SH1685

ILS Task 1: Hot Wheels Investigation

Objectives:
• To create a toy car made of recycled materials that applies Newton’s Law of Motion.
• To apply Newton’s law of motion to obtain conclusions about velocity, acceleration, and forces.

Materials Needed:
• Toy cars (Self-made Car/Vehicle, • Stopwatch
Recycled) • Measuring tape or metro
• Cardboard or a small plywood (length • Calculator
must be 12 inches) • Pencil and paper
• 3 Books (may differ in thickness)

Procedure:
1. Set up the ramp. Start by making a low ramp (1st book), no more than six (6) inches high from the
propped end. Measure the height of the ramp from that end and record it.
2. Measure the length of the ramp from top to bottom and record it.
3. Release the car down the ramp, record the time it took the car to go down the ramp and the
distance covered by the car from the end of the ramp. You may ask a friend or family member to
help you record the time. Repeat three (3) times, carefully recording your data each time.
4. Raise the top end of your ramp by sliding another book (2nd book) underneath it. Measure the new
height, record it, and let the car roll down at this height three times. Carefully record your data.
5. Repeat step 3 for the 3rd book.
6. Measure the mass of the toy car, and record it.
7. Compute for the average speed, as well as the average force it delivers.

Data and Observation:

Toy Car
Materials Used (list all materials): Dimension
Cardboard Length (cm): 25cm
Scotch Tape
Recycled Toy Car wheels Width (cm): 10cm
Bottle Height (cm): 13cm
Ruler
Marker Mass (g): 0.1kg

One Book
Height of the Ramp (cm):
Time it took the car to go down Distance covered by the car from
the ramp (seconds) the end of the ramp (cm)

1st Trial 1.92s 0.75m

2nd Trial 1.54s 0.8m

3rd Trial 2.04s 0.8m

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Two Books
Height of the Ramp (cm):
Time it took the car to go down Distance covered by the car from
the ramp (seconds) the end of the ramp (cm)

1st Trial 1.77s 1.08m

2nd Trial 1.97s 0.98m

3rd Trial 1.98s 1.10m

Three Books
Height of the Ramp (cm):
Time it took the car to go down Distance covered by the car from
the ramp (seconds) the end of the ramp (cm)

1st Trial 1.52s 1.1m

2nd Trial 1.84s 0.8m

3rd Trial 1.57s 1.4m

Computation: (Average Speed and Average Force)

1 Book
a2 = c2 – b2
a2 = (0.3048)2 – (0.0505)2
a2 = (0.0929) – (0.0025)
√a = √0.9265
a = 0.9625
V1 = x/t V2 = x/t V3 = x/t
V1 = 0.36m/1.92s V2 = 0.36m/1.54s V3 = 0.36m/2.04s
V1 = 0.1875 m/s V2 = 0.2337 m/s V3 = 0.1764 m/s
a1 = v/t a2 = v/t a3 = v/t
a1 = 0.1875 m/s/1.92s a2 = 0.2662 m/s/1.54s a3 = 0.1708 m/s/2.04s
a1 = 0.0976 m/s2 a2 = 0.4099 m/s2 a3 = 0.0837 m/s2
F1 = ma F2 = ma F3 = ma
2
F1 = (0.1 kg) (0.0976 m/s ) F2 = (0.1 kg) (0.4099 m/s2) F3 = (0.1 kg) (0.0837 m/s2)
F1 = 0.00976 N F2 = 0.04099N F3 = 0.0837 N

2 Books
a2 = c2 – b2
a2 = (0.3048)2 – (0.101)2
a2 = (0.0929) – (0.0102)
√a = √0.0094
a = 0.0969
V1 = x/t V2 = x/t V3 = x/t
V1 = 0.36m/1.77s V2 = 0.36m/1.97s V3 = 0.36m/1.98s
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V1 = 0.2033 m/s V2 = 0.1827 m/s V3 = 0.1818 m/s

a1 = v/t a2 = v/t a3 = v/t
a1 = 0.2033 m/s/1.77s a2 = 0.1827 m/s/1.97s a3 = 0.1818 m/s/1.98s
a1 = 0.1148 m/s2 a2 = 0.1186 m/s2 a3 = 0.0918 m/s2
F1 = ma F2 = ma F3 = ma
F1 = (0.1 kg) (0.1148 m/s2) F2 = (0.1 kg) (0.1186 m/s2) F3 = (0.1 kg) (0.0918 m/s2)
F1 = 0.01148 N F2 = 0.01186 N F3 = 0.00918 N

3 Books
a2 = c2 – b2
a2 = (0.3048)2 – (0.1515)2
a2 = (0.0929) – (0.0229)
√a = √0.0021
a = 0.0458
V1 = x/t V2 = x/t V3 = x/t
V1 = 0.39m/1.52s V2 = 0.39m/1.84s V3 = 0.39m/1.57s
V1 = 0.2565m/s V2 = 0.2119m/s V3 = 0.2484m/s
a1 = v/t a2 = v/t a3 = v/t
a1 = 0.2565m/s/1.52s a2 = 0.2119m/s/1.84s a3 = 0.2484m/s/1.57s
a1 = 0.1687 m/s2 a2 = 0.1151 m/s2 a3 = 0.1582 m/s2
F1 = ma F2 = ma F3 = ma
F1 = (0.1 kg) (0.1687 m/s2) F2 = (0.1 kg) (0.1151 m/s2) F3 = (0.1 kg) (0.1582m/s2)
F1 = 0.01687 N F2 = 0.01151 N F3 = 0.01582N

Guide Questions: (at least 5 sentences)

a. How do you think the height affects the speed of the car?
The Height affects the speed of the car, The higher the height it the speed of the car increases. The
stiffness of the ramp makes the car accelerate much faster that it being shallow it depends on the gravity.
Imagine going up the car gets slower climbing up a high hill because the gravity pulls him down.
b. If you used a lighter, or heavier, toy car, will it deliver the same amount of force as the one you used?
The mass of the toy car affects the force, if your toy car is heavier it will go down faster because it
getting pulled by the gravity faster, rather than having a lighter car you will not pick up speed that much
while doing downhill. The weight of the car makes it easier to go down because it picks up speed.

APPENDIX:
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