Hooked on Science: Pool-noodle marble run

Materials

• Pool noodle
• Box cutter
• Double-sided tape
• Marbles

Instructions

• STEP 1: Have an adult use the box cutter to cut the pool noodle down the center, in half, lengthwise.
• STEP 2: Using the double-sided tape, attach one of the pool noodle halves to the wall to design a marble run that converts energy from one form to another. Make sure the start of the pool noodle is higher than the end of the pool noodle.
• STEP 3: Hold the marble at the start of the pool noodle. Release the marble and observe. What happened? Why?
• STEP 4: Rearrange the pool noodle on the wall to design a different marble run that converts energy from one form to another. Make sure the start of the pool noodle is higher than the end of the pool noodle.
• STEP 5: Hold the marble at the start of the pool noodle. This time, push the marble with more force, and observe. What happened? Why? Can a pattern be used to predict future motion of the marble?

Explanation

When holding the marble at the top of the marble run, the marble experiences potential energy. Potential energy is stored energy. Once the marble is released, gravity pulls the marble down, and potential energy is transformed to kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is energy of motion.

Jason Lindsey is a science outreach educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website www.hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments.