Balloon Powered Race Cars



Balloon Powered Race Cars

[pic]

Objectives:

• to create a balloon powered race car for maximum speed and distance

• to incorporate Newton's Laws of Motion

• to use the formula for Velocity (speed) = Distance / Time (v = d / t)

Materials:

• two balloons (must be 9-inch) maximum.

• pen barrel or straw

• various other materials to construct the racers (for the body of car, wheels, axles, etc.)

• Grading Rubric

Rules : (1) You will have 4 lab classes to complete your car.

(2) All members must participate in the car’s design and construction.

(3) The car must be made from simple materials, nothing prefabricated.

(4) The car may not leave the ground and must have at least 3 wheels.

(5) You can use up to 2 balloons to power your car if needed.

(6) You will have two tries to accomplish the goal of 5 meters in 10 s or less.

(7) The top 3 fastest times will get 10, 5, and 2 bonus points respectively.

(8) A daily group progress report must be submitted at the end of class each day.

(9) Plan carefully. Be prepared to work on this project even if your partner is absent.

Procedure:

1. You will bring in materials from home and assemble your car in class (one person may not do all the work at home with the partner taking credit).

“Construction Days” will be on March 14th & 15th, 2016.

NOTE: YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO BRING IN ALL MATERIALS, INCLUDING BALLOONS AND ANYTHING ELSE TO CONSTRUCT THE VEHICLE. Balloons wear out after multiple uses, so having a good supply is key.

2. Testing and alteration days will be on March 17th & 18th. This will be part of your final presentation. Make sure you have the proper documentation (photos, calculations, etc.).

3. You will be racing your cars with the main goal of becoming the FASTEST CAR. We will be racing and also marking the total distance traveled for each car. “Race Day” will be March 21st, 2016.

4. The track will be in the main hallway (or in classroom).

5. Winning cars will be displayed in the classroom

6. Winning categories:

• Fastest Car (in first 5 meters) – Single individual time

• Farthest Distance Traveled

7. You will be presenting your process, revisions and final calculations to the class. Lab days to create this presentation will be on March 28, 2016 to March 29, 2016.

Good Luck!

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|Balloon Racers |

|[pic] |Newton's three laws seem to work perfectly in the textbook, but in real life we find that surfaces are seldom frictionless and that few |

|[pic] |moving objects are truly predictable. This is because outside forces interfere with Newton's perfect situations. Balloon racers rely on |

|[pic] |Newton's third law of motion. As the air rushes backward out of the balloon it pushes the car forward in the opposite direction with an |

| |equal force. Your job is to make the most of this force! While building balloon racers we will discover how difficult it can be to make |

| |something work reliably. |

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| |[pic] |

| |Helpful Hints for |

| |Balloon Racers |

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|[pic] |There are several important things to keep in mind when designing and building your balloon racer: |

| |The first thing to do is choose the material to build the chassis or body of the car. The chassis should be both light and sturdy (ex: |

| |Styrofoam). It is also important to design a chassis that is long enough. Short cars tend to spin out more often than longer ones. Anything |

| |around thirty centimeters is usually a good choice. |

| |The second thing to do is to build and mount the wheels. Wheels can be made out of about anything that is round, such as CDs, caps, and lids. |

| |The hard part, however, is getting them mounted straight with little friction. If the wheels are not mounted straight or are not free to spin |

| |smoothly, the car will not perform well. |

| |Third point: Once the wheels are mounted on the chassis it is time to put a balloon onto the car. Having the balloon attached to a pen barrel |

| |so that the air comes out in a smooth manner helps. Another helpful approach is to double up a balloon so that it is twice as thick. |

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| |If the car has a sturdy but light body, free moving wheels and a good power supply, you are well on your way to being a balloon racer champion.|

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| |HOW YOU WILL BE SCORED |

Marks :

Progress reports (class mark)………………….….. 20 points (5 pts x 4 days)

Car creativity (originality/style)……………….….. 15 points

Effective design ……………………………………….…. 15 points

Final evaluation report with presentation …. 30 points

Car travels 2 m in 8s or less ………………………… 20 points

Total ………………………………………………………….. 100 points

Bonus points based on how fast your car is.

Balloon Car Project: Data Analysis

Name(s):_________________________ Date: ______________________

TASK 1 - Create a Position vs. Time data table for your car. Only include 0-5 meter data.

Position vs. Time Data Table

|Time (seconds) |Distance (meters) |

|0 |0 |

|1 | |

|2 | |

|3 | |

|4 | |

|5 | |

|6 | |

|7 | |

|8 | |

|9 | |

|10 | |

TASK 2 - Calculate the speed of your car at 5 meters: Show work, equation and correct units.

TASK 3 – Create a Position vs. Time graph for your car. Only include 0-5 meter data.

Balloon Car Project: Class Data Collection

Average Speed = Distance ( Time

|Number |Name |Time |Distance |Average Speed in m/s |Class Ranking |

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Balloon Car Project: Daily Progress Report

Date:____________________

Group members present : Group members absent:

______________________ _________________________

______________________ _________________________

Explain in point form what your group did today. (Be very specific!)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Would you say that each group member did a sufficient amount of work today?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

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