Choose the sheet for the learner's age. Each prints on a single page. Build the project first, then fill it in together.
Ages 5-7: Draw & tell
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Ramp Walkers · Ages 5-7
My Ramp Walker
Watch your walker go down the ramp, then draw and circle.
1. Draw your walker on the ramp. Draw an arrow to show which way it went.
2. What did your walker do?
◯ Walked◯ Slid◯ Fell over
3. Which side of the ramp worked best?
◯ Rough side◯ Smooth side
4. What shape are the walker's feet?
◯ Curved◯ Straight
5. What makes the walker go?
Ages 8-10: Predict, test & record
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Ramp Walkers · Ages 8-10
Walker Test Lab
Predict, test your walker on different ramps, and record what happens.
1. Predict: on the smooth (not sanded) side of the ramp, the walker will...
◯ walk◯ slide◯ fall over
2. Test it. Try the rough and smooth sides, and a low and a steep slope.
Try
Surface (rough or smooth)
Slope (low or steep)
Walked, slid or fell?
3. What did you find out?
4. When the walker leans onto one front leg, the other front leg...
◯ lifts and swings forward◯ stays stuck to the ramp◯ folds up flat
5. Why do you think the walker needs curved feet?
Ages 11-14: Explain & design your own test
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Ramp Walkers · Ages 11-14
Walker Science: Explain & Extend
Use what you saw on the ramp to explain how the walker steps and plan your own test.
1. A ramp walker turns which kind of energy into motion?
◯ gravitational potential energy◯ energy from a wound-up spring◯ electrical energy
2. Explain how the walker takes a step. Use the words center of gravity and support.
3. Why does a rough ramp work better than a smooth one? Use the word friction.
4. Design a fair test. Change ONE thing (ramp angle, leg length, foot curve, or a coin taped on as weight) and record the result.
Try
What I changed
What I measured or watched
Result
5. What did you keep the same in your test, and why does that make it fair?
6. Where else does a rough surface keep something from sliding? Give one example.
Answer guide for grown-ups
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Ramp Walkers · Answer guide
Answer guide
Ages 5-7: My Ramp Walker
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
Most walkers walk (rock and step). Any honest answer is fine.
Rough side.
Curved.
Gravity (going downhill).
Ages 8-10: Walker Test Lab
Any prediction is fine. In Bruce's test the walker slid on the smooth side and walked on the rough side.
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
Look for a pattern from their own data, e.g. rough side walks, smooth side slides; too steep and it slides or tips, too flat and it stops.
Lifts and swings forward.
Curved feet let it rock from side to side like a rocking chair. Each rock lifts one leg so it can swing forward. Straight feet would not rock, so it could not step.
Ages 11-14: Walker Science: Explain & Extend
Gravitational potential energy.
The curved feet let the walker rock from side to side, which shifts its support under its center of gravity. When the weight moves onto one front leg, that leg bends back while the other leg lifts and swings forward. The springy tension in the bent leg rocks it back the other way, and it repeats.
A rough surface has more friction, so the feet grip and the walker pivots on them to take steps. On a smooth surface there is too little friction and the feet just slide.
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
E.g. same walker, same ramp, same surface, same starting spot; only one thing changes, so any difference comes from that change.
E.g. sneaker soles, grip tape on a skateboard, sand or salt on an icy sidewalk (Bruce even mixed sand into his ramp paint).