St. Francis’ Canossian College How does the texture of material affect the distance that a car moves?

Hypothesis The car will run longer distances on slippery surfaces.

Materials Needed Plastic Cover x 1 Cardboard x 1 Cloth x 1 Sand Paper x 1 Carton Board x 1 Toy Car x 1 Slide x 1 Ruler x 1

Procedures (Step one) Use a cardboard to make the slide and place it against the end of the track.

Procedures (Step two) Place the car on the top of the slide

Procedures (Step three) Release the car and allow it to run. The car

Procedures (Step Four) Measure the distance that the car runs on the track. Record the distances that the car runs on different surfaces.

Type of the surfaces Moving Distance (cm) 1st2nd3rd4th5th6thAverage Plastic Cover Cardboard Cloth Sand Paper Carton Board The texture of material of the surface affects the car moves

Bar Chart According to the data, the car runs on a piece of cardboard gets the longest distance and runs the shortest on a piece of cloth.

Errors 1. There were paper wastes on the carton board. 2. The position of the starting point might be the same. 3. The surfaces of the materials were not long enough. 4. We used adhesive tape to link up the materials might affect the result. 5. There were some spaces between the slide and the track.

Improvements 1.Use a piece of ready-made carton board with groves on it. 2.Try to measure the distance that the car runs on different surfaces more accurately.

Conclusion A car runs a shorter distance on a rougher surface like carton board. This means that there is a larger friction. It proved our hypothesis which is shown at first.

Application When the humidity is high, the floor will become slippery. It is dangerous when we walk on it. If we place a rough carpet on the floor, it will be safer to walk on it.

The End