To make a marble roller coaster, each team will need two 6-ft. sections of foam pipe, cut in half vertically to make four lengths of half-pipe; five 1-1/2-inch marbles, masking tape, a tape measure, and a structure to support the roller coaster, such as a bookshelf. Prepare for this project by cutting the foam pipe in half vertically with a utility knife. Explain to the teams that they will be making a marble roller coaster with a loop-the-loop, or circular section. Each team's job is to figure out how high they should begin their roller coaster ramp and how much they should incline the ramp's slope so their marble will go fast enough to make it through the loop-the-loop.
Divide your students into teams of five to 10 students. They can first use masking tape to smoothly attach two lengths of half-pipe together. Have the students curl one end of the track into a loop with a diameter of between 12 inches and 20 inches, then tape the loop together at the bottom. The students should then raise the other end of the track to make a ramp the correct height and slope inclination to make the marble go through the loop-the-loop. Then tape the ramp into place and tape the loop-the-loop to the floor. You can also add more pipe to continue the roller coaster track. Next, the students use a marble to test the track 10 times. They can then enter the track height and loop diameter into their science journals along with the number of successful loop-the-loops out of the 10; e.g., seven. You can continue this experiment by having your students change the ramp height and loop diameter.
To make the marble drop machine, give each team a 12-inch by 15-inch box lid, five 1-inch marbles, 25 large craft sticks, scissors and glue. Explain to the teams that they should first place a V-shaped slot made of two craft sticks at the bottom middle of their box-top lid, as their "marble catcher." They should then place their craft sticks to move the marbles from the top of the box lid to the "marble catcher." Cut and use all 25 of the sticks to make the marble drop machine.
Divide your students into teams of five. Have the teams discuss their plan for the placement of the 25 craft sticks. Tell them they should cut off the ends of the craft sticks and make them any size. Suggest that they hold their sticks onto the lid and test the marble movement before gluing them on. When the teams have decided on the correct craft stick placement to move their marbles, they can cut and attach the sticks to the box lid with a bead of glue. When each team's marble drop machine is completed, have the teams predict the average number of their five marbles that will fall into the "marble catcher"; e.g., three. Then have the teams test their five marbles and record the results in their science journal.