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 · Tumbling Toy · Ages 5-7
My Tumbling Toy
Watch your tumbler go down the ramp, then draw and circle.
1. Draw your tumbler on the ramp. Draw an arrow to show which way it went.
2. What did the tumbler do?
◯ Rolled◯ Slid◯ Flipped over and over
3. Just before a flip, where was the marble?
◯ Top end◯ Bottom end
4. Does it flip on a flat table?
◯ Yes◯ No
5. What makes the tube flip?
Ages 8-10: Predict, test & record
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Tumbling Toy · Ages 8-10
Tumbler Test Lab
Predict, test your tumbler on different ramps, and record what happens.
1. Predict: if you make the ramp steeper, the tumbler will...
◯ flip faster◯ flip slower◯ flip the same
2. Test it. Move the box to change how steep the ramp is. Count the seconds from start to bottom.
Try
Ramp (low, medium, steep)
Seconds to the bottom
Flipped, slid or stopped?
3. What did you find out?
4. Just before each flip, the marble is at the...
◯ upper end of the tube◯ lower end of the tube◯ middle of the tube
5. Why do you think the marble makes the tube flip over?
Ages 11-14: Explain & design your own test
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Tumbling Toy · Ages 11-14
Tumbler Science: Explain & Extend
Use what you saw on the ramp to explain the tumbler and plan your own test.
1. The turning force that flips the tumbler over is called...
◯ torque◯ friction◯ buoyancy
2. Explain why the tumbler flips each time the marble reaches the lower end. Use the words center of mass and pivot.
3. Where does the tumbler's energy come from, and why does it stop when it reaches the bottom?
4. Design a fair test. Change ONE thing (ramp angle, tube length, or ball size) and measure the result.
Try
What I changed
What I measured
Result
5. What did you keep the same in your test, and why does that make it fair?
6. Where else does moving weight make something tip, roll or turn over? Give one example.
Answer guide for grown-ups
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Tumbling Toy · Answer guide
Answer guide
Ages 5-7: My Tumbling Toy
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
Flipped over and over (end over end).
Bottom end.
No. It needs a ramp (a slope) so the marble can roll down.
The marble rolling to the low end (its weight pulls the tube over).
Ages 8-10: Tumbler Test Lab
Any prediction is fine. Usually a steeper ramp makes it flip faster, until it gets so steep the tumbler slides instead.
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
Look for a pattern from their own data, e.g. steeper ramp = fewer seconds; too flat and it stops; too steep and it may slide.
Lower end of the tube.
The marble rolls to the low end. Its weight is then past the bottom corner touching the ramp, so it pulls the tube over that corner. Then the other end is low and it happens again.
Ages 11-14: Tumbler Science: Explain & Extend
Torque.
When the marble rolls to the lower end, the toy's center of mass moves past the pivot (where the lower end touches the ramp). Gravity then makes a torque about that pivot, so the toy turns half a turn. The old upper end becomes the new lower end and the cycle repeats.
From its height on the ramp (gravitational potential energy). Each flip drops it a little lower; some energy is lost to bumps, sound and friction. At the bottom there is no more slope, so nothing makes the marble roll to one end and it stops.
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
E.g. same tumbler, same ramp surface, same starting spot, same release. Only one thing changes, so any difference in the result comes from that one change.
E.g. a Slinky walking down stairs, a boat tipping when everyone moves to one side, a truck tipping when its load slides on a turn.