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Paper Chain STEM Challenge

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Paper Chain STEM Challenge

Can you design a paper chain that holds the greatest load before a link breaks? You will use a gentle pulling force to test your chain. Work with a partner if you can. You need one sheet of scrap paper, scissors, sticky tape, a ruler, a pencil and small counters. Keep the test low over a desk, add counters one at a time, and stop if the chain or holder slips. Never pull the chain near anyone’s face.

Plan your test

Cut paper into strips and join them into a chain by looping and taping each strip through the last. Keep the total amount of paper the same for each trial. Hang the chain from a pencil supported between books, attach a light paper cup, then add counters one at a time. Count the counters held just before a link breaks. Make three chains using different strip widths.

1.Which question is this investigation trying to answer?

Which strip width makes a chain hold the most counters?
Which paper colour is brightest?
Which chain is quickest to draw?

2.To make a fair test, what should stay the same each time? Choose two things.

3.Complete the sentence: A push or a pull is a . In this test, the hanging counters pull down on the chain.

4.What force pulls the counters and cup towards the floor?

Gravity
Magnetism
Friction

Test and compare

Here are results from a completed test. Each chain was made from the same amount of paper and tested in the same way.

Strip width

Counters held

Narrow

Medium

Wide

5.Which chain held the most counters, and how many did it hold?

6.How many more counters did the medium-strip chain hold than the narrow-strip chain?

7.True or false: In this test, the counters pull down on the chain, while the chain pulls up on the counters.

TrueFalse

8.Match each test action to what it helps you do.

Add counters one at a time
Use the same amount of paper each time
Measure each strip before joining

Make it a fair comparison
Keep strip widths consistent within a chain
Find the load the chain can hold

Improve your design

Now plan a new chain using what you learned. Draw the links and label one change that might help your chain hold more counters. Then explain how you would check whether your change worked.

Draw and label your design. Think about link width and how securely the links are joined.

9.The medium chain held the most counters in the sample results. Give one possible reason, and explain how you would test whether your reason is correct.

10.A chain held 7 counters in one trial and 6 in another. What does this tell you about repeating a test?