Freddie’s Car Test
Shared Reading Books · Science · Year 1Freddie wants his red toy car to reach a pretend garage. Sometimes it stops too soon. Mr Brook brings a low ramp, a smooth board and a strip of carpet. “What could make the journey different?” he asks.
Freddie feels the two surfaces with his hand. The board is smooth. The carpet feels rough and soft. He predicts that the car will travel farther on the board. Now they need to check.
They set the low ramp in place. Freddie lets the car go from the top without a push. It rolls onto the board and travels towards the garage. Mr Brook marks where it stops.
They keep the same car, ramp height and starting place. This time the car rolls off the ramp onto carpet. The car stops sooner. Freddie looks closely. They changed the surface, rather than changing everything at once.
On the next turn, Freddie gives the car an extra shove. It travels farther. “The surface must be different!” he begins. Then he remembers his hand. An extra push has changed their test too.
They try again with a careful release and no shove. Mr Brook explains that friction is a force between touching surfaces that can oppose movement. In their test, the carpet slows this car more than the board.
They repeat each run and compare the stopping places. The car does not stop on exactly the same spot every time. Still, a pattern appears. On the board it usually travels farther in these conditions.
Freddie draws the car and both surfaces. He chooses the board for his pretend garage game. “I need to notice the surface and how I let go,” he says. A careful test helps him explain his rolling car.