MOUSETRAP CAR: RACE/LAB



|MOUSETRAP CAR: RACE/LAB |

DATE OF RACE _________________________ DUE DATE OF LAB ___________________

Your research project this semester is your Mousetrap Car. You and your team will build a car, race it in the annual race, design and perform a lab, and prepare a formal lab write-up. You lab should be designed to determine the following information:

1. What is the average distance of the car over three trials?

2. What is the average time over three trials?

3. What is the average speed over three trials?

4. What is the average force the mousetrap exerts on your car?

5. What is the momentum of your mousetrap car when it is moving?

6. What is the potential energy stored in the spring of your mousetrap?

7. What is the average kinetic energy of your car?

Your lab report will be divided into sections. Only one lab write-up per team is required, with all team members’ names on it. The following information should be included in each section (remember – this write-up will have information from both the race and the lab included in it.):

COVER PAGE:

The cover page will contain the lab name, team name, team members’ names, class information and date.

ABSTRACT:

The abstract will include the purpose, procedure, and materials. The procedure should include an explanation of how you made the car as well as the data gathering procedure.

DATA:

The data section will have clear and concise listings of the measured and derived information including: mass of your car, race distances, results from 1 through 7 above, and any other data you have collected or I have asked for. (For results 1 through 7, you are merely recording answers in this section. The analysis section will show calculations. Do not just number 1-7. You need to label what you are finding!)

ANALYSIS:

The analysis section should contain 2 parts.

Part 1: It should contain all equations used and all calculations. All work must be shown clearly!! Follow this format: List what you are calculating, write the appropriate equation in symbols, plug in the data values, solve for your answer, including units. There will be no numerical error analysis required for this project. Absolutely no fractions are allowed in your answers.

Part 2: Use your data and physics to help explain why your team made the construction decisions you made. (Does your car have gears or a pulley? Are the wheels on the back bigger than the wheels on the front? Why? What changes did you make in the design as you developed your car.) You will also use your data and physics to explain how your car worked. This project has an incredible amount of physics! Most, if not all, of the topics we have covered since linear motion are included in this project. Some (but not all) are: friction, potential energy, kinetic energy, force, momentum, speed, acceleration, work, conservation of energy, Newton’s 3 Laws and conservation of momentum. Remember, when interpreting the physics used, it is not enough to say what concepts were covered. You must also explain the concept and tell how, where, and why it applies to your project. I should see these words/explanations in part 2 of your analysis!

DISCUSSION:

The discussion section will include answers to the questions below, comments on the success of your lab, sources of uncertainty and suggestions and comments on the race/lab itself.

1. Using the concept of conservation of energy total energy, follow the “chain of energy” of your mousetrap car system, from how the car acquired its energy at the beginning until it comes to a stop. (Consider how the car gets its energy to begin with, and when the car stops, where has the energy gone?)

2. For each of Newton’s 3 Laws, give an example of how that law specifically applies to the motion of your car.

3. Compare the distance your car went to the car that won. How much farther did the winning car travel? Explain, using physics, why that car went farther than yours. (Skip this if you had the winning car!)

4. Please provide comments/suggestions regarding the race and lab.

PICTURES:

As you are building your car, you must document your building process by taking pictures throughout the entire building process. I should see the car when it is just parts, and then as it is put together. The pictures must include all group members! (If you are not in the pictures, I assume you did not build the car and will not receive the same grade as your group members who did build the car.) I should see a minimum of 10 pictures.

MOUSETRAP CAR LAB WRITE-UP CHECKLIST

__________ Cover Page (2 points)

__________ Abstract

__________ Purpose (3 points)

__________ Procedure (3 points)

__________ Materials (2 points)

__________ Data

__________ Measured Data (This is anything about the car you measured.) (5 points)

__________ Derived Data (This is the things you calculated about the car.) (5 points)

__________ Analysis

__________ Part 1: Formulas (5 points) & Calculations (5 points)

__________ Part 2: Interpretation of Physics - use your data,

why is the car designed as it is, what physics is involved (10 points)

__________ Discussion

__________ Energy Conservation (5 points)

__________ Newton’s 3 Laws (5 points)

__________ Comparison of winning car (5 points)

__________ Suggestions for future races (5 points)

__________Construction of car/Class Time Use/Car meets distance requirement (30 points)

Design Should Be Original and Working the Day Prior to the Race

__________ Pictures (shows all group members, minimum 10 pictures) (10 points)

__________ Total Points (100)

YOU WILL BE SUBMITTING THIS THROUGH GOOGLE CLASSROOM!

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