Scientific Inquiry, Engineering Inquiry, and STEM Skills
An engaging, student-guided scientific experiment with minimal materials and space is with marbles, a timer, and a ruler. Students test how different surfaces affect the momentum of a marble. Students roll a marble across three surfaces, such as concrete, carpet, wood, and school floors, and time how fast it moves across a four-foot distance. To draw accurate conclusions, students should repeat the experiment for each surface three times as well as complete trials with a large marble in order to discover trends. A phone video may get more accurate timing and be worth comparing the time to a person physically pushing a timer twice for each trial (at the start and end); the marbles complete the paths in under two seconds.
The challenge is flicking the marble with the same force each time. Students may try techniques other than flicking the marble, such as using a ramp, to start it in motion. Ramps can be found in toy train and toy car kits. Building ramps is a great opportunity to bring in engineering, technology, and additional math. Students could build ramps with repurposed materials such as packaging found in the form of cardboard, plastic, and expanded foam. Building ramps allows engineering inquiry to meet scientific inquiry and provides an engaging STEM activity. Designing and building unique structures increases comprehension and retention of learning objectives. Scientific and engineering inquiry make the abstract principles of motion and friction tangible, which allows conceptualization of Newton's laws of motion.