Racer Recommendations

Things that went well for our car was the design was overall fairly sound. The axles were lined up pretty well and it went mostly straight. The large back wheels and smaller front wheels worked really well. The big wheels propelled it farther and kept it going longer than small wheels would have. The design didn't have a lot, if any wind resistance which was good. It was also heavy enough to keep up its velocity after the string stopped turning the axle but not too heavy that it was impossible to start.

My recommendations for future physics students building a mousetrap car would be:
- make sure to use large wheels in the back with smaller, easily turning wheels in the front. The larger wheels will help it to go farther.
- have the mousetrap in a position that is easily accessible and easy to set.
- Make sure to have some weight to your car so it keeps going when the string stops turning the axle, but not too heavy that it takes a lot of power to start moving.
- use a string that is flexible and easy to wrap around the axle. It needs to have resistance with the axle so it doesn't slip off right away.

Results From Competition Day

Our mousetrap vehicle didn't really do as good as we hoped it would. Its distances were 6.31m, 4.7m, and 6.02m. Its average was 5.7m. We had it going 9.5m the day before but something seemed to go wrong and it didn't do as well.
In the drag race it didn't do too bad. Its time was 5:22 seconds which was fourth place.

If I could modify my car design I would have even bigger wheels in the back. The bigger the wheels the farther it will go. I would also make the string stronger and a lot more flexible and resistant so it would turn the axle longer before sliding off. I would have also made the front wheels sturdier.

If I could build a new car I would have a smaller and lighter design because I think it would have gone a lot easier. I would have had really big wheels in the back and one small wheel in the front. I would make it out of wood so it would carry some weight but not too much. My string would not be a fishing line, but a sturdier, more resistant string.

On our car we could tweak it by using a stronger, sturdier string that would have had a lot more resistance on the axle. We could have tightened up the wheels so they didn't wobble as much.

Mousetrap Vehicle Test Day Write Up

Our mousetrap car wasn't very effective. The front wheel was dragging and the axles we found weren't lined up. Another problem was the string kept breaking. It did operate consistently, going about the same distance and then turning off to the side at about the same angle. The car itself does withstand repeated use but the string kept breaking so it wouldn't work. The car is made from existing materials but we had to do a few changes to them. Yes, it does meet all design requirements- not exceeding a meter or relying on any other source for power. All risks are minimized to the best of our ability. The mousetrap itself was easy to set and set off. But the string was a little complicated to wrap around the axle. Our vehicle did not travel in a straight line, it curving right after if started going. It only traveled about five meters as an average. It went about the same distance every time.

For changes we need to straighten the axles. To achieve a greater distance we are going to put larger wheels in the back and well as a different wheel in the front. The string we are going to use will be a lot stronger so it won't break as easily.

Mousetrap Vehicle Test Day

This is our mousetrap car on test day.

Physics on Spring Break

I never even thought it would happen but school was a part of my spring break, to be more specific, physics. The one activity that I enjoyed doing this spring break was going to the Winter Fair and watching an acrobatic performance. The way physics was a part of the show was first of all in the gravity that was constantly pulling acrobats down. Also friction was a part because the ropes they used had to be experiencing friction to hold them up. They were displaced from their origin, the ground and traveled up. When they came back down, they had a zero displacement. Physics is a huge part of our lives and I experienced it while watching the acrobatic show at the Winter Fair.

Third Blog

Today we learned how to put gadgets on our blog and follow our fellow classmates' blogs. We changed settings so we could have the correct time and check comments before we posted them. Then we left comments on other blogs. The comments had to have two good things about the blog and one thing the person could improve on.

First Post

Today in Physics 30s we set up our own individual blogs. We chose our own templates, designs, backgrounds, and colours to make them originally ours.