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Marble Roller Coaster Energy Lab

Build a marble track with hills and a loop, and measure how height, friction and energy change the ride.

Grade 6BuildExperimentScience OlympiadEngineeringSciencePhysicsEnergyEngineeringIntermediate1 to 1.7 hr6 materials

What you'll learn

  • Describe potential and kinetic energy
  • Measure travel time and average speed
  • Explain why the first hill must be the tallest

Objective

Build a marble roller coaster, and use timing data to see how energy changes as the marble rolls.

STEM concepts

Potential energyKinetic energyFrictionEnergy loss
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Materials and safety
Step-by-step instructions
Prediction, test sheet and results
Why does it work, challenge and project report

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