Hybrid Car Battery Design
Description
Our mission during this project was to create a hybrid car that could go exactly 5 meters and hold 250 grams of weight. We built the wooden frame and hot glued it to lego axles. We wrapped the rubber band around the axle as much as possible without snapping it and let it go. We replaced the plastic axle with a copper one and to replace the front wheels with CDs to make the car go a greater distance. We discovered that since the CDs were thin, they would spin out and wouldn't go anywhere. We added tire threads to the CDs for more friction we started to use a bigger rubber band that would give us more rotations around the axle to make the car go farther. Our car eventually (when it was perfected) went on an average of 4.7 to 5.2 meters with ten rotations of the rubber band going around the axle.
Reflection
I thought it was fun to make a car, well, not a real one! I didn't get to do much of the work because I would offer to help and my "invitation" was not accepted/welcomed. That made me have a dislike for this project because I had to do the calculations and I got sick so I missed the presentation. From what I heard our car was the best, anyway.
Concepts
Gravitational Potential Energy: The amount of energy an object has before going in motion due to gravity is gravitational potential energy. It can be found by using PE=mgh. Our car's potential energy was 5.5J.
Spring Potential Energy: Due to compression or expansion of an elastic material, This is found with the equation of PEs= 1/2kx^2. The energy was 0.23J.
Kinetic Energy: How much energy an object has due to motion. It's calculated by the equation KE= 1/2mv^2. After each meter, our kinetic energy decreased.
Spring Constant: Spring constant measured by the elastically of the object. To find the spring constant you have to use the equation F= kx. Our spring constant was 2.25 N/m.
Thermal Energy: Thermal energy is the lost energy during the transfer of potential to kinetic energy. The thermal energy increased as the car went farther.
Velocity: Velocity is speed with a given direction. Velocity is found by dividing by using V=d/t. Our car increased in velocity then slowly decreased.
Friction: Friction is the force that affects motion. The CDs didn't have enough friction so we added the tire threads to increase it.
Our mission during this project was to create a hybrid car that could go exactly 5 meters and hold 250 grams of weight. We built the wooden frame and hot glued it to lego axles. We wrapped the rubber band around the axle as much as possible without snapping it and let it go. We replaced the plastic axle with a copper one and to replace the front wheels with CDs to make the car go a greater distance. We discovered that since the CDs were thin, they would spin out and wouldn't go anywhere. We added tire threads to the CDs for more friction we started to use a bigger rubber band that would give us more rotations around the axle to make the car go farther. Our car eventually (when it was perfected) went on an average of 4.7 to 5.2 meters with ten rotations of the rubber band going around the axle.
Reflection
I thought it was fun to make a car, well, not a real one! I didn't get to do much of the work because I would offer to help and my "invitation" was not accepted/welcomed. That made me have a dislike for this project because I had to do the calculations and I got sick so I missed the presentation. From what I heard our car was the best, anyway.
Concepts
Gravitational Potential Energy: The amount of energy an object has before going in motion due to gravity is gravitational potential energy. It can be found by using PE=mgh. Our car's potential energy was 5.5J.
Spring Potential Energy: Due to compression or expansion of an elastic material, This is found with the equation of PEs= 1/2kx^2. The energy was 0.23J.
Kinetic Energy: How much energy an object has due to motion. It's calculated by the equation KE= 1/2mv^2. After each meter, our kinetic energy decreased.
Spring Constant: Spring constant measured by the elastically of the object. To find the spring constant you have to use the equation F= kx. Our spring constant was 2.25 N/m.
Thermal Energy: Thermal energy is the lost energy during the transfer of potential to kinetic energy. The thermal energy increased as the car went farther.
Velocity: Velocity is speed with a given direction. Velocity is found by dividing by using V=d/t. Our car increased in velocity then slowly decreased.
Friction: Friction is the force that affects motion. The CDs didn't have enough friction so we added the tire threads to increase it.