Pyramid Lab

Big Question-Is the product of force and distance universally conserved (a constant in systems other than pulleys)?

We discovered that work is universally conserved! This week, we used a ramp instead of a pulley as our simple machine. We stacked 3 books which came to about 4.2 inches and we used a weighted car that was 750g.

The column for distance represents how far we pulled the weighted car up the ramp. The column for force represents the amount of force used to pull the weighted car. We were able to figure out this number with the electronic probe. The third column represents the amount of work for each trial. To get this answer, we multiplied the distance and force from each trial. Since the numbers were more or less the same, we were able to figure out that work is universally conserved.

Real Life Connection-Skateboarding!

 As an athlete, I want to be the best I can be in whatever sport I play. This means I want to find things to challenge myself to see how good I can get. Like in the X Games, we watch skaters perform amazing stunts in the air! They wouldn't be able to perform all these stunts without the help of ramps. Skaters use ramps of different shapes and sizes to perform different tricks.