Download MS Mousetrap

MESA Day 2012
Mousetrap Car - Distance
6th-8th Grade
 Students will build a vehicle solely powered
by a standard mousetrap to travel the longest
distance on a specified track
 Materials:
 1 standard mousetrap
 All other materials are legal
 NO KITS!
 READ RULES AT LEAST TWICE!!
 Mousetrap is ONLY source of energy
 Don’t tamper with mousetrap:
 No paint
 No decoration
 Alteration allowed ONLY for attaching
mousetrap to chassis
 Spring may not be altered
 READ RULES AT LEAST TWICE!!
It’s what moves the car.
 Potential: energy stored in a system
 Elastic & Gravitational
 Kinetic: energy of motion
 Potential  Kinetic
The resistance an object has to changing its state of
motion.
The resistance an object has to changing
its state of rotation.
A force that opposes the direction of motion.
 Static: caused from two surfaces pressing together.
 Fluid: caused from liquids or gases. In air, this is known as
drag.
The force required to rotate an object.
The rate at which energy is released or transformed in
a system.
 Energy from spring is transferred
to car via the lever arm
 Lever arm provides torque
required to turn axles
Length of lever arm affects
power output
Shorter arm = faster output
Longer arm = slower output
 # of wheels : 3 or 4
 Wheel radius
 The greater the radius, the greater the torque required to
rotate the axle
 Wheel grip (traction)
 Power output must match wheel grip to avoid spinning
 Avoid wasting energy
 Ratio of wheel-to-axle
 Larger ratio good for distance
 Friction
 Reduce friction between wheels and surface
 Also between axle and chassis
 Alignment
 The body of the car
 Balsawood, plastic, other lightweight materials
 Mass
 The heavier the car, the greater the friction force with the
surface
 More force required to actually move the car
 Long chassis vs. Short chassis
 Narrow vs Wide
 Aerodynamic (reduce drag)
Fast vs Slow
 Fast:
 Build a car that will
accelerate quickly
and “coast” as far as
possible
 shorter lever arm
 smaller wheel radius
 quick power output
 Slow:
 Build a car that will
accelerate slowly
over the entire
distance that it
travels. Less
“coasting”.
 longer lever arm
 larger wheel radius
 slow power output
 Research, research, research!
 Experimentation is the key
 Set a working timeline
 READ THE RULES….twice….again!!
 HAVE FUN!!!: It’s not the end of the
world.
Marvin Maldonado
Associate Director, UCI MESA
[email protected]