”EXPLORING FRICTION AND AIR RESISTANCE WITH LEGO VEHICLES”
Short description about the project
Students design and build a vehicle that runs on wheels out of Lego.
Age group
7.-12.
Instructions
Students design and build a vehicle that runs on wheels out of Lego. First, they investigate the amount of friction on different surfaces, indoors and outdoors. Why does a vehicle move better in certain places and on certain materials? They complete the information on paper.
After this, they tune the car so that its air resistance is as low as possible. Once this is done, they hold competitions. The vehicles are placed on the floor in a line, and the cars are set in motion using fans (e.g., they are held horizontally at full power behind the cars). Which car travels the furthest and why?
Goals
Students understand physical phenomena and the factors that affect them by experimenting for themselves.
Materials and machines needed
Legos, fans.
Time needed
4-6 hours
Group size
Groups of 3-4