Lab #2: The Spheres Rolling Down the Ramp Into the Plastic Truncated Cone (2023/2024)

You will make a model to help you determine how the mass of an object, like a car or truck, would affect its impact if it crashed. You will roll three balls with different masses down ramps of identical heights and measure how far the cup at the bottom of the ramp gets pushed when the impact occurs. If the cup goes farther, there is a greater impact. 

Initial Predictions, Observations, Inferences:

Predictions
Observations
Inferences

Materials:

• ramp placemat with ruler in cm
• plastic cup with “door” cut out
• ruler (cm)
• 1 text book
• 3 sphere with different masses: ping pong ball, red rubber ball, golf ball
• scale (grams)

Problem: How does mass of an object affect its ability to exert a force on another object?

How does the variable that I'm changing affect the variable that I'm measuring?

Hypothesis:

If I change ______________________,

then the cup will __________________;

and this is my reasoning ______________________.

If I change this variable (Independent Variable),

then the cup will be affected in this way (Dependent Variable),

and I think this because.....

              

Procedure:

1. 1. Set up your ramp and cup as shown in the image at the top. Start by putting one book under the ruler.
2. 2. Measure the height of the book, and record this in your data table; starting height will remain constant. 
3. 3. Hold the ball at the top of the ramp.  Let go of the ball and let it roll down the ramp to hit the cup.  Measure how far the cup moved because of the impact. Record this measurement in your data table.
4. 4. Roll the ball down the ramp three times for each condition. Each of these rolls is a “trial.” Average the measurements you recorded for the three trials in each condition.

Data Table 1: Distance (cm) the ping pong ball pushes the plastic cup

	Trial 1	Trial 2	Trial 3	Average
Ping Pong Ball
Mass of ball =  _____ grams	height = ___cm

Data Table 2: Distance (cm) the red rubber ball pushes the plastic cup

	Trial 1	Trial 2	Trial 3	Average
Red Rubber Ball
Mass of ball =  _____ grams	height = ___cm

Data Table 3: Distance (cm) the golf ball pushes the plastic cup

	Trial 1	Trial 2	Trial 3	Average
Golf Ball
Mass of ball =  _____ grams	height = ___cm

Variables:

Independent
Dependent
Constants

Analysis

• 
  

1. Where did the cup travel the farthest?  What property about that variable causes the difference?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What is the relationship between the mass of the ball and the distance the cup moved?

___________________________________________________________________________

3. What happens to the velocity of the ball as it rolls down the ramp?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the importance of only changing ONE variable, while keeping the other variables CONSTANT?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. a. Which Data Table had the greatest Potential Energy? Why?

b. Which Data Table had the greatest Kinetic Energy? Prove this with evidence from your data.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. If the height of the ramp increases, the amount of potential energy the marble has: increases / decreases (choose one)

7. If the mass of the ball decreases, the amount of potential energy the ball has: increases / decreases (choose one)

8. Set up a mini-investigation to prove that your hypothesis is valid; use data!

- Restate a final Hypothesis: If.... Then...... Reasoning......._______________________________________.

- Take a marble, measure its mass and record it in grams. How do you think the force it exerts on a cup compares to the other spheres? Make a prediction and test it! Review your bar graph and data tables for your reasoning.

9. Friction Mini-Investigation

- Set up your materials like before, but use a fuzzy blue cloth instead of the slick plastic mat for the cup to move across. Use the sphere of your choice; run three trials. Compare this data to the plastic mat data with the same ball. Which situation had the greater frictional force and why? What is your evidence? Use the following information in your explanation, and choose the situation that exhibited the greatest evidence of friction:

The plastic mat exerts a force, friction, that is opposite to the ball and cup's motion; this is why it eventually stops.

The blue cloth exerts a force, friction, that is opposite to the ball and cup's motion; this is why it eventually stops.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Construct a bar graph showing your results.  Use the following information to assist you with the graph: 

Title - Bar graph showing how mass of a sphere (g) affects the force it exerts on a cup

x-axis - Mass of objects (g) Independent Variable

y-axis - Distance the cup moved (cm) Dependent Variable

*Use a pencil and a ruler when constructing your bar graph*

Use this website to assist you with the graph! --->   https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/