Plan of Experiment (or Game Plan!):
1. Before doing the experiment, make your hypothesis, and mark you papers.
2. You will need 2 cans.
3. At Station A: Measure the diameters and lengths of your 2 cans using the plastic rulers. Use the units of “centimeters”, which are abbreviated as “cm”. You might know that 2.54 cm = 1 inch. Record the results along with a one or two word description of the contents of the cans.
4. At Station B: Measure the masses of your 2 cans using the balances. The units for the balances are “grams”, which are abbreviated as “g”. You might know that 1000 g = 2.2 lb (pounds). Record the results along with a one or two word description of the contents of the cans.
5. At Station C: Each can will be started from the same place on the inclined plane, so each can should have about the same amount of Potential Energy. Each can will be released without pushing it. When it reaches the bottom of the inclined plane, it will have its fastest speed. So, it will have its highest amount of Kinetic Energy. Frictional Forces on the floor will slow each can down until it stops. The distance that it rolls will be a good (but not exact) measure of its Kinetic Energy when it left the inclined plane. Record the distance that the can rolls. For this measurement, we will use “inches”, abbreviated as “in”.
6. If there is time, repeat Step 5 and record the additional data.
7. On Friday, the entire class will compare all of the results and make conclusions. Using your own words, you should make additional comments about your conclusions and the experiment.