The Story of Sam and the Toy Car

Once upon a time, there was a girl called Sam.

Just like her friends, Sam loved playing with toys.

One day, Sam’s Grandparents bought her a present.

It was a bright red toy car.

Sam loved her new toy car.There was only one problem:

Some of the children at school were always showing off to Sam about how great their toys were. Sam wanted to show them that her toy car was good too.

Sam had a think …

I want my car to look really fast…

Sam had a think …

I want my car to look like it can go a long way…

T I M E O U T

Talk to your teacher:

How can Sam make her car go fast?

How can she make it travel a long way?

Sam’s best friend Mel came up with a brilliant idea …

Why don’t you send the car down a ramp? That will make it go fast.

Sam’s friend Jin had another great plan…

After sending the car down a ramp, let it travel across a smooth surface….

(He’s so clever..)

If it moves along a bumpy surface, it will slow down quickly. This is because of : F R I C T I O N

T I M E O U T

Your teacher will show you what FRICTION means…

Look at the photos on the next few slides.

You need to decide which is the best surface for Sam to test her car on.

Which surface will the car go fastest along?

This means it has hardly any friction.

Which surface will the car go slowest along?

This means that it has a lot of friction.

1) The Classroom Carpet

2) The Classroom Tiles

3) The Doormat Outside the Doors

4) The Walkway

6) The Playground Tiles

7) The Sand Pit

8) The Grass

You are now going to test your predictions …

Have a look at the worksheet that follows…

Testing diff erence surfaces for

F R I C T I O N:

How far does the car travel after coming down a ramp?

Rules to make it a fair test:

1. Put your ramp at a height of a 30cm ruler. 2. Don’t push the car down, just let it go. 3. I f the car slides off the side of the ramp, test again. 4. Always use the same car and the same ramp.

Type of Surface Picture of Surface Distance car

travels in c.m. Classroom Carpet

Classroom tiles

Rug outside doors

Walkway floor

Sand Pit

Playground floor

Grass

Which surf ace had the most f riction? Which surf ace had the least f riction?