In this project, we had to power a car as close to 5 meters as possible carrying a load of 250 grams without using electrical, chemical, or nuclear power. Everything powering the car had to be on the car and no modifications could be made to the floor. We ended up using a rat trap to power our final product by wrapping a string around the car's back axle and tying the other end to the bar on the rat trap. This causes the back axle to spin, propeling the car forward.
Concepts
In the duration of this project, there were some new physics/engineering concepts introduced. The following are the major concepts our class learned about.
spring constant(K): The measure of how difficult it is to expend or compress the spring. We used spring to help find the total potential energy of our car. oll Equation: K=F/d
spring potential energy(PEspring):The energy stored in a spring when it is compressed or expanded. We used spring potential energy to find the starting potential energy and the total energy of our car. Equation: PEspring=(1/2)Kx^2 when x= the distance the spring is compressed or expanded
There was also the concept of the Law of Conservation of Energy which states energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transferred or transformed. We used this to help calculate each type of energy.
Reflection
This project went well overall. I was able to organize my team reletively well by scheduling meetings outside of class. I also gained the ability to find and fix problems which helped when our early prototypes had problems moving.
Though this project went well, not everything went smoothly. I could have kept a more positive attitude when my group's efforts don't work in a good way especially when prototypes don't work well. I will try to do this by considering all options to improve the results. I could also split the work more evenly among my group. I will attempt to improve this by trying to get everyone to do something.
Video
Here is a video of our final car in action.
Concepts
In the duration of this project, there were some new physics/engineering concepts introduced. The following are the major concepts our class learned about.
spring constant(K): The measure of how difficult it is to expend or compress the spring. We used spring to help find the total potential energy of our car. oll Equation: K=F/d
spring potential energy(PEspring):The energy stored in a spring when it is compressed or expanded. We used spring potential energy to find the starting potential energy and the total energy of our car. Equation: PEspring=(1/2)Kx^2 when x= the distance the spring is compressed or expanded
There was also the concept of the Law of Conservation of Energy which states energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transferred or transformed. We used this to help calculate each type of energy.
Reflection
This project went well overall. I was able to organize my team reletively well by scheduling meetings outside of class. I also gained the ability to find and fix problems which helped when our early prototypes had problems moving.
Though this project went well, not everything went smoothly. I could have kept a more positive attitude when my group's efforts don't work in a good way especially when prototypes don't work well. I will try to do this by considering all options to improve the results. I could also split the work more evenly among my group. I will attempt to improve this by trying to get everyone to do something.
Video
Here is a video of our final car in action.