Friction and Force

A couple of groups have finished their first experiment with their lego robotics.  I shared one groups final project below.  This group consisted of Ambrosia, Jake, and Sam.  They will be moving onto experiment two.  This will have to deal with creating cars that are meant for speed.

Answer these questions.

What is friction? Friction is a force that acts in an opposite direction to movement.

What is force? Something that makes an object move

Fill in the table.  Add a new object each time to your basket.  Make your robot stop after 20 seconds.  Measure the distance it traveled in centimeters.  Try this on the tile.  Use tires.

Number of Objects	Distance Traveled	Time
1 metal blocks	450cm	20 sec.
2 metal blocks	408 cm	20 sec.
3 mb	354cm	20 sec.
4mb	110cm	20 sec.
5mb	0cm	20 sec.
		20 sec.
		20 sec.
		20 sec.
		20 sec.

Fill in this table, but try this on carpet.  Use tires.

Number of Objects	Distance Traveled	Time
1 cinder	435cm	20 sec.
2 cylinder and 1 mb	370cm	20 sec.
2 meddle cubes and 2 cylinders	180cm	20 sec.
3mb 2 cylinders	70cm	20 sec.
4 metal blocks and 2 cylinders	150 cm	20 sec.
5 metal blocks and 2 cylinders	60	20 sec.
6metal blocks and 2 cylinders	31	20 sec.
7 metal blocks and 2 cylinders		20 sec.
		20 sec.

Retry this without tires.  You can use either carpet or tile.

Number of Objects	Distance Traveled	Time
1mb	110cm	20 sec.
2mb	50cm	20 sec.
3mb	10cm	20 sec.
		20 sec.
		20 sec.
		20 sec.
		20 sec.
		20 sec.
		20 sec.

Write down what your group learned about force and friction.  Explain the difference between carpet and tile.  Explain how tires help with moving objects.  Also, explain the challenges your group faces and other ideas that you learned.  Be specific.  

We learned that the robot’s force diminished because we put more metal blocks in the trailer which caused it to slow down.  The carpet with the wheels made more friction because the carpet is made out wool so that made the wheels slow down.  The tile with wheels went farther than carpet because there’s nothing to stop it because there’s no gaps in the tile.   The wheels went farther because they had more traction (or grip) on to the tile or carpet.  The challenge was the iPad wasn't working, because it wasn't  letting us go to the the next step to build our robot.