Clatter, zip, plop! The marble lands in the cup.
"Two seconds," Nova reports.
"Not enough," Rocket says. "But we can improve it!"
Raven tilts her head at the board. "What do you notice about the chutes?"
"They are really steep," Rocket says.
| Version | Slope of chutes | Time (seconds) | Reached the cup? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocket version 1 | Steep | 2 | Yes |
Steep chutes made the marble fast.
The crew will change one thing: make the chutes less steep.
But not too flat, or the marble will stop.
Too steep, and the marble zips by.
Too flat, and the marble stops.
Engineers look for the slope that is just right.
That takes testing!
| Idea | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Rocket gave up when it was too fast. | ? |
| A totally flat chute can stop the marble. | ? |
| Testing one chute first is a good idea. | ? |
You found what made it too fast!
Tomorrow, we test again.