Mousetrap Car Research Paper

ABC Mouse is a global educational initiative that offers a full online curriculum for pre-school thru Kindergarten. The goal is to help children build a strong foundation for future academic success. ABC Mouse is a subscription based program (see their website for pricing information). ABC Mouse offers over 350 lessons, at six different levels, and more than 2,000 individual learning activities. The ABC Mouse program has received a number of awards and citations, including a Parents’ Choice GOLD Award in 2011. Go to: www.abcmouse.com to learn more about this popular new

The hypothesis about the CO2 angle will change the speed of the car was, rejected. The hypothesis was that if a Pinewood derby car had CO2 inserted at a 20 degree angle, then the 20 degree angle would work best because the angle would keep enough thrust power and keep the car on the track. However, the 20 degree angle was the second best because the 180 degree angle had more thrust power to it then the 20 degree angle. The control group was the 180 degree angle and it’s average was 1.33 second. The 45 degree angle was the longest with an average of 2 seconds. The 20 degree angle or second experimental group had an average of 1.67 seconds. I got these results because each angle that got farther from strait started to lose the amount of thrust that the 180 degree angle had. So if I tried it with a 90 degree angle then the car wouldn’t be moving at all.

The purpose of this laboratory experiment is to construct a mousetrap vehicle. The vehicle needed to go travel five meters. My partner and I build a mousetrap car that obtain a two-axle vehicle with four CDs making the produce optimum acceleration and travel.

We were given groups to design and make a mousetrap powered car that will roll as far as possible. This will be measured and be put into a graph. We will make three modifications to our mousetrap car over the course of the experiment. We have a variety of different materials, including plastic, wooden wheels and a dowel, screws, mousetrap, blue tack and a piece of string. Forces were acting in a negative way and a positive way on the car. Gravity was pulling the car down to the ground. Uplift was pushing up upon the car against gravity. Drag was also known as friction, holding back the car while it was moving. Thrust was in the cars favour, pushing forward against the force drag. There were also many forms of energy being used and being wasted like heat and sound energy. Potential energy was stored in the mousetrap, propelling itself forward. Kinetic energy was also demonstrated when the car started to roll.

3. Explain whether, during a trip, a car’s instantaneous speed (movement of an object at a specific instant) can ever be greater than its average speed.

When constructing the mousetrap car, each team member had different ideas. The group considered each idea and included it into the construction of the car. Some team members wanted to test friction, by switching the wheels of the car. The group would test CD wheels and paper plate wheels. The group also wanted to test the axle gearing. The group wanted to test this to see if the speed would increase.The group also had tested the lever arm length, so the speed could be tested. The group tested different lengths, 5 inches and 10 inches. The group tested each of these

The car, being above the ground, has gravitational potential energy. Which, when placed on the ramp, transforms into kinetic energy. This kinetic energy pushes the car down the ramp, towards the ground and the momentum carries the car forward. The wheels allow it to gain more distance, as using wheels is the most effective way of transporting something. Having only 3 groups of wheels reduces friction compared to having 4 groups of wheels.

The racer moved, but not very far. Both runs resulted in distance of 1.45 meters traveled. So at least there was consistency. One problem was the friction between the axles and the cardboard. The axles would catch, sometimes, on little pieces of cardboard poking out from the box. This problem could be fixed by used wood, instead of cardboard as a frame or sanding the axles for a smoother finish, which would allow for them to rotate easier. Also by not adding an arm onto the mouse trap, the torque produced was minimal. So to increase the torque generated by the mousetrap an arm could have been mounted on the mousetrap which in turn would have caused the racer to travel

Vehicle 1 was a gold, 2007 GMC Yukon, four door, sport utility vehicle, bearing Florida tag, 522 LWT and VIN#: 1GKFK63847J278997. The vehicle was registered to Dannieram Sukhandan, of 1318 Rushgrove Circle, Dover, Florida 33527. Vehicle 1 had a registered curb weight of 5,581 pounds.

The data logger was then set up and connected to the track and motion sensors. Three tests were conducted they were with neodymium magnets, Velcro and nothing. The data logger was activated and one cart pushed with enough momentum to hit the other cart and keep going to the other end. The results that the data logger recorded were saved and the two carts were set up again. This was repeated three times, for each test.

The final car uses a combination of a mousetrap and rubber bands. The mousetrap, attached to the top of the car by tape, pulls a fishing line which is wrapped around the front axle. The fishing line is attached to the mousetrap at an arm that was added to the mousetrap. The arm is comprised of two long axles attached to the hammer of the mousetrap which allows the fishing line to pull the car's axle for a farther distance. The long chassis of the car allows for the arm to be as long as it is. If the arm was much longer than the body of the car, the spring force of the mousetrap and the weight distribution of the arm would cause the car to flip. However, by distributing the weight of the arm across the body of the car, the car was able to maintain

I used thin wooden wheels and sanded them to overcome friction from the ground. I used graphite lubricant on the axle and axle holder to minimize the friction between the axle and the axle holder, because friction would stop my car and prevent it from continuing in motion. I hypothesized that if I built my car for maximum distance, then the mousetrap car would surpass 5 meters. The final

What makes a good muscle car? And why is horse power, type of engine and miles per gallon important to making a good muscle car.

As a group our building process was very complicated because we had so many different ideas and opinions, considering that there was three of us. One part of the building process that we spent the most time consuming was the wheels. As a group had very different ideas but, we decided to have four wheels on the mousetrap car. Our reasoning for this was that more wheels on the car would help keep it rolling for longer. I also decided that we should use thin and light wheels on each axle. We ended up using CD’s as our wheels because they were able to go a longer distance due to less friction. Using heavy wheels would have added unneeded weight or friction to slow our mousetrap car down. So, due to Newton’s laws and outside forces such as friction

MESA is a big factor of who I am today. Being part of this club helped me discover a new interest that I would have never thought I’d like. The atmosphere within the club is full of inspiration and support. Being around people that shared a common interest helped me open up, improve my mentality, and inspired me to influence others. Since I want to make a difference in my community, I decided I should run for cabinet in clubs I’m involved in.