Begin with a class discussion about gearing down. Remind them of the Exploring Gears lesson where they discovered that gearing down results in a slower motion of the follower gear.

 

2. Also discuss the effects of friction and how it reduces slipping between two objects. Friction is what allows a person to walk across a floor and allows a car to travel across a road and up an incline. Explain how friction is also dependent on weight.

 

3. Tell the class that they will be building and programming a car to travel up a steep incline. Show them your example car and how you geared down. Also point out how you shifted the weight of the car to increase friction at the wheels.

 

4. Allow 10 minutes for student pairs to build their cars. Have students program their cars to accelerate from rest. This will ensure that their cars don’t slip at the base of the incline.

 

Below is a good program to use as an example: