Lab Duel
A card game for 2–4 players where the only way to win is to use the science correctly.
Setup
Shuffle the concept cards and deal 5 to each player (3 with the small prototype deck). Put the challenge cards face down.A round
Turn over a challenge: a real situation. Play a card that solves it and explain why in one sentence. If you can, say a number.Scoring
Flip the challenge: its back lists the accepted cards. Right card, sensible explanation: you keep the challenge. Two accepted cards together score double. First to 5 wins.The first three challenges
ChallengeLab Duel
Stop a car doing 20 m/s within 30 m.
What braking does it take, and is it possible?
Play a card that solves it and say why in one sentence.C1
Accepted answersC1
Newton's second lawEnergy conservation
Two of these together score double.
A winning explanationThe car's movement energy ½mv² must be removed by the braking force over 30 m, so it needs about 6.7 m/s² of braking: F = m · a, about 8 kN for a 1,200 kg car. Possible on a dry road if the brakes go on at once, not on ice.
a = v² / (2s) = 400 / 60 ≈ 6.7 m/s²
Close enough counts: the other players decide if the explanation is right.
Stop a car doing 20 m/s within 30 m.
What braking does it take, and is it possible?
Think first, then tap the card to see which ideas win it.
ChallengeLab Duel
Why does ice float on a lake?
Explain it so a friend could predict it.
Play a card that solves it and say why in one sentence.C2
Accepted answersC2
DensityOxygen
Two of these together score double.
A winning explanationIce (0.92 g/cm³) is less dense than water (1.00 g/cm³), so it floats. Bonus: water molecules, built around oxygen, hold each other further apart when they freeze.
0.92 < 1.00 → floats, about 9/10 under water
Close enough counts: the other players decide if the explanation is right.
Why does ice float on a lake?
Explain it so a friend could predict it.
Think first, then tap the card to see which ideas win it.
ChallengeLab Duel
Will a 5 m ladder reach a window 4 m up if its foot must stand 3 m out?
Yes or no, and prove it.
Play a card that solves it and say why in one sentence.C3
Accepted answersC3
Pythagoras' theorem
Only one card fits this one.
A winning explanationThe ladder is the long side: 3² + h² = 5², so h² = 16 and h = 4 m. It reaches exactly to the window sill, with nothing to spare.
√(25 − 9) = √16 = 4 m
Close enough counts: the other players decide if the explanation is right.
Will a 5 m ladder reach a window 4 m up if its foot must stand 3 m out?
Yes or no, and prove it.
Think first, then tap the card to see which ideas win it.