Gravity Car Derby

Soap Box Derby

  • What is a soapbox car race?
  • Which force makes the car roll down the hill?
  • Which force makes the car slow down?
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Get racetrack-ready!

  • Building instructions book ‘B’, pages 88 - 102
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Crash test!

Experiment 1:

  • Place your car at the top of the ramp and let it go! Give it a push if it does not move.
  • What happens to the car?
  • What happens to the driver?
  • Which forces are at work?

Make Predictions

Experiment 2:

  • Add 4 wheels to your car.
  • Predict how far it will go.
  • Use a brick to mark where you think it will stop.
  • Write your prediction in the ‘?’ column.
  • Test your car. Were you right?
  • In the other column, write down the actual distance that your car travelled.
  • Experiment with different wheel sizes.
  • Predict how far your car will go with each wheel size and test to see if you were right!
  • Which wheels make your car go the farthest?
  • What happens if you add the weighted brick?
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What did you see?

  • Which forces did you observe?
  • Which ‘mod’ made your car travel the farthest?
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