Ski Slope
Downhill Racer
Build the Slope
- Building instructions book, pages 24 - 54
Experiment 1: Bunny Slope
- Set the angle of the slope to 20 degrees and run each skier down the slope.
- Use a yardstick to measure the distance traveled
- Record the distance on your Student Worksheet or on a similar chart in your science notebook.
- Make 3 runs with each skier, record the results on your worksheet, and then calculate the average distance.
Experiment 2: Downhill Pro
Now, set the angle of the slope to 30 degrees.
- Predict where you think each skier will finish and use 3 different colored bricks to mark your predictions.
- Run each skier down the slope.
- Use a yardstick to measure the distance traveled, then record it.
- Make 3 runs with each skier, record the results on your worksheet, and then calculate the average distance.
- Can you use the formula to calculate the mean (average) distance for each skier?
What did you find out?
- Which forces did you observe?
- Was there a pattern?
- Which force made your skier stop?
- Were you able to use the formula to calculate the mean (average) distance for each skier?