Hybrid Car Battery Design
This project was to make a car that used neither chemical energy (such as batteries), nor nuclear energy as its power source, and carried 250 grams across 5 meters. There were many different ideas and my group finally decided to do a spin on the standard rubber band car.
We spend most of our time experimenting on different and challenging ideas that wouldn't work, until finally on the second to last day, when we finally decided to do a rubber band car, but with highly elastic surgical tubing. We barely scraped by with the car we had, but as an added bonus, we could get it to go 5 meters with 500 grams! We had last minute problems and the car did not run as smoothly as we had hoped, but we still managed to pull off the presentation.
We began by putting triangular prisms onto a wood block and then drilling holes into those prisms, in order to make slots for the axles. We then added the axles and wheels, made of a thin metal rod and some CDs. We then added on the surgical tubing and string to the back axle to propel it, and finally we added duct tape to the wheels in order to create more friction, creating grip for the car.
We spend most of our time experimenting on different and challenging ideas that wouldn't work, until finally on the second to last day, when we finally decided to do a rubber band car, but with highly elastic surgical tubing. We barely scraped by with the car we had, but as an added bonus, we could get it to go 5 meters with 500 grams! We had last minute problems and the car did not run as smoothly as we had hoped, but we still managed to pull off the presentation.
We began by putting triangular prisms onto a wood block and then drilling holes into those prisms, in order to make slots for the axles. We then added the axles and wheels, made of a thin metal rod and some CDs. We then added on the surgical tubing and string to the back axle to propel it, and finally we added duct tape to the wheels in order to create more friction, creating grip for the car.
car_design.pdf |
Here are some of the PHYSICS CONCEPTS that we learned
Spring Constant- The measure of elasticity of an object. The equation is F=kx we had a spring constant for the surgical tubing.
Gravitational Potential Energy- The amount of energy an object has before it moves. The equation is PE=mgh Our car had potential energy before it started.
Kinetic Energy- This is how much energy an object produces while its moving. The equation is KE=(1/2)mv^2 Our car had kinetic energy as it went.
Thermal Energy- This is how much energy is lost to heat during the change from potential to kinetic energy. The thermal energy constantly increases as the car moves. Our car built up thermal heat as it went.
Spring Potential Energy- This is the energy of the compressing or expanding of anything elastic. The equation is (1/2)kx^2 our surgical tubing had spring potential energy before it was released.
Velocity- Velocity is speed in a given direction. The equation is V=(d/t) our car's velocity was very high at first, but then it began to get smaller over time.
Friction- This is the force that effects motion. Our car had duct tape on the wheels to increase the friction.
-Reflection-
This project had some good points and some bad points. Some good points were researching many ideas and alternatives, like a perpetual motion machine concept, or magnet created electricity, none of which worked. I learned that I am not as inefficient with one arm as I originally thought, having proceeded to attach the duct tape to the wheels, and present the project. Some pits of our project were definitely decision making, because we needed to decide on a propulsion system, and time management because we didn't start working until the last few days.
Spring Constant- The measure of elasticity of an object. The equation is F=kx we had a spring constant for the surgical tubing.
Gravitational Potential Energy- The amount of energy an object has before it moves. The equation is PE=mgh Our car had potential energy before it started.
Kinetic Energy- This is how much energy an object produces while its moving. The equation is KE=(1/2)mv^2 Our car had kinetic energy as it went.
Thermal Energy- This is how much energy is lost to heat during the change from potential to kinetic energy. The thermal energy constantly increases as the car moves. Our car built up thermal heat as it went.
Spring Potential Energy- This is the energy of the compressing or expanding of anything elastic. The equation is (1/2)kx^2 our surgical tubing had spring potential energy before it was released.
Velocity- Velocity is speed in a given direction. The equation is V=(d/t) our car's velocity was very high at first, but then it began to get smaller over time.
Friction- This is the force that effects motion. Our car had duct tape on the wheels to increase the friction.
-Reflection-
This project had some good points and some bad points. Some good points were researching many ideas and alternatives, like a perpetual motion machine concept, or magnet created electricity, none of which worked. I learned that I am not as inefficient with one arm as I originally thought, having proceeded to attach the duct tape to the wheels, and present the project. Some pits of our project were definitely decision making, because we needed to decide on a propulsion system, and time management because we didn't start working until the last few days.