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Mini Hovercraft Experiment Worksheet

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Mini Hovercraft Experiment Worksheet

A team is testing how an air cushion affects a mini hovercraft’s motion. Read the experiment setup and results, then use evidence to explain what happened. Distances are measured in centimetres (cm).

Plan the fair test

The team uses the same disc, cap, balloon size, release point and floor lane for every run. They change only the surface. Each surface is tested three times, and the distance is measured from the release line to where the disc stops.

Surface

Run 1 (cm)

Run 2 (cm)

Run 3 (cm)

Vinyl floor

Short-pile carpet

Rubber mat

Investigate the evidence

Use the setup and results to answer each question. Explain your thinking with scientific ideas or data where asked.

1.Which surface gave the greatest travel distance in every run? Choose the best answer.

Vinyl floor
Short-pile carpet
Rubber mat
All surfaces were equal

2.Calculate the mean (average) distance for the three results 82 cm, 86 cm and 84 cm. Show your calculation.

3.True or false: The results suggest that the hovercraft travelled further on the smoother surface than on the carpet. Give one piece of data to support your choice.

TrueFalse

4.Complete the sentence: Friction is a force that motion when two surfaces rub or interact.

5.Complete the sentence: The air cushion helps the disc glide by reducing between the disc and the surface.

6.Put these stages in the order that explains how the hovercraft moves. Write 1–4 beside each stage: air spreads beneath the disc; the balloon releases air through the cap and disc; the disc is lifted slightly on a cushion of air; less contact friction allows the disc to glide.

7.The carpet results vary from 27 cm to 31 cm. Find the range of these results by subtracting the shortest distance from the longest distance.

8.Identify the independent variable and the dependent variable in this investigation.

9.Name two factors the team kept the same to make this a fair test, and explain why keeping them the same matters.

10.One vinyl-floor run was 86 cm, while another was 82 cm. Suggest one realistic reason repeated results might differ slightly, even when the team tries to keep the test fair.

11.The team wants to test whether a larger balloon changes the travel distance. Describe a fair method for this new investigation. Include what they would change, what they would measure and two things they would keep the same.