Road Test: Hot Wheels Science Lab Goes the Distance at Bush Elementary

The race was on in Najwa Bueche’s fourth-grade science class at Bush Elementary, where Hot Wheels weren’t just speeding down ramps, they were teaching lessons about friction. In this exciting science lab on contact forces, students put the pedal to the metal and learned how friction can affect the distance a model car travels.

Students tested cars going down ramps covered in different materials to see how friction affects not only the speed of the car but also the distance it travels. 

“I like that we can discover how fast the cars go, like when they stop and the friction,” fourth-grader Harsith Nagari said.

Students measured how far their cars could travel on six ramps, each lined with a different material. From carpet and corrugated cardboard to crinkled foil and sandpaper, these scientists discovered how both the surface and the wheels play a role in the outcome.

“I wish I had one of these tracks at home because it's super fun to learn about friction,” fourth-grader Changyu Yang said.

Sador Zeray discovered that the cars go faster on the “flatter” carpet. On one of her group’s test runs, on the carpeted track, they measured the car traveling a distance of 120 centimeters.

“The carpet is much slower because it has more friction,” Zeray said. “I think the thickness has something to do with it.”

Bueche said that the district-provided resource that they use for science is a phenomenon-based curriculum, Savvas.

“It’s how we approach science,” Bueche said. “The students are making all of the discoveries and connections. I limited what I taught in this unit because the students are discovering and making the connections themselves. They'll remember this.”

Fourth-grader Greyson Johnson made his own personal connection about friction during his group’s discussion.

“It reminds me of when we kick a soccer ball in the tall grass, it doesn't go as far,” Johnson said.

Friction may be a drag, but the excitement in the room proved this lesson hit the ground running and was a clear success.

“They may not remember everything I teach them, but they'll remember this lab and this experience,” Bueche said.