This 3rd grade science sheet reads like a short investigation. Page 1 shows two ramps that reach the same 20 cm height, one short and steep and one long and gentle, with a toy truck and a spring scale on each. A results table gives 10 N for lifting straight up, 7 N for the steep ramp and 4 N for the gentle ramp. Students answer three questions from the table. Page 2 adds three more questions and a drawing box, and page 3 is the answer key.
“Read a table of forces in newtons and compare the values.”
Questions 1 and 2 ask which row has the greatest and the least force.
“Find how much less force a ramp needs than lifting straight up.”
Question 3 compares 10 N with 4 N.
“Explain that a longer, gentler ramp needs less force but a longer trip.”
Questions 4 and 5 ask about distance traveled and wheelchair ramps.
Two ramp diagrams and a table of forces in newtons. Students say which way needed the most force, which ramp needed the least, and how much less force the long ramp needed than lifting straight up.
Students say which ramp made the truck travel farther, explain why people build long, gentle ramps for wheelchairs, and draw a ramp they have seen with a label.
Short answers for questions 1 to 5, including the working 10 - 4 = 6, and a note on what to accept for the drawing.
Build it first
Prop a board on a stack of books, then on a bigger stack of books pulled into a longer slope. A rubber band stands in for the spring scale, and students feel the stretch shrink.
Subtraction link
Question 3 is a quick subtraction inside a science task. Ask students to say 10 take away 4 aloud before they write the unit.
Trade-off talk
Take questions 4 and 5 together in a short class talk. The gentle ramp saves effort and costs distance, and students can usually say why a wheelchair user would choose it.
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