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A Virtual Tutor will help you use a simulation to design, build, and test ramps to see how far you can get a standard-size marble to roll across a flat surface. On Virtual Marble Roll Day, you'll share your ramp designs with other students in your class and predict which ramp will roll the marble the farthest. Then, you'll roll the marbles virtually, record your data, and submit it to a national database to compare with other students' data. You'll also be able to see if your prediction was correct. If you have time, you'll be able to collect materials and use what you have learned to build a ramp and see if you can equal or beat the distance the marble rolled virtually. You can also send your data to the national database and make comparisons between the data collected virtually and the data collected using ramps built out of real materials. To get ready to work with the Virtual Tutor, you'll need to make a data-collection sheet. A piece of binder paper works well because it has lines running across it. To make your data-collection sheet, take the piece of paper and divide it into seven columns. Label the columns as follows: 1) Try Number 2) Rolling Surface Hardness 3) Rolling Surface Texture 4) Ramp Hardness 5) Ramp Texture 6) Height of the Release Point 7) Distance the Marble Rolled. You'll also need another sheet of paper for writing down your predictions about whether changes you make to the ramp design will increase, decrease, or not affect the distance the marble rolls. To make a prediction sheet, take a piece of binder paper and divide it into two columns. Label the first column, Try Number. Label the second column, My Prediction.
You'll see a screen that says "Loading". After a few moments, a box will appear. Click START and select your language (ASL or English). Put your mouse over the picture of the Virtual Tutor you'd like to work with. Click to select the tutor and begin the challenge!
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