In general, hitting the lower area between the bottom bottles below the center of mass of the pyramid should have been the most successful approach for knocking down the entire pyramid. Except for the third pyramid, hitting the top bottle likely only knocked the top bottle off of the pyramid, leaving the two others still standing.
This activity brought to you in partnership with Science Buddies. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Key concepts Mass Center of mass Balance Physics Games Introduction Have you ever played a game at a carnival, trying to win a stuffed animal or other prize? Materials A very large room or an outside area You will need plenty of space so you can throw a ball without hitting anyone or anything.
A small, stable table Masking tape, a stick, a rock or a similar object to mark off a throwing distance Tennis ball or baseball Three plastic bottles filled with water, all the same shape and size Make sure that you can stably stack the bottles in a pyramid shape.
Most Food coloring optional Preparation Fill each of the bottles with water. The same amount of water should be in each bottle. If you want, you can remove the labels from your bottles and add some food coloring three drops to each bottle to give your carnival game some color. If you add food coloring to the bottles, make sure you do your testing where it will not be a problem if a bottle spills some dyed water!
If you use dyed water, it's recommended you do this activity outdoors. Take your materials to the very large room or area outside where you can set up your mini carnival game. Put the small table at a set distance from your "throw line. Mark the throw line using a piece of masking tape, a rock, a stick or a similar object. Procedure Make sure the water bottle lids are on tight. Stack the three bottles into a stable pyramid shape on the table, with two bottles on the bottom and one on top that is centered between them and resting on their lids.
How stable is your pyramid? From your throw line, throw the tennis ball or baseball at the bottle pyramid. Did you hit any bottles? If so, which bottle was hit? How many bottles were knocked over? Arrange the pyramid as it was before on the table. Repeat this process until you have hit the pyramid at least 10 times with the ball. Next, tape over the top of each can with strong tape to keep the beans inside. Finally, decorate the can to match your carnival theme.
You can cover with colorful wrapping paper or paint with bright colors as shown above. Why empty the cans first? Well, if a can is knocked over and it is full, it can land on the toes of folks nearby and really hurt! Why add them half full of dried beans? If the game is played outside, a slight gust of wind can knock over the cans, so you want a little weight to prevent them from knocking down prematurely. This is a quick and easy setup - you just need a small table and optionally, something to cover the table and add some more color.
Next, you stack up your cans in the shape of a pyramid. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Beat the basketball game by throwing farther and higher. Try to ignore your instincts and give your shot a little more power than you're used to.
Many carnivals overinflate the basketballs to make them bouncier, use oval-shaped hoops, and place the hoop a few feet higher and further back than the normal 3-pointer distance to make the game even more difficult.
Carnivals also use sloped tarps and block off the base of the hoop so no one can stand directly under it and make the height difference obvious. Hit the center bottom bottle to win the milk bottle game. Go for accuracy over force to knock down all of the bottles. Carnivals often use heavier or bottom-weighted bottles that are harder to knock down, but by hitting the center bottle on the bottom, you can take out all of them. Make sure to give your throw a lot of force.
Aim for the most inflated balloons in the balloon-dart game. Some carnival employees actually let the air out of the balloons, making them much harder to pop with the dart. Look over the board of balloons and identify the balloons with the most air.
These will be the thinnest and, therefore, the easiest to pop. However, the good prize tags are generally placed in balloons on the outer edges, so try aiming for several of those. Hitting the center of the base is key to winning this game. Grip the mallet with both hands as far down the handle as you can, then hold it up with your arms fully extended. Swing the mallet down onto the base, aiming for dead-center. With some strength and enough accuracy, the weight should shoot up and ring the bell.
This will help you gauge where the center of the base will be. Shoot a circle around the star in the BB gun shoot-out game. This game can be rigged in many ways, including inaccurate guns, extra-sensitive triggers, thick paper, and not enough BBs.
However, you can still win if you shoot a circle around the star in the paper. Drop the metal discs in order to win the cover-the-spot game. Drop the first metal disc on left side of the spot, lining up the side of the circle through the middle of the disc. Drop the second disc above and slightly to the right of the first disc.
Then move downward and to the left to drop the third disc. Drop the fourth disc slightly above and to the right of the third, then the fifth disc below that one. Method 2. Steer clear of ring toss games.
These are almost impossible to beat.
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