Middle School Science Challenge

Nicole Mayberry, Middle School Science Teacher

The middle school students were given the task of constructing roller coasters built out of card stock and tape.  The goal was to build a working roller coaster, allowing a marble, dropped from the top of the coaster, to travel all the way to the bottom of the track. 
 
The groups were comprised of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders working together.  Roller coasters were awarded points based on the number of loops, funnels, momentum transfers, jumps, and uphill sections of track, to name a few.  Students also created a video showing their working coaster in action, along with creatively defining physics vocabulary terms.  At the end of the day, elementary students had the opportunity to play with the coasters and vote on their favorite.  The top three groups were awarded prizes.  
 
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