Physics Egg Crash and Car Speed labs Middle School Science

Written in word so you can easily make changes for your class!
Protect the egg!!! **
The first lesson aims to inspire your students through an exciting STEM challenge: they will design and construct a car for the grumpy Humpy Dumpty! Their designs must adhere to Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. Students will thoroughly enjoy exploring how mass and force influence motion in this captivating and informative STEM project.
Using Newton’s Laws of Motion, Engineering Design Processes, students will design, build and test a car made of materials selected by you to protect their egg when the car crashes into the wall!

Racing to Measure

If you send a toy car down a ramp at what ramp angle will the car travel the farthest when it hits the ground? Use your protractor and your tape measure to find out.
Start by setting up a series of ramps at different angles. Make sure each ramp is securely positioned to ensure accurate and repeatable results. Measure and record the angle of each ramp using your protractor.
Next, release the toy car from the top of each ramp and let it travel down and off the end. Use your tape measure to record the distance the car travels from the end of the ramp to the point where it first contacts the ground. Repeat this process several times for each angle to ensure consistency and reliability in your measurements.
Analyze your data to determine which ramp angle allowed the toy car to travel the farthest distance. You may find that there is an optimal angle that provides the best balance of speed and trajectory for maximum travel distance. This experiment will help you understand the principles of physics, such as gravity, friction, and motion, that influence the car’s performance.