Falling Buttered Toast

• Old newspaper or other paper to protect the floor
• A few slices of toasted sandwich bread
• Butter, peanut butter, or any other kind of sticky spread
• Butter knife
• A table 75 centimeters high

1. Protect the floor around the edge of the table with an old newspaper.
2. Spread a few slices of toasted bread—or toast—on one side with a sticky spread like butter or peanut butter. Spread a few slices thin and a few thick, but always distribute the spread evenly over the bread.

1. As a general rule, perform all tests over the protected area on the floor. It will facilitate  cleanup after you have finished the experiment.
2. Hold a slice buttered-side up with your two hands (one on each side of the slice), parallel to the ground, at the height of the table, and release. Watch as it falls. Which side faces down when the toast reaches the ground?
3. Pick up the slice and place it near the edge of the table, again with the buttered side up. Slide the slice over the edge of the table with moderate speed: not too fast, not too slow. Observe as it falls. Did it fall in the same way as the first experiment, or was it different?
4. As the slice lies on the ground, observe which side is down this time. Is it similar or different from your first experiment?
5. Do you think the outcome of the first test (releasing it with two hands) was the result of a random process (sometimes this side faces down, and other times the other one faces down), or would one side of your slice preferably end facing down?
6. What about the second test (sliding it of the table)? Would the side facing down be arbitrarily determined, or would one side be preferred?  Why do you think this is the case?
7. Repeat both tests with the same or a different buttered slice. Which side hit the ground this time?
8. Even if you obtained the same results, this could easily be due to luck. Repeat at least 10 more times. Do you get the same side facing down repeatedly, or does it look like a random toss: sometimes the buttery side faces up, and sometimes it faces down?
9. If one side is more likely to land face down, why would that be? Would the heavier (buttered) side predominantly land up or down? What happens when the buttered side faces down when you release the slice or slide the slice off? Perform a new set of tests to find out!

Extra: What would happen if the height over which the slice falls is larger or shorter? Perform another set of tests to find out! Use considerably different heights, like a small chair,  a window sill or a balcony. How does it land now?

Extra: Can you design a test to see if the mass of the slice of toasted bread makes a difference? Would a heavy hardcover book fall and tumble in the same way? Predict the outcome and test it out!

Extra: Can you design a test to see if the distribution of the mass of the slice of buttered bread makes a difference? Would a slice with most of its mass near the center fall and tumble in the same way as a slice with the same mass where the mass is mainly located at the edges of the slice? Predict the outcome and test it out!