For our final project in physics we were assigned to create a moving car out of a mousetrap. In order to do that, the three of us had to work together and collect our thoughts to create a car that moves a certain length. We built a car using the following materials: mousetrap, 4 CDs, zip ties, BBQ skewers, straw, wire cutters, ruler, x-acto blade, scissors, cardboard, pencil and foam. Our first step in this experiment was deciding on what we needed to get and what we already had. Most of the list was stuff that we had in the classroom and we only needed to bring a few things from home. In the end we didn’t spend any money. We use a youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVNFxlEMWvw&feature=youtu.be) as a refrence for building the …show more content…
The first one we used was Converting potential energy to kinetic energy. The Mousetrap is a example of converting potential energy to kinetic energy. The spring of the mousetrap is held back with a bunch of potential energy and once released, snaps forward in a burst of kinetic energy. Releasing the axle also releases the spring, converting potential energy into kinetic energy. The spring pulls the ribbon and unwinds it from the front axle, making the axle spin and pull the rest of the car along. The second concept we used was Newton's First Law which is an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. The way we used this law in our presentation was that whenever the car wasn’t moving, it was at rest. Whenever the car was in motion it stayed in motion until forces started to act on it and slow it down. Therefore friction was our third concept. The force that slows down the car. And lastly we used momentum. When the string is released and the car starts moving it has more momentum at the beginning than it has near the end when friction starts to happen and slow the car down. It has a change in
2. Now the belt is turning. This makes the secondary clutch turn, which causes the track to turn and the snowmachine to move forward.
Ever wondered how roller coasters work? It’s not with an engine! Roller coasters rely on a motorized chain and a series of phenomena to keep them going. Phenomena are situations or facts that have been observed and proven to exist. A few types of phenomena that help rollercoasters are gravity, kinetic and potential energy, and inertia. Gravity pulls roller coasters along the track as they’re going downhill. Potential and kinetic energy help rollercoasters to ascend hills and gain enough momentum to descend them and finish the track. Inertia keeps passengers pressed towards the outside of a loop-the-loop and in their seat. Gravity, potential and kinetic energy, and inertia are three types of phenomena that can be observed by watching roller
Rolling a Car down a Ramp Investigation PLANNING When planning my experiment, I will need to take into consideration. the following points: -Fair testing -Equipment -How many results will I get? -What range of variables I will experiment with I will be investigating, by varying the height of the summit of the ramp. is raised off the ground, if the average speed increases or decreases.
Let's figure out how much force a typical car might use to push its tires down the road. Let's say our car weighs 4,000 pounds (1814.369 kg), and the tires have a CRF of 0.015. The force is equal to 4,000 x 0.015, which equals 60 pounds (27.215 kg). Now let's figure out how much power that is. If you've read the How Stuff Works article How Force, Torque, Power and Energy Work, you know that power is equal to force times speed. So the amount of power used by the tires depends on how fast the car is going. At 75 mph (120.7 kph), the tires are using 12 horsepower, and at 55 mph (88.513 kph) they use 8.8 horsepower. All of that power is turning into heat. Most of it goes into the tires, but some of it goes into the road (the road actually bends a little when the car drives over it).
- Some relevant science principles are kinetic energy, potential energy, thermal energy, conservation of energy, work, power, and forces. Kinetic energy is the force of movement. This energy is applied and increased when the roller coaster is traveling downwards. Potential energy is the force of position. This energy is applied when at the top of the first hill and is increased when traveling upwards. Thermal energy is the energy of heat. This energy is applied while the roller coaster is in motion. Conservation of energy is the fact that energy cannot be created or destroyed and that the amount of energy remains constant. Work is the transfer of energy, such
Hundreds of thoughts swarm through my head, as I think of potential car and launcher designs. It was the beginning of 8th grade. A new year of middle school, a new year of Science Olympiad, a new year of studying for my events, and a new year of challenges: my first building event, Scrambler. I’ve always been interested in science, specifically medicine, ever since I was 7 or 8. I read a book called When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a Doctor, which inspired me to aspire to become a doctor. Ever since then, I’ve been exploring the field of science and medicine through a variety of learning experiences such as Science Olympiad, a science competition consisting of several events that cater to a variety of fields in science. This year, my partner and I were faced with the task of building a mechanical vehicle, powered by a falling mass, that is capable of traveling down a straight, level track with a barrier at the end while carrying an
Question 2 Paragraph: Newton’s laws of motion affects the efficiency of a rollercoaster by revealing how to design that ride. The first law, an object in motion will stay in motion until another force is acted upon it, let’s the designers know that the roller coaster will not start with a specific amount of force. Some rollercoasters use engines, steep downhills, etc. The second law, that states that the net force of an object is equal to the product of its acceleration and mass, helps roller coaster designers know how to calculate the net force of the coaster. The third law, which states that every action has it’s own opposite reaction, explains why if the tires of the roller coaster pushes against the track while the track pushes back on the tires pushes the roller coaster to keep going.
Now To talk about the forces that allow the car to move. There are two main aerodynamic forces acting on any object moving through the air. Lift is a force that acts 90° to the direction of travel of an object. Usually we think of lift when we think of an airplane. The plane travels forward (horizontally), and lift acts 90° to that motion of travel –
I have learned quite a lot while constructing my mousetrap car. For example i learned that the friction that is active while the mousetrap car is in motion is rolling and static. Rolling friction occurs when an object rolls over a surface, in my case the CDs are rolling on the floor causing the car to move. Static friction occurs when one solid surface slides over another, for example my solid car sliding over a solid surface.Fortunately i didn't have very much problems related to friction.
Different collisions took place throughout the process of the Rube Goldberg Machine. This included Elastic and Inelastic collisions. An example of an Elastic Collision in our Rube Goldberg Machine is when the car went down the track and collided with another car. Elastic collisions are defined as collisions with conservation or no loss of momentum. This is proven by the first car which transferred its momentum to the second car thus momentum was perfectly conserved. An Inelastic Collision is seen in our project ...
This paper is a look at the physics behind car racing. We look look at how we can use physics to select tires, how physics can help predict how much traction we will have, how physics helps modern cars get there extreme speed, how physics lets us predict the power of an engine, and how physics can even help the driver find the quickest way around the track.
Brakes may be one of the most essential inventions in the developments of automobiles. Clearly, nothing can surpass the breakthrough of the wheel, but the brake system was a catalyst to the further developments of cars. The brake system has also evolved greatly throughout the years. Once considered one of the simplest parts of a vehicle, brakes have become one of the most complicated components in a vehicle. The scientific explanation behind a brake system is very rudimentary. Friction permits the concept of braking to occur.
Fig. 6 © HowStuffWorks 2002. How Seatbelts Work [online]. Available at: http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/seatbelt-spring.gif [Accessed 17th November 2012
The aerodynamic efficiency is the single most important element in designing a competitive car for professional racing or getting the car model on the front of a Car and Driver or Motortrend. Aerodynamics is the study of the motion of gases on objects and the forces created by this motion. The Bernoulli effect is one of the most important behind car design. The Bernoulli Effect states that the pressure of a fluid, in gaseous or liquid state, varies inversely with speed or velocity and a slower moving fluid will exert more pressure on and object than the same fluid moving slower (Yager). The goal of car designers is to make the air passing under a car move faster than the air passing over the car. This causes the air passing over the car to create more downforce than the air passing under the car creates upforce creating a force additional to the car’s weight pushing the car to the road. Large amounts of downforce are needed to keep light cars grounded at high speed and keep to cars from sliding around turns at high speeds.
Law two can be used to calculate “the relationship between an objects mass (m), its acceleration (a), and the applied force (f) is F= ma.” This formula is used in all of the above components in the car.