How to make a Mousetrap Car. Arnold Corral Jr. Estefani Meda Daniel Pajulas Brianna Santana

Transcription

1 How to make a Mousetrap Car Arnold Corral Jr. Estefani Meda Daniel Pajulas Brianna Santana

2 Mousetrap? Yes you heard right, this car is powered with a mousetrap. So put away that car motor as we take you through how to make your own mousetrap car! Disclaimer: This is not a real car you can drive around in.

3 The science behind this? Friction Kinetic Energy Potential Energy Torque Power Force

4 What is Friction? Friction is the force that opposes the relative motion of two surfaces in contact. In this case, friction is bad because it would slow down the car.

5 What is Potential Energy? Potential energy is the energy stored in the object This energy has the potential to do work PE=mgh Potential energy is equal to the difference in kinetic energy Potential energy is the car in its starting position with the mousetrap set

6 What is Kinetic Energy? Kinetic energy is the energy the object possesses due to its motion It is the work needed to accelerate a body from rest KE=1/2mv^2 We need lots of kinetic energy so that the car can go up the ramp

7 What is Torque? Torque can be thought of as rotational force or angular force that causes a change in rotational motion. In the mousetrap car, the arm would pull the string on the drive axle. The pulling of the string produces torque around the axle.

8 What is Power? Power is the rate at which work is done The mousetrap provides the same amount of power every time It depends on the car you built that determines that that power will be used Other forces and aspects can affect the power

9 What is Force? Force is an action that causes a mass to accelerate We are using the force of the mousetrap trigger to cause the wheels to turn. We also need enough force to make the car go up the ramp.

10 Now that we know this... Let s build the car!

11 Step 1: Get Materials! We used: A Victor Mousetrap Empty pen casings A bird lawn decoration Wire Mini-CDs A wine cork PlayDoh lids Hemp string Skewers Straws Balloons

12 What will we use them for? Victor Mousetrap: This will be our power source for the car. Empty pen casings: In order to keep the car light, these will be the car s framework. A bird lawn decoration: We removed the bird and cut the wire for the arm as it is sturdy and stronger yet still flexible enough to use. Wire: This will be used to secure the arm to the mousetrap since hot glue would add weight. Mini-CDs: These will be our back wheels. Normal CDs would add weight and also take away speed

13 What will we use them for? A wine cork: We slightly carved the cork so that is was in a funnel shaped to add torque to the drive axle. Play Doh: We used the lids as the front wheels as they were slightly smaller than the Mini-CDs. Hemp string: This was our string tied on the arm. Skewers: These were used as our axles. Straws: These were used as the outside of our axles. These were glued to the base so that the skewers could spin the wheels. Balloons: We added balloons to the wheels and the wine cork to decrease friction.

14 Step 2: Make a design! Wheel Wheel Pen casing Mousetrap Arm Pen casing Wheel Wheel

15 Step 3... Build it!

16 Preparing the parts... Cut the middle of balloons and add them to the edges of 2 Mini-Cds Cut the wine cork into a funnel shape Try using identical pens Take 2 Play Doh cups and use the lids. These will be the front wheels Don t worry about how noticeable the funnel shape is, every bit counts! Insert the cork into the middle of a skewer; this will be the drive axle Empty out 2 pens and use only the casings These will be our back wheels Make sure that the lids are straight, are clean, and still in a circle shape Take a straw and put it through two skewers; these will be the axles You will need to cut the straw to make room for the wine cork in the drive axle

17 Putting it all together Take the 2 pen casing and glue them directly to the bottom of the back of the mousetrap. The back side is the side where bottom of the V of mousetrap points. Glue the completed drive axle and glue the straw components to the pens Now glue the completed back wheels to the ends of the skewer They should be diagonal and create a trapezoid shape when everything is glued together Try using tape to make the CD hole smaller and then poke a hole in the center with the skewer. Now take the front axle and glue the straw component directly to the bottom of the front of the mousetrap. Take the Play Doh lids and insert them to the ends of the skewer Piece a hole in the center with the skewer and then glue them for security.

18 Putting it all together Take a lawn bird decoration and cut off the wire Use regular wire to secure it to the trigger of the mousetrap Cut the wire until you get your desired length This creates the arm Finally tie a piece of hemp string to the end of the arm Make sure that the string reaches at least to the drive axle

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23 Step 4: Test it!

24 Testing Our Mousetrap Car