Mousetrap Car

 

1- a)  Date: 1/29/16

 

b)  Course/Section: Physics 

 

c)  Instructor: Mr. Yav 

 

d)  Team Members: Neal Bretschneider and Matthew Delgado 

 

2- Executive Summary:

​This project involves the creation of a car powered by a mousetrap moving a string to turn the wheels of the car. This will show potential energy turning into kinetic energy in a creative way. The requirements of the project are in the materials list along with a few added items to improve our car. Our goals are to protect our egg, break the other eggs, and achieve maximum acceleration possible. 

 

3-  table of contents 

Project title 

Summary 

Photo example 

Design description 

Materials 

Process 

Analysis 

Testing 

Photo of final project 

Video of application 

Analysis 

Conclusion 

 

 

4- Design Problems and Objectives

​The goal is to create a car that car travel only 1.5 meters down a ramp. The objective is for us to break or knock the other teams' eggs out of their mousetrap cars. If we fail to do this then the car that accelerates faster down the ramp takes the round win. We are limited to not including any objects that are sharp or dangerous, like knives for example. This competition is meant to resemble jousting from the Middle Ages.

 

 

6- Test Plans

​To test out the car itself we will simply find a place on the ground and let it go and measure how far it can go. After that we will experiment with different hammer lengths to see which is the most efficient for greatest speed and acceleration. I would expect that a very short hammer would be best since our tires will be made from Lego tires. I am also sure that we will make at least the 1.5 meter requirement.

 

 

7- 1 mousetrap

Balsa wood

Steel rods

Hot glue and glue gun

Lego wheels

Aluminum sheets

String

 

8-Task Chart- 

Car done by 1/30(working together)

Start blog/report 2/1

Check in on blog2/3

Finish blog/report 2/5

 

For design report- 

Neal- do all the odd sections

Matthew- all the even sections of report

 

9- Use extreme cotton when handling Mouse traps. Do not use mouse traps to injure others. 

 

10- References

 

Materials-(Neal)

1 mousetrap-$2

Balsa wood-$10

Steel rods-$5

Hot glue and glue gun-$0

Lego wheels-$0

Aluminum sheets-$0

String-$0

 

Duct Tape Rocket Mark IV and its creation

Materials-

1. 1 roll of duct tape: free

2. 2 2 liter Minute Maid lemonade bottles:$13

3. 1 cardboard box: free

4. 1 cardboard ice cream box:$7 

5. 1 pair of scissors: free

6. 1 Sharpie marker: free

7. 1 pencil: free

8. 1 box cutter: free

9. 1 roll of string: free

10.1 trash bag: free

11. 1 tape measure: free

Procedure-

Step 1- Get all the materials(but don't steal them)

Step 2- Trace the fins for the rocket so they conform to the body of the bottle. Then cut out the fins and duct tape them onto the rocket.

Step 3- Cut one of the bottles in half and use the capped end of the bottle as the launch capsule. The use the ice cream box(It has to be drumsticks or it just cannot work) to creat the cone. Cut out a square and wrap it around the capped end and remove any excess cardboard. 

Step 4- Attach the cone to the top of the rocket via duct tape. Lots of duct tape. Use whatever extra cardboard you have from the cone to create mini fins for the capsule to add drag and increase the likelihood of it separating.

Step 5- look up on YouTube how to make a parachute and put it in last inside the cone with the egg going in first.

The end product^

Calculations- 

To find the height at its highest point I first had to find the initial velocity. To find the initial velocity I used the equation Vi=agt. For the time I used the given time so my equation was Vi=(9.8)(1)=9.8 m/s^2. From that I could plug the initial velocity into my delta y equation. The equation for the height I used was DeltaY=ViT + 1/2agT^2--> delta y= (9.8)(1)+1/2(9.8)(1^2). My final answer for the height was 14.7 meters which translates to 48.22 feet. However the number given to me was 65 feet on the day of launch. I think mine is more accurate since it is calculated and not estimated. 

Free Body Diagrams-