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.
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