Toy Cars

Directions: Use the following information to answer numbers 1 through 11.

Mercades was playing with her younger brother one day at home. They where rolling a toy car
across the kitchen floor. Mercades wondered if all of her younger brothers toy cars rolled across
the floor at the same speed. With this in mind she conducted the following investigation.

Question:
How does the type of toy car affect the speed of the car as it rolls across the kitchen floor?

Prediction (hypothesis):
The two toy cars will travel at the same speed because they both appear to be made up of the
same material (plastic).

Materials: Diagram:
2 different toy cars
3 books
tape measure
stop watch
ramp(1 meter in length)

Procedure:
1. get materials.
2. set up ramp as shown.
3. pick one of the two toy cars.
4. measure out a distance of 5 meters putting a mark for every meter measured.
5. roll the toy car down the ramp and across the floor.
6. measure the time it took the car to travel every meter for 5 meters.
7. record data in data table.
8. repeat steps 3 through 5 two more times.
9. repeat steps 2 through 8 for the other toy car.

Distance vs. Time Data Table

Car #1 Car #2
Trial 1 Trial 2 Average Trial 1 Trial 2 Average
Distance Time Time Time Distance Time Time Time
1 meter 1.2 sec 0.8 sec 1 sec 1 meter 0.6 sec 0.4 sec 0.5 sec

2 meters 2.1 sec 1.9 sec 2 sec 2 meters 0.9 sec 1.1 sec 1 sec

3 meters 2.9 sec 3.1 sec 3 sec 3 meters 1.4 sec 1.6 sec 1.5 sec

4 meters 4.8 sec 5.2 sec 5 sec 4 meters 2.4 sec 2.6 sec 2.5 sec

5 meters 8.1 sec 7.9 sec 8 sec 5 meters 5.1 sec 4.9 sec 5 sec
1. What was the manipulated variable in this experiment?
a. The type of car.
b. The ramp length.
c. The average time.
d. The number of books.

2. What was the responding variable in this experiment?

a. The type of car.
b. The ramp length.
c. The average time.
d. The number of books.

3. What are two controlled variables in this experiment?

a. The type of car and the surface the car rolled on.
b. The ramp height and the surface the car rolled on.
c. The ramp height and the type of car used.
d. The average time and the type of car used.

4. Using a key identify a different color for each car. Using the different colors construct
a line graph of each cars speed using the distance and average time form the Distance
vs. Time Data Table.

Key

Car #1 = Car #2 =
 Use the graph you created and the data table to answer questions 5 through 9

5. Which toy car had the fasted speed during the first three meters?
a. Car #1 had the fastest speed.
b. Car #2 had the fastest speed.
c. Car #3 had the fastest speed.
d. Both cars had the same speed.

6. What was Car #1’s approximate average speed for the entire 5 meters?
a. 1.6 m/s
b. 40 m/s
c. 1.0 m/s
d. .63 m/s

7. The data showed that Car #1 rolled at a constant speed from 1 second to 3 seconds.
What was Car #1’s constant speed during this time period?
a. 2.0 m/s
b. 0.5 m/s
c. 1.0 m/s
d. 1.5 m/s

8. What is Car # 2’s instantaneous speed at 2.5 seconds?

a. .63 m/s
b. 1.6 m/s
c. 0.8 m/s
d. 10 m/s

9. At what distance did both cars have the same speed?

a. 1 meter
b. 5 meters
c. 3 meters
d. 0 meters
10. Explain which car traveled across the floor faster.

In your explanation, be sure to:

• Use the terms instantaneous speed, constant speed and average speed.
• Include data from the table and/or graph to support your explanation.
11. After her investigation Mercades wondered why one car traveled faster than other
car. Plan a new investigation for the following question.

“What factors might affect the speed of a toy car?”

Be sure to include:
• Hypothesis
• Materials
• Procedure that includes:
• logical steps to perform the investigation
• two controlled variables (kept the same)
• one manipulated variable (changed)
• one responding variable (measured)
• an experimental control condition (when appropriate)
• how often measurements are taken and recorded
• how often to repeat trials

Question: What affect does ______________have on the speed of an object?

Hypothesis:

Materials:
 Toy Cars

You may use the space below for a labeled diagram to support your procedure.

Procedure:
Data:

Conclusion: