2nd Grade Explores Ramps!

2nd grade has been investigating what happens when objects roll down a ramp.  They first used wheels to make different types of rollers that would roll around the corner, back and forth as well as a wobbly roller.  They then tried to create new "tricks" with their wheels.

These wheels roll straight.

It's hard to make one wheel roll straight. It
wobbles and falls.

A lot of time was spent readjusting
the clothespins to keep the ramp up!

Around the corner!

Sometimes the axel needs to be cut once it
starts to bend.

 The next investigation involved rolling cups.  This was a bit trickier.  The first challenge was rolling the cup off the ramp and "parking" underneath.  For the second one, the cup needed to roll off the ramp and fall upside down. Lastly, they needed to figure out how to roll the cups straight down the ramp.  This involved using masking tape to keep the cups together!

We are ending the unit by manipulating runways for a marble to roll through.

Down the hill, up the hill and back down
again.

Around the corner.

 The ultimate challenge...using more than one runway!

Three runways!

Working together!

Wheels, Cups and Ramps!

2nd grade has been exploring motion!  They have built cardboard ramps to investigate how big and small wheels roll!

We made rollers that wobbled.

Some rollers could go around the corner!

Oh the combinations!

Next we investigated how cups roll...did they roll like the wheel combinations?

 One of the challenges was to "park the car".  The cup rolls off the ramp and then parks underneath the ramp.

 One of the hardest challenges is for the cup to fall of the ramp and land face down (upside down)!

Another challenge is to work together and
have the cups roll straight. 

 

Once the cups could roll straight, we taped a penny in various places on the cups to see how the added weight changed the way it rolled!