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Name ________________________________________ Hour ____________
BALLOON CAR LAB
Purpose: Understand and demonstrate Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion by
constructing and racing balloon cars.
Hypothesis: Make a prediction about how the 3 Laws of Motion will be evident in
the balloon car.
1st Law:
2nd Law:
3rd Law:
Materials:
1 balloon
small straw
1 index card
2 wheels
stopwatch (at lab station)
masking tape
1 stick (axle)
scissors
card strip
Procedure:
1. Collect items listed above from the supply area.
2. Working with the materials provided, design and build a single axle car
powered by the balloon. (It should look like a chariot)
3. Test the car.
4. Modify your car until it can travel at least 2 meters in a straight line.
5. Bring your car to the race area to test.
6. Record data for time and distance in the data table.
7. Find the mass of your car.
8. Return all reusable items to the supply area. (Straws, stick, wheels)
Data and Observations:
Mass of car _______________ g
________________ kg
Distance car traveled ____________________ m
Time ________________________ seconds
Name ________________________________________ Hour ____________
Analysis Questions:
1. Calculate the acceleration of your balloon car using the data you gathered.
2. Calculate the force (in N) of the air leaving the balloon.
3. What is the outside force causing your balloon car to stop its motion?
4. If your balloon car started at rest and had a final velocity of 6.2 m/s and it took
0.645 sec to race the 2 meters, calculate the acceleration of the car using all
THREE acceleration equations. (answers should match)
Equation 1:
Equation 2:
Equation 3:
5. Calculate the FORCE of the air leaving the balloon if the mass of your balloon car
was 0.25 lbs. (Use the acceleration from #4)
6. What is inertia?
7. Calculate the WEIGHT of your car in Newtons if it weighs 0.55 lbs.
Remember…weight is a FORCE.
Conclusion: Write a brief conclusion that discusses how Newton’s laws of motion were
used in this lab and how accurate you believe your results for force and acceleration
(analysis #1, 2) were. Include possible errors in your discussion.