Pre-Calc 8/24 Hour _____ Name _____________________

(carramp.doc) Group Members: __________________ _____________________ 

Car Ramp Activity 

We are going to investigate how the height of ranp will affect the distance a toy car travels when it rolls down the ramp. Once we have collected the data you will graph the data on your graphing calculators and find the equation(regression) that best fits the data.  

____ Step 1) Get a toy car, two meter sticks, and a wooden ramp. Measure the length of the ramp in centimeters. Record the total length here: _______________ 

____ Step 2) One person hold a meter stick perpendicular to the floor while another person holds the end of the ramp at the various heights. Place the toy car at the top of the ramp and let it roll down the ramp. Measure the distance the car travels from the end of the ramp. 

____ Step 3) You will take measurements of the height of the ramp every three cm and record it in the table below.

____ Step4) Calculate the mean and median. Indicate the values in the space provided: 

Mean ________ Median ________  

____ Step 5) Enter and graph the data on your calculator. Make a sketch of it in the space provide. Make sure to indicate appropriate labels and scales. 

  Step 6) On your graphing calculator, press STAT and arrow to the right once to CALC. Press Enter for 1-Var Stats. Press 2nd "2" to place L₂ on the screen. Press Enter. Arrow down and record the values for the following: 

x: _____________ Med: ________________________

 Compare these values to the ones in step 5, how do they compare? Why? 

____ Step 7) Using the CALC function of your calculator, find the equation that best models the data. Indicate the function in the space provided: 

y = _______________________________________________ 

1). At what height did your car roll the longest distance? ____ The shortest distance? _____  

2) What do the mean and median values tell us? 

3) Why does the equation you found fit the data the best? 

4) If you ran the experiment again, would the data look the same? How would you modify the experiment to make the model fit better? 

5) Would a smaller or larger car affect the data? How?