then we will see what affects it the most and why.

Variables

Independent variable: surface Dependent variable: speed of car

measured in seconds per foot Constant variables: speed of car,

weight of car, length of surface, size of wheels, distance from start to finish, angle of ramp, width, and height

Control group: plastic

Hypothesis

If the car is on a metal ramp then it will travel faster then it proves that the surface is faster because it is smoother than the others.

Materials

One toy car 3 ramps made out of metal,

plastic, and cardboard that are 2.5 inches and I meter long

Stopwatch Camera with video goggles

Procedure

1. Gather all materials needed and safety precautions

2. Put goggles on3. Cut plastic, metal, and plastic so that its

2.5 inches wide and 1 meter long4. Set up the ramps at an angle of 30

degrees5. Record time it took for each to get to the

finish line6. Make chart showing time of cars

PhotosThe Toy Car

The Card Board Ramp

David Making the plastic ramp

Toy Car

Cydeni Doing the Card Board

Test

Data/ObservationsAnalyzes

metal plastic cardboard1.1

1.15

1.2

1.25

1.3

1.35

1.4

Ramp Madness

Surface

Tim

e (

in s

econds)

Conclusion

We discovered a lot after this experiment. We discovered that metal helped a car go faster but the cardboard made it go slower.

Possible Experimental Errors

We think that maybe the floor slowed it down because it crashed with the floor when it got off the ramp.

Applications and Recommendations

The car ramps had different textures witch impacted the speed. Next time we might choose better materials to choose from.