Build a Ramp

• People see ramps in everyday locations, such as in driveways and on playground slides. Show students how to make their own slides for their toys with common household materials. Stack three or more books on the table, then lean another book against the stacked books. The leaning book functions as the ramp, because it goes down at an angle. Make a larger ramp by leaning a piece of cardboard against a tabletop.
  
  

Use the Ramp

• Show students how to move objects down a ramp. For example, push a toy car down the ramp and watch how fast it moves. Explain how people use ramps in everyday situations, such as for wheelchair access, to give over bumps in roads better, or in a driveway that slants down to the road. Let kids experience their favorite ramp for themselves by going down a slide on the playground. Next, let kids try to move a heavy object, such as a laundry basket filled with balls, to the top of the slide. While they could try to carry it up the steps of the slide, it would be easier to push it up the inclined plane.
  
  

Make Ramps More Effective

• Although ramps help people move objects, they work better when there is less friction. For example, a toy car with clean wheels will have less friction on the ramp than will a block of wood. Ask students to think of how they can reduce the friction on the slide to make things go down quicker. For example, kids who go down the slide with socks tend to go down quicker than those with bare feet or those with shoes that stick on the slide's surface. Ask students to test going down the slide while sitting down on different fabrics, such as burlap, cotton or satin, and then ask them which fabric made them go down faster or slower. They should find that the smooth fabrics, such as satin, allowed them to travel down the slide faster. Retest the slide activity with balls of different textures. For example, see if smooth ping-pong balls, fuzzy tennis balls and bumpy basketballs travel down the ramp at different speeds.
  
  

Length and Angle of Ramps

• Test to see if the length or the angle of the ramp impacts how far a car can travel. Set up two toy car ramps side-by-side that are the same length, but set at different angles. Release the two toy cars and see which car travels further. Let the kids retest the ramps to see what length and angle of ramps tend to send cars further.