Project Synthesis Essay

1735 Words7 Pages

This literature review is with regards to the project task given to the first year students of Technical Communications in 2016. The task of designing and constructing a fully functional rubber band-powered whereby only recyclable materials may be used in the construction of the rubber band-powered car with no machined parts to be used. The rubber band-powered car will be required to transport an egg across a safe distance. The students were tasked with making a model to maximise the distance travelled by the car with the egg in it while still remaining safe and thereafter submit a report on their findings. This literature review will encompass a few concepts with regards to the rubber band-powered car. Research taken from previous models and …show more content…

The connection between the two is that potential energy transforms into kinetic energy. This can be seen in an example such as a book sitting on a counter. When the book is at rest, it has potential energy. But, say, when a person walks by and accidentally knocks the book off of the counter, the book has kinetic energy as it falls, because it is in motion and the potential energy has transformed into kinetic energy. The relationship between kinetic energy and potential energy is that as the book (as mentioned in the source above) falls from a certain height; potential energy decreases while kinetic energy increases as the book falls while potential energy transforms into kinetic energy. Elastic Potential Energy According to Viegas (2004, p.11), elastic potential energy is the stored energy which an elastic object has due to its position or condition. Elastic objects can have stored (potential) energy if it falls under the influence of gravity or when stretched. The Law of Conservation of Mechanical Energy that states potential energy cannot be created or destroyed, but is rather converted to kinetic energy and/or sound energy as stated by Viegas (2004, …show more content…

Newton studied a wide variety of phenomena during his lifetime, one of which included the motion of objects and systems. Based on his observations he formulated Three Laws of Motion which were presented in his masterwork Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica in 1686. Newton’s Laws as stated in an exercise by the IEEE (Web 2, Newton’s Law of Motion, para. 2-5): Newton’s First Law – An object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion at a constant speed unless acted on by an unbalanced force (such as friction or gravity). This is also known as the law of inertia. Newton’s Second Law – An object’s acceleration is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. The direction of the acceleration is in the direction of the applied net force. Newton’s Second Law can be expressed as: F = ma Newton’s Third Law – For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The law of motion does apply to the project of egg vehicles since it needs force that will overcome frictional force of the wheels of the vehicles before its