Testing materials (1)
Answers are for parents and teachers.
1
Try bending a paper strip, a card strip and a plastic strip. Which is most flexible? Which is stiffest?
Paper is usually most flexible; card or plastic is stiffer. Accept answers based on what the child tried.
2
Draw a table with two columns: ‘Material’ and ‘Coins held’. Do a bridge test at home with two or three materials and fill it in.
Any honest results. Check the child writes the material in one column and the number of coins in the other.
3
Tell a grown-up what ‘fair test’ means and one thing you would keep the same.
Changing only one thing and keeping the rest the same; for example the size of the strips or the coins.
4
Predict: will a paper bridge hold more coins if you fold it into a zigzag? Test it and write what happened.
Folding usually makes the bridge stronger. Accept any honest result.