Marbles Experiment

Background:

Motion is an action or process of moving or being moved. There are many factors which will affect how much an object will be moved or displaced. If a force acts upon the object in an attempt to move it, the factors that will affect how great the movement include friction, mass, and inertia; to name a few. The amount of mass that an object has will increase the inertia of an object, therefore making it harder  and require a stronger force to move it. The same concept applies to friction, the greater the friction, the greater force is required to make the object move. The momentum of the marbles will help move the car. Only the mass that is making the car move is being changed. The momentum of an object is determined by mass times velocity, and the velocity is kept the same in every test.

Research Question:
How does using different amounts of marbles affect the displacement of a low-friction car.

Hypothesis:
If the momentum of marbles is changed and testing them to see how far they will make a car move, then the more higher the mass (or number of marbles) the further the car will go, because there will be a greater momentum affecting the car.

Materials:

• Low-friction car
• 3 Marbles
• Four Rulers
• 1 Cup
• A Small Piece of Tape

Variables:
Independent: Different amounts of marbles will be tested.
Dependent: The distance measured.
Controlled: The same car, size marble, slope, including all materials, will be used.

Procedure:

1. Set up and arrange materials as required
2. Place one marble at the top of the slope
3. Record displacement of car
4. Put car back in its original place
5. Place two marbles at the top of the slope
6. Repeat steps 3 and 4
7. Place three marbles at the top of the slope
8. Repeat step 3

After completing the experiment it is clear that the amount of marbles used greatly affect the distance covered by the low-friction cars. The experiment went as expected, as the momentum that the marbles held moved the car just as predicted. There was one set of anomalous results, as one of the results each distance was about 20-30cm less than the expected displacement. The only errors that could have been made is marbles starting at different heights. This can be fixed if there is a marking on the rulers to show exactly where the marbles must be placed. The same sort of experiment could be expanded into a real life situation as it can be compared to cars with different masses hitting your rear bumper, and how far this would cause you to travel.
The results recorded are trustworthy, as the experiment was repeated three times, but the average would be more accurate if the results of ten experiments would have been taken, which was not the case. Although a low-friction car was used, the marbles used were not completely identical. Some had small chips or bumps, which would have affected how well the marbles rolled and a slight impact on the mass. The rulers were also old and worn-out, which resulted in many chips along the edges. This cause the marbles to slow down a small amount each time it would hit a bump. To improve the experiment, new materials should be used, so there are no mistakes during the experiment. The teamwork was balanced as both group members worked together in the completion of the experiment. This experiment showed that mass truly and greatly affects a car's movement, especially when there is little friction. For further inquiry, greater amounts of marbles should be used, different heights be tested, and different surfaces be tested.