In this project, we had to make a prototype of a car for Hyundai and try to sell it. The catch is, the car is supposed to be due to an alternate energy and it can not be chemical or nuclear energy. We had a couple weeks to do this. The first couple days were planning. We needed to figure out what the best solution was of an energy type and we chose rubber bands. Then, we made a prototype of the prototype. This was using wheels and axels that were from a classmate and just making the structure of our car. Next, we made our real car with discs for wheels. After we made our actual car, we needed a way for it to go five meters with at least 250 grams of weight on it. We ended up needing to put 400 grams on it to stop it for going past five meters. This project was very fun and engrossing and it taught me a lot on different types of energy. Here is our presentation or sales pitch for The Knockout Car.
Physics Concepts
Potential Energy (spring): How much energy a spring, or rubber band, is storing. Measures in Joules (J). We used this to calculate how much energy the rubber band car had before we released.
Kinetic Energy: Energy due to motion. Measured in Joules (J). We used this to see how much of our potential energy was converted to movement force.
Thermal Energy: The energy not converted to kinetic, and instead converted to things like sound and friction. Measured in Joules (J). We used this to see how ineffective our cars could be.
Spring Constant: How difficult it is to move a spring. the higher the spring constant, the harder it is to move. We used this to help us find out how difficult, or easy, it was to stretch our rubber band.
Potential Energy (spring): How much energy a spring, or rubber band, is storing. Measures in Joules (J). We used this to calculate how much energy the rubber band car had before we released.
Kinetic Energy: Energy due to motion. Measured in Joules (J). We used this to see how much of our potential energy was converted to movement force.
Thermal Energy: The energy not converted to kinetic, and instead converted to things like sound and friction. Measured in Joules (J). We used this to see how ineffective our cars could be.
Spring Constant: How difficult it is to move a spring. the higher the spring constant, the harder it is to move. We used this to help us find out how difficult, or easy, it was to stretch our rubber band.
Reflection
This project was so fun to make! Just the fact that we were making an alternate energy car really surprised and fascinated me all throughout this journey. There were many things that went well as well as not well. That was way to many wells in one sentence. Anyways, some things that went well was how fast we made our design. Alexa had done something like this but not as thorough so she knew what our basic structure was going to look like. Another thing that went well is our groups ability to make bad things that happened into good things and also we were always focused and having a good time. Some things that went poorly are when I accidentally broke our car. The project fell off balance in my hands and i tried to catch it and it collided with the table and me and some wood on the bottom that was holding the wheels on and we pretty much needed it and it snapped. As I said previously, my group made this into a good thing because the wooden stick we got after was more sturdy and helped us more. I learned some things during this project. One thing is that I should turn something negative into a positive because that is a really great trait to have. Another thing is that I understood a lot of what we were doing which is always great. Some things I could have done better is put 110% effort into all we did and always have something to do. We peaked when our car went exactly five meters and we were all sooooooo happy. Our pit was the hundred or so times it didn't work before that. This project taught me a lot and I will continue to think about this project as I move on in high school and in STEM.
This project was so fun to make! Just the fact that we were making an alternate energy car really surprised and fascinated me all throughout this journey. There were many things that went well as well as not well. That was way to many wells in one sentence. Anyways, some things that went well was how fast we made our design. Alexa had done something like this but not as thorough so she knew what our basic structure was going to look like. Another thing that went well is our groups ability to make bad things that happened into good things and also we were always focused and having a good time. Some things that went poorly are when I accidentally broke our car. The project fell off balance in my hands and i tried to catch it and it collided with the table and me and some wood on the bottom that was holding the wheels on and we pretty much needed it and it snapped. As I said previously, my group made this into a good thing because the wooden stick we got after was more sturdy and helped us more. I learned some things during this project. One thing is that I should turn something negative into a positive because that is a really great trait to have. Another thing is that I understood a lot of what we were doing which is always great. Some things I could have done better is put 110% effort into all we did and always have something to do. We peaked when our car went exactly five meters and we were all sooooooo happy. Our pit was the hundred or so times it didn't work before that. This project taught me a lot and I will continue to think about this project as I move on in high school and in STEM.