At Fun Science we love doing science at home! Make your very own gravity track, using every day items. This is great fun for a rainy day and can be redesigned countless times! Explore gravity and do a bit of problem solving at the same time!  

You will need:

• Toilet and kitchen roll tubes
• Sellotape
• Scissors
• A marble (or similar)

Method:

• Cut small openings at the end of the tubes so the ball can fit through when it drops.
• Stick the tubes to the wall with the sellotape so that it makes a path for the ball to follow.
• Test your track with the marble, does it work or does it need adjusting?

Now try:

• Can you make your track last for 10 seconds?
• Try it with different sized/weight balls, what happens?

The science bit:

The ball is carried down the track because of gravity. Gravity is an invisible force that pulls towards the centre of the earth – it’s why we stay on the ground and don’t float away! Gravity is pulling the ball downwards so it travels down the track. Thanks to Sylvan Learning for this fun activity!