Brodyn B -- Blogmeister

Brody B

Science

Mr. Woolcock

10/5/11

In science we are making mousetrap racers I am using a 1foot and 5 inch by 5 inch by 1 inch piece of wood that narrows down to 3 inches in the front. My car with have small plastic tires in the front for wheels that have a 3 cm diameter. In the back of the car I will have 3 inch wide model car tires. I will use a piece of copper to extend the length of the mousetraps snapper bar for better distance and less force. I will also have a spoiler add on to give it better aerodynamics. Another part of my racer with be the guide wheels to help get the car around the corner. There will be two 4 ½ inch CD’s on dowel rods that are going to be out on two pieces of 3inch by 1inch plywood coming out from the right side of the car. At the front there will be two smaller CD’s that are approximately 2 ½ inches in diameter for front guide wheels. They also will be on dowel rods glued between two pieces of s inch by 1 in plywood. The final material I will use is fishing line to attach to the extended snapper bar that also will wrap around the axles that will be made of metal. Those are the materials I will be using.

I am going to assemble my car by first taking the piece of wood and cutting it so that it narrows down from 5 inches to 3 inches. After that I will hot glue the mouse trap on to the wood near the center. Before that I will wield the copper extension on the snapper bar. Next I will use eye bolts to hold my custom built axles in place. The next thing I will do is place the wheels on the axles after putting spacers on to keep the axle from sliding around. My next step will be to make a spoiler out of metal that I will attach to the rear of the racer. I will attach it with either hot glue or small screws.

               Next I will cut a small hole near the rear of the car to put the fishing line through that will attach to the axle. Next I will have to attach the four pieces of 3 by 1 inch plywood to the side of the car with hot glue. The next thing I will have to do is hot glue the dowel rod in place between the two pieces of plywood. Then do the same thing to the front of the car with the smaller CD’s. That is how I plan to build my car. I also might make a steering system if I have available time.

              I plan on negotiating the 90 degree turn by making a self guiding system of wheels that will roll along the wall. I will need to set my car along the wall at the starting line so the wall can help guide my car along the wall. By making the discs free moving I will be using rolling friction to help me along the wall. My extended arm will give me more distance to help me get enough speed to get around the corner because without enough speed my car wouldn’t be able to get around the turn. I also added the spoiler to give me better aerodynamics for more speed to help get around the turn. I added the front guide wheels to help if the car goes into the other wall to help turn it straight again. That is how I plan to get around the turn.

               One of the many science concepts used in my mousetrap racer is friction. It plays a main factor in my mousetrap racer. There is 3 main types of friction used in a mousetrap racer static, rolling, and drag. Static friction helps the wheels of the car hold on to the surface it goes over. Static friction also helps the wheels so they don’t slip on the surface. When using my mousetrap racer I will be using rolling friction while my wheels are spinning along the ground and are gradually slowing down thanks to rolling friction and some static friction. I will also be using rolling friction when my guide wheels are going along the wall as they roll they lose momentum because of rolling friction.

The last type of friction involved is drag which is the air going against my racer. Drag slows my whole car by pushing against it. The faster my car goes the more energy I need to push against the airflow. Drag is usually a bad type of friction but it could help me by slowing my car down by the end so it stops in the finishing area. That is how friction is a very important part of my mousetrap racer.