To conduct this experiment, you'll need a medium-size toy car or pine wood derby car, slide or similar ramp, timer, coin roll for a weight and rubber bands. Attach the weight to the car using rubber bands, and balance the load. Let go of the car at the top of the ramp. Time and record how long it takes to reach the bottom. Change the position of the weight and run six trials of each position. Average the speeds for each weight position. Calculate the speed in meters per second. Graph your results.
See how magnets are used to move trains using a paper metric ruler, tape, small plastic toy car and four small bar magnets. Tape the ruler to a table and a magnet to the top of the car. With the car's front at zero centimeters, move the pole of the magnet that pushes the car away from you straight toward the car from behind. Stop when the car moves. Measure and record the distance traveled. Repeat two times. Run three trials each, using two magnets held together by opposite poles, and then three. Chart your data.
Investigate aerodynamic design with five different designs of pine wood derby cars, a leaf blower, ear plugs, three quart-size cardboard milk cartons with ends removed, duct tape and a lightweight spring scale. Tape the milk cartons end to end to make a tunnel, and tape it to a table. Test each car five times. Hook the top of the scale at the bottom opening of the wind tunnel. Hook the front of a car to the bottom of the scale, and lay it inside the tunnel. Put in ear plugs. Run the leaf blower into the tunnel and record the scale reading every five seconds for two minutes. Average the readings for each car and graph the results to see which designs reduced drag.
Propel your toy car with solar power. You need a solar-powered toy car, a protractor, a timer and a metric measuring tape. Conduct this experiment on a sunny day on a smooth, flat surface. Make start and finish lines. Record all data. Time the car's speed with the solar panel at various angles to the sun. Run five trials at each angle. Construct a bar graph showing the average speed at each angle.