Tristan @ Saint Patrick's School: March 2018

Tuesday, 20 March 2018

Mathematical investigation including the properties of physics!

Today we conducted a mathematical investigation that involved the properties of physics. The property of physics we used in our investigation was the elevation of the meter rulers that altered the distance of the glass marbles. Our first prototype was angled at about 75 centimeters off the ground making the marble roll around 8 meters and 10 cm.

We then modified our prototype and increased the angle of the ruler to approximately 80 centimeters above the ground. Sadly, there were no improvements of the marble's distance. We hypothesized that the marble would roll over the first piece of data, but we received 4 meters and 74 centimeters. Not even close with our predictions!

Finally, we modified it again and decreased the angle instead. We thought that the marble would roll further than the other attempts because we knew that increasing the angle would shorten the distance. We anticipated that the marble would roll further than the others. After rolling and waiting for it to stop, we quickly measured it with the meter rules and got an decent distance of 8 meters and 21 centimeters. We expected more than our given distance since we lowered the angle but it was still a great success as we achieved to modify our device making the distance of the marble increase.

In conclusion, we found out that if we lowered the angle, the further the marble will roll. This is because the elevation of the ruler will allow the marble to propel further rather than being flat.

These are some pictures of us working in this investigation: