Bumper Tests at Red Mesa Research Station

The Sample-Tray Model

1At Red Mesa Research Station, Jalen and Priya built a safe model to study collisions. They placed a blue wooden slider on a smooth tray that sloped gently downhill. An orange foam target rested farther down the tray. A release mark showed where the slider began. After the slider hit the target, the students measured how far the target moved. They also listened for the sound and looked for a dent in the foam.

2The students used the same slider, tray, and target for three trials at each release mark. They released the slider without pushing it. In the model diagram, the path is written in words: release mark → blue slider moves → slider contacts orange target → both objects may change motion, and the target or slider may change shape.

3The records showed these results. At the 20-centimeter mark, the target traveled 8, 9, and 7 centimeters. The blue slider moved 4, 5, and 4 centimeters after contact. The sound was a soft tap, and the foam had a slight dent. At the 40-centimeter mark, the target traveled 18, 20, and 19 centimeters. The slider moved 7, 8, and 7 centimeters after contact. The sound was a medium tap, and the dent was deeper.

4At the 60-centimeter mark, the target traveled 29, 31, and 30 centimeters. The slider moved 10, 11, and 9 centimeters after contact. The sound was louder than at the lower marks, and the dent was deeper than the 40-centimeter dent. These notes describe what the students observed; they do not show every detail of what happened during the brief contact.