Inclined Plane -- Marble ramps

In the November meeting we will be discussing Inclined Planes and making Marble ramps.

References:

• http://www.weirdrichard.com/inclined.htm
• http://www.legoeducation.us/content/item.aspx?ap=1&art=4
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclined_plane
• http://teacher.scholastic.com/dirtrep/simple/plane.htm

Goals:

1. Discuss and build inclined planes to accomplish a task.

Discussion Points:

1. What is an inclined plane?
1. An inclined plane is a simple machine.
2. It is a flat surface which has one side higher than the other.



from Weird Richard's site at http://www.weirdrichard.com/inclined.htm 

2. What are some examples of inclined planes?
1. Handicap ramp
2. Slide
3. Delivery truck ramp
4. stairs (versus a ladder)
5. Ramps were used to push large stones used to build the pyramids.
6. construction shoot
3. Why should you use an inclined plane?
1. Requires less work to move something from a higher location to a lower one.
2. Requires less work to move something from a lower location to a higher one.
4. Building Challenge: You are at the top of a hill and you have created a gigantic snow ball. You want to use that snowball to hit a snowman at the bottom of the hill. Build an inclined plane to help you hit the snowman with the snowball (a marble). 
5. Examples of Inclined planes from Weird Richard's site:



From Weird Richard at http://www.weirdrichard.com/images/marj1.jpg

from Weird Richard.com http://www.weirdrichard.com/images/con10.jpg

Materials:

1. 10+ Marbles
2. Legos for ramp building
3. A "snowman" to be the target
4. Pictures or examples of inclined planes.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sch%C3%BCtte_fcm.jpg
2. http://teacher.scholastic.com/dirtrep/simple/img/plane.gif