Marble Incline Plane Lab By: Oliver Homann, Murphy West, and Luke Johnson

Question Does the height of an incline plane affect the speed of a marble as it rolls downward?

Hypothesis If a marble rolls down a steeper plane, then the speed will increase.

Variables Constant: Incline plane type(the same incline plane must be used for each trial), the distance the marble will travel Dependent: The speed of the marble Independent: Height of the incline plane

Research The speed of an object is a measurement of the distance an object travels in a certain amount of time. The equation to find average speed is distance divided by time equals average speed. By flipping the equation d/t=s, equations for time and distance can be found. The equation for time is d/s=t and the equation for distance is s*t=d. Sources 1. k6.thinkcentral.com/content/hsp/science/fusion/tx/gr6/ese_ _/index.html?page=220%5Chttp://www- k6.thinkcentral.com/content/hsp/science/fusion/tx/gr6/ese_ _/index.html?page=220%5C 2.

Materials 1 marble Painters tape Meter stick Stopwatch Journal and pencil to record data PVC pipe (an object to use as the actual incline plane) books (used as the base to elevate the inclined plane to heights of 9,18, and 27 centimeters)

Procedure 1.Lay stripes of tape in an open area four meters apart 2.Stack books on top of each other behind the first piece of tape at a height of 9 cm. 3.Lay one side of the PVC pipe on the books behind the first piece of tape and the other side on the ground, make sure the end of the PVC pipe is touching the end of the first piece of tape. 4.Roll a marble down the PVC pipe, once it crosses the first piece of tape start the stopwatch timer, and end the stopwatch timer when it crosses the second piece of tape 5.Record the time it took for the marble to travel the four meters, repeat steps four through five four more times and record results 6.Stack more books on top of each other behind the first piece of tape at a height of 18 cm. 7.Repeat steps four through five with the new incline plane height 8.Stack more books on top of each other behind the first piece of tape at a height of 27 cm. 9.Repeat steps four through five with the new ramp height 10.Once all data is collected, dived the distance traveled (4 meters or 400 centimeters) by the time it took for the marble to travel the distance to find the speed of the marble 11.Use the speed of the marble to make a data table and graph to display the data collected

Observations Most marbles curved as they rolled, only a few took a straight path A few marbles bounced as they came out of the tube If a marble rolled in a straight line, it traveled 4 meters faster then marbles that curved as they rolled The marbles speed decreased as it reached the 4 meter mark The tube moved slightly as the marble rolled down it

Data Table

Graph

Conclusion (CER) Claim: A marble that rolls down a incline plane with a height of 27 cm. will travel faster than a marble that rolls down an incline plane with a height of 9 cm. and 18 cm. Evidence: The data collected shows that the average speed of a marble that rolled down an incline plane with a height of 9 cm., was cm/s. The average speed of a marble that rolled down an incline plane with a height of 18 cm,. was cm/s. The average speed of a marble that rolled down an incline plane with a height of 27 cm., was cm/s. Reasoning: With the height increase of the incline plane the inclination(angle) of the plane increases which makes an object moving down the incline plane have a greater speed. This is due to the amount of gravitational potential energy the marble has on the top of the incline plane. The large amount of potential energy the marble has at the top of the incline plane is converted to kinetic energy as the marble roles down the hill, the more kinetic energy an object has the faster it will travel.

Further Questions 1.Does the surface that a marble rolls on effect the speed of the marble? 2.Does the size of the marble effect the speed of it? 3.Does the size of the incline plane effect the speed of a marble if it rolls down it? 4.If a marble is wet and is rolled down an incline plane, will the water effect the speed?