Designing Mousetrap-Powered Vehicles: A Study in Propulsion

694 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Internal Combustion Engine essay

The purpose of this lab was to design and create a vehicle powered by a mousetrap to travel the furthest distance compared to other designs using blank. The vehicle that was created collapsed and did not achieve a certain distance. That showed the instability and blank of the vehicle. Vehicles move by propulsion, a form of energy conversion. It changes the stored form into movement. Railroad locomotives use a diesel engine that converts chemical energy in kerosene into a turning motion that drives an electric generator. The electricity from this powers the locomotive’s motors, giving it enough propulsion to move. Newer automobiles use an internal combustion engine and battery to provide hybrid propulsion. This pairing helps with the overuse …show more content…

Before building the vehicle, a sketch was performed to blah blah. It was made of three wheels, one in front and two in the back, a base made of Legos, and mousetrap on the base. Once the design was accepted, construction of the front axle began. The small wheel was placed on the middle of the axle followed by two legos on the outer edge to connect to the base. These Legos were held in place by blank. The two pieces were then connected to a flat rectangular Lego that was placed under a longer rectangular Lego. This was known as the base and where the mousetrap was taped to. After the base and front axle were finished, the drive axle was constructed. The drive axle had the same concept as the front one, but a longer axle and connecting Legos were used instead. The connecting Legos were outside the wheels and connected to a thin rectangular Lego that was placed under the same Lego known as the base. A white wheel was placed in the middle of the drive axle to wrap the string around, as shown in Figure 5, but soon realized it did not have enough friction with the axle to propel it, so it was removed. The vehicle was then taken to Trial 1. During trial 1, it collapsed due to the length and lack of strength of the base. The vehicle was modified because of this reason. The black connecting Legos of the drive axle were moved to inside the two wheels, and the base was shortened by placing it

Show More
Related

  • Mouse Pregnancy Lab Report

    1400 Words  | 3 Pages

    If a healthy female mouse gets pregnant, then excluding the weight she gains from simply growing, she will gain weight at a bit less than an exponential rate.

    Read More

  • Science Olympiad Personal Statement

    1834 Words  | 4 Pages

    “How about we use a pulley system with a weight at the end to push the car forward?” my team member suggested. “Or we could use a hammer launcher,” I proposed. We went back and forth, contemplating different methods. We faced trials, tribulations, and troubles in the design process. Building and perfecting our designs took weeks, but our coach guided us throughout the process and encouraged us to “Never give up!” We researched the effects of different factors that could potentially come in the way of our success and analyzed all of the device possibilities. Even when research got arduous and we couldn’t agree on something, we never gave up on our dream of placing in the regional competition. This was one of the hardest challenges I’ve ever faced in my Science Olympiad career, but our unfaltering dedication and our belief in success helped us persist in the face of setbacks. Once we finished our plan, we began to build the device. It was exhilarating to see our plan come to

    Read More

  • Rock Pocket Mice Lab Report

    1804 Words  | 4 Pages

    People sometimes wonder how organisms get so different from their ancestors. The answer is through their genes. Organisms over generations are always adapting to the environment. They are becoming better fit for survival to reproduce and live. The rock pocket mice were tested under different gene traits and environmental conditions to see what rock pocket mice would survive and reproduce more offspring. The different environments the mice were measured under are the ice age or desert and the different alleles that were tested were color, thickness of fur, and strength of jaw. Brown is dominant to white, normal fur is dominant to thick, and normal strength is dominant to strong. Of course through

    Read More

  • Gel Electrophoresis Lab Report

    1232 Words  | 3 Pages

    LAB REPORT 1st Experiment done in class Introduction: Agarose gel electrophoresis separates molecules by their size, shape, and charge. Biomolecules such as DNA, RNA and proteins, are some examples. Buffered samples such as glycerol and glucose are loaded into a gel. An electrical current is placed across the gel.

    Read More

  • Hybrid Cars

    399 Words  | 1 Pages

    There are two configurations for hybrid cars. The first configuration uses gasoline engine to run a generator. The generator supplies electricity to the motor, which drives the wheels, which allows the gasoline engine to run constantly while achieving optimum fuel efficiency. This thereby minimizes emissions owing to incomplete combustion. A hybrid car with parallel configurations uses both an engine and a motor to drive the wheels depending on driving conditions. "A hybrid car is an automotive equipped with two or more sources of motive energy" (http://www.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car1.htm).

    Read More

  • Hybrid Vehicles and Their Effect on the Environment

    1905 Words  | 4 Pages

    Today, people use their own personal vehicles to travel more than ever before. Personal transportation is no longer considered a luxury; it is now considered a necessity. The number of cars in the United States has been growing steadily since the 1970s. The number of miles traveled by cars has risen nearly 150 percent, yet the United States population has only grown roughly 40 percent during that time (hybridcars.com, Driving Trends). Although it may seem like we are advancing into the future, in reality, we are moving backwards from the effects these vehicles have on our bodies and the environment. The pollution produced by these vehicles has brought us to the day where we must find other modes of transportation that cause less harm to the world in which we live. Advances in technology have developed hybrid vehicles to try and slow down the amount of pollution. Driving a hybrid vehicle, instead of a conventional gas powered vehicle, can reduce the amount of pollution that affects our lives and the environment around us.

    Read More

  • White Rat Dissection Lab Report

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first step was to obtain the White Rat and to tie it in the supine position, anterior surface facing up in side the dissection pan. To tie the animal, we used butcher’s twine and secured the front and hinds legs using a “lasso” technique, careful not touch the sharp claws. To make the first insicion I had to locate the Xifoid Process of the rat (distal aspect of the sternum). Once I had located the Xifoid Process, I had to use forceps to pull the skin of the animal’s abdomen up and use the scissors to cut. The first incision is made from stem to sternum, cutting through the errectos abdomen muscle down to the groin. The second incision ion is perpendicular to the first below the diaphragm. Because of this technique we were able to open the abdominal cavity first. The third and forth incisions were made bilaterally above the legs. The last two incisions were made in upside down “V” shape on the collarbone, to expose the thoracic cavity. This dissection was both sharp, because of the use of the scissors and scapel and blunt because of the use of the probe and forceps to move organs and skin to expose other organs not yet identified.

    Read More

  • Electric Cars

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    delivering power instantly to the wheels. By providing high torque at low speeds, they give a feel

    Read More

  • Classification of Various Power Sources for a Car: Petrol, Diesel, and Electricity

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most people today fill up their car with different qualities of petrol, because that's what the average car takes. They don't usually consider an alternative for the petrol that they load into their cars. Although petrol is widely used, it is not the only source for a car to get its power from; diesel and electricity are alternatives to the general petrol used by most cars. Although different from each other, diesel and electricity are alternatives to the average gasoline received at a gas station. Diesel is a more concentrated type of fuel that is usually used by big automobiles because they require a lot of power in a little amount of time. Electricity is a method that uses the power of batteries to produce a low horsepower but, nevertheless fast automobile. Electric cars are generally created to be soundless and environment friendly. The purpose of this paper is to classify and educate the reader of the different types of fuel available for an automobile to use: petrol, diesel, and electricity. The general petrol, used by most people, is usually the only type of fuel accepted on the average car in the United States today.

    Read More

  • How to Survive Without a Vehicle

    447 Words  | 1 Pages

    Cars, trucks, motorcycles, anything with wheels and a motor, have become basic necessities in our industrialized and fast paced world. We depend on them just like they depend on gas, because without them, we would not function proficiently. We use them as a crutch to get to and from everywhere we go and if we suddenly did not have them, we would be lost.

    Read More

  • Benefits Of Electric Cars

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is no doubt that electric cars are the most appealing from of transportation in the world. They provide two of the most important key points of good transportation: reliable and efficient. They are reliable due to their simplicity of their power trains and the advancement of technology they have. They are efficient because they don't use any gasoline and because their motors can pass the zero-emission standard. Even though they may seem like a boring form of transportation, they offer good features that help keep the Earth's air clean and they help reduce pollution.

    Read More

  • Physics in a car

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to gain a complete understanding of the physics that affect a car, it is necessary to conduct a study that examines all the aspects of physics in regard to acceleration, stopping, aerodynamics, speed, velocity and the list goes on. This paper has addressed the physics of what makes a car move and some of the forces that exist when a car is moving. Kinetic energy and friction play an important role in the movement of a vehicle. Similarly, drag will affect the movement of a vehicle through the surrounding air and is measured as the coefficient of drag. Lastly, the mass of an object times the velocity of the object will equal the momentum of the object. These are all important factors in understanding the physics of car movement.

    Read More

  • Hybrid Cars Essay

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hybrid cars and trucks are beginning to become very popular in our day of time. The inventor and the founder of the hybrid car was Robert Anderson. Anderson was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He invented the vehicle in 1839. The hybrid vehicles get better gas mileage than most of the older cars and trucks. Most of the new vehicles that are being made today are some sort of hybrid or ecoboost vehicle. Almost all of your car manufacturers today are trying to create new vehicles that conserve gas which is green to the environment. Gas efficient cars are now taking over diesel car and trucks. Diesel cars and trucks usually get pretty bad gas mileage. Most of the big older trucks have a diesel engine in them. Most of the owners of a diesel vehicle usually don’t drive the vehicle much anymore because of horrible gas and diesel prices this day in time.

    Read More

  • The Invention of Flying Cars

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bosnor, Kevin. "How Flying Cars Will Work." Howstuffworks. How Stuff Works Inc., 1998. Web. 24 Jan.

    Read More

  • Transportation: The Side Effects Of Transportation And The Environment

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    The fast population growth rate of humans means that the necessity for transportation vehicles is also enormously increasing. Studies have shown that in 1999 the worldwide number of vehicles registered was 700 million. From this huge number of vehicles, the US has a large share, which includes 200 million cars and light trucks. The number of cars worldwide also grew three times faster

    Read More

More about Designing Mousetrap-Powered Vehicles: A Study in Propulsion

Open Document