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This term students in Year 3 have been learning about forces, friction, and gravity during their inquiry classes.

Students tested the effect of friction on different materials by rolling a toy car down a ramp. Each ramp was covered with a different material - aluminium foil, plastic, corrugated cardboard, carpet, and sandpaper. First the students predicted which material would create the most friction for the car, then they tested the surfaces. The ramp was raised one centimetre at a time. The car had to completely roll off the ramp. The highest ramp was the material that created the most friction.

To test the effect of air resistance on gravity, the students created two identical ‘zoob dudes’ from zoob construction pieces and tied one of them to a tissue paper parachute. Both ‘zoob dudes’ were dropped from the same height and at the same time. The students discovered that the dude with the parachute fell at a slower rate than the dude without a parachute. The air resistance on the parachute affected the force of gravity.