Mousetrap car
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A mousetrap car is a miniature vehicle powered by the spring device of a mousetrap. Building mousetrap cars is used as a project in many middle school and high school science classes.
The mousetrap car is a problem solving activity in which students are encouraged to develop a self-propelled vehicle by harnessing the potential energy that can be stored in a mousetrap spring and transferring it to wheels to propel the vehicle. Many challenges must be solved, including developing methods to transfer power, optimizing the ratio of various part sizes, maximizing the car's performance with minimum weight, overcoming friction, and attaching parts to the car.
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[edit] Educational objectives
Mousetrap cars may be used in physics or other physical science classes. Mousetrap cars may be used to help students build problem-solving skills, develop spatial awareness, budget time, and cooperative behavior.
Scientific concepts that might be covered in the course of a mousetrap car project include:
- Friction
- Wheel and axle
- Levers
- potential and kinetic energy
- Hooke's law
- Inertia
- Rotational inertia
- Torque
- Work
- Power
[edit] Competition objectives
Students are encouraged to compete either individually or as part of a team to determine the best design.
[edit] Distance
In this competition mousetrap cars are designed to travel the furthest distance possible. Typically mousetrap cars built for distance are characterized by having large drive wheels in order to maximize the distance the car travels from every rotation of the wheel. The lever arms attached to the mousetrap also tends to be longer in order to maximize the distance the effort arm travels. Also, in order to maximize distance you must decrease the mass of your wheels, possibly by cutting out the centers.
[edit] Speed
A mousetrap competition may also consist of a course of a set distance (5 meters is often used). The cars are designed to complete the course in the least amount of time. The drive wheels of mousetrap cars built for speed tend to be smaller than those of distance cars to reduce the rotational inertia of the wheel. The lever arm is also smaller so that the lever arm has a shorter distance to go faster.
[edit] Materials
materials may vary depending on the competition. In some competitions, the only requirement is that a standard-size mousetrap is the sole source of power. In other competitions there may be size, weight, building material, arm length, and overall length limitations.
