PURPOSE The goal of this lab was to build a mousetrap powered car. The mousetrap car needed to travel fifteen feet. The purpose of building these mousetrap cars was to demonstrate our knowledge of motion, friction, force, distance, and energy. We have studied these concepts, and each one is a factor in the success of a mousetrap car. HYPOTHESIS I hypothesized that a mousetrap car without a lever arm would generate more power, and a larger wheel diameter would result in a further distance. I believe that my mousetrap car will generate enough energy to travel fifteen feet. My mousetrap car is designed to quickly release energy and travel farther than most. However, the quicker release of energy can cause the car to steer towards the right. RESEARCH …show more content…
Therefore, I focused my research on ways to maximize the potential energy. According to Donald (2018), a larger wheel diameter resulted in a further distance. Donald (2018) also explains that the axle turns once each time the string is unwound; therefore, larger wheels rotate more times than the smaller. I also learned that friction and traction were important variables in this experiment. Too much friction could cause the vehicle to stop sooner; however, not enough traction would result in the car “spinning out” (Inspired Learning). I took these factors into account when building my mousetrap car. MATERIALS I used the mousetrap to serve as the body of my car. Then, the eyelet hooks I used were to secure the body of the car to the wheel axles. I put hollow pens through the eyelet hooks, and the pens served as the axles. I attached washers to the axles, and I placed the CDs on the pens. Finally, I hot glued everything to make sure that it stayed in place. After a few test trials, I concluded that I needed something to keep the axles from moving. I used unfolded paper clips to fix the problem. Once the car was ready to go, I tied a string from the mousetrap hammer to the rear axle of the car.