Home Lab 4.

Tortoise and the Hare

STEP 1 The RACE: Find 2 companions in your house to perform the activity since we need 3
persons, find an open space, like a balcony or a backyard for a race course that is about 50 feet
long. You and your companions will be recreating the famous “Tortoise and the Hare” race, so
one member will be the slow and steady Tortoise while another member will be the super-
fast Hare. The third group member will be the timekeeper/ referee. The racers will line up at
the start and each should have a cup of clay balls or crumpled papers. After the timekeeper
says “go” the Tortoise will walk very slow while the Hare will walk fast. Every three seconds
the timekeeper will say “drop” and each of the racers will drop a clay ball. Now the important
part… When the Hare nears the finish line, he/she needs to stop walking, but continue to drop
the clay balls/ crumpled papers when told to do so. The Hare will remain stationary until the
Tortoise crosses the finish line and then the Hare can finish the race (supporting the moral
that “slow and steady” wins the race”

STEP 2 DATA COLLECTION: Using a meter stick or measuring tape record the distance of each
clay balls/ crumpled papers from the start line. Be sure to record the distances in the same
order that the clay balls/ crumpled papers were dropped.

1 General Physics I
2 General Physics I