Luge is one of our favourite Olympic events to watch. Luge involves one or two athletes sliding down an ice track at breathtaking speeds feet first on a small sled. It's the fastest Winter Olympic Sport.
Your mission in this activity is to build a mini luge track using a craft stick, coins and tape. It's a great way to learn about gravity and friction.
Questions to ask
Does a heavier luge go faster down a ramp?
Does the surface of a ramp affect the speed of a luge?
You'll need
- Craft stick
- Small coins
- Tape
- A thick piece of cardboard for the ramp
- Books for the ramp
- Different surfaces for the ramp - kitchen foil/bubblewrap
- Timer/stopwatch
- Pen and paper
Instructions
Create a ramp using a stack of books and the card.
Draw a start and finish line on the ramp.
Choose what to investigate; remember to change only one variable at a time. Either use the same luge and change the ramp surface or use the same ramp surface and change the luge.
Surfaces to test
- Card
- Card covered in kitchen foil
- Card covered in bubble wrap
- Card covered in felt
Luges to test
- Craft stick with no coins
- Craft stick with one coin at the front.
- Craft stick with one coin at the front and one in the middle.
- Craft stick with a coin at the front, one in the middle and one on the back.
Record the time taken for the luge to pass between the start and finish lines.
Decide what to investigate and then repeat each condition three times. Calculate the average time for each luge or surface.
Top Tips
The ramp can be as long or as short as you want; just remember to record only the time taken to travel between the start and finish lines.
Before starting the investigation, predict which luge or which surface will be the fastest.
What happened?
If you investigated different ramp surfaces you probably found that the smoothest surface was the fastest. This is because smooth surfaces have less friction between them, allowing them to move faster. The rougher the surface the more friction acts between the surface and whatever is on top of it. Friction slows down moving objects.
If you investigated different numbers of coins on the craft stick the difference in speed is all to do with gravity and momentum. When the craft stick is placed on the ramp, gravity starts to pull it down the slope. The more coins on the craft stick the more mass the luge has. The greater the mass, the more momentum the luge creates as it moves down the ramp.
If you have time try both investigations and compare the results. A luge with more mass has more force to act against the friction, so it can maintain its speed better than a luge with less mass.
Did you know? There is a strict weight limit for Olympic Luge sleds.
Last Updated on February 12, 2026 by Emma Vanstone
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