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Balloon Powered Car ProjectRules:All cars must be made of recycled/ repurposed materialsAll cars must have at least 3 wheelsAll cars may not leave the ground All cars should travel in a straight lineAll cars will use only one 9-inch balloon to power itCar should be capable of traveling at least 4 MetersYou may not use any of the following: wheels from toy cars, Kinnex, Legos or any items already used for wheels; store bought kits will not be allowed. Use of any of these prohibited items will result in a 0% for the project. Winning cars will be displayed for all to seeWinning categories:Fastest Car (in first 4 meters)Farthest Distance TraveledStudents will be required to follow deadlines and a specific sequence of tasks before the racing challenge. Material and Procedure Plan SheetSketch and DesignChanges and Technical DifficultiesIn class data collectionTesting Trials data collection recording sheetTrials 1-3Average SpeedAverage DistanceResults Conclusions You will receive a packet with all information you need for this project.After completion of the Balloon Car Project you will write a paper on the project. You will describe your knowledge of Newton’s Laws in relation with your car build and use vocabulary words from the list provided to you in the report you write. Use this packet to help you write your report.Three phases of this projectPlanning, building process, testing and reengineering to be done at home. Competition and Data gatheringReportPhoto journaling is encouraged. You can use photos as drawings as well as to show your materials, building process and reengineering. You can do the planning on a computer document if you want to create something you can print and bring to turn in. If you choose to do this, you will need to print at home. Pre-challenge Information:Newton's three laws seem to work perfectly on the whiteboard, but in real life we find that surfaces are seldom frictionless and that few moving objects are truly predictable. This is because outside forces interfere with Newton's perfect situations. In this project we will learn about friction, jet propulsion, and air resistance by designing and constructing a balloon powered rocket car. Balloon racers rely on 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! In order to get your car to move, you need an unbalanced force. In other words, the force of air coming out of the balloon must overcome the forces acting on the car. You will want to reduce friction and air resistance to help your car move. You need to consider this in the design of your car. While building balloon racers you will discover how difficult it can be to make something work reliably.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, for this reason Styrofoam makes a very good chassis. It is also important to design a chassis that is long enough. Short cars tend to spin out more often than longer ones. A good car should be about 30 cm long. 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.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.Formula for finding speed: Speed=Distance/TimeHelpful Hints For, Testing Your CarSecure the balloon in place by looping a small rubber band several times around the neck of the balloon containing the strawMake sure the rubber band does not crush the strawTape the straw to the car – leave enough straw to blow into the balloon and fill the balloon with air.To move the balloon car, blow into the free end of the long straw until the balloon is the desired size.Quickly squeeze the opening of the straw to keep the air from escaping from the balloon.Position the care, balloon end in the frontThe car should begin to travel as soon as you remove your finger from the straw.Before you test your car make sure your wheels move easilyPit it on the ground and give it a push. If it doesn’t roll easily, check to make certain your axle rod is not rubbing on the inside of the axle housing.If rubbing is a problem, you will need to fix it before you test your car.Inflate the balloon without breaking itHold the nozzle shut until you are ready to raceSee that it travels at least 5 metersWhere the car finishes its distance is the spot where it runs out of airTime your car from 0 to 5 meters. You will need someone to assist you. Make any adjustments Find a safe container for your car to travel to school in. Bring extra balloons Test Your Car at home!!!(It is important to test your car, so you are prepared when you get to school to compete efficiently, all reengineering should be done at home)Balloon Car Racers: Materials and Procedure Plan Sheet*****List Webpages used to help you design your car1.2.3.4.Materials used to make your carWhy did you choose this material?1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.Tools used to build your carProcedure Written DirectionsDiagrams-Drawings (label if necessary)Step 1Step 2Step 3Step 4Step 5Step 6Changes and Technical DifficultiesList at least 3 problems you encountered while building or testing your car and explain what you did to solve them.Describe the problem. You may also use drawings.Explain how you solved the problem.123 45Balloon Car Racer: SketchInclude the following:Length in cmWidth in cmHeight in cmMass in grams (You can do this in class if needed)Location of balloonNumber of wheelsLocation of wheels REPORTNow that you have completed building the balloon car, participated in the race, group work and finished your packet you will write your report. Report should include the following:Be at least two type-written pagesNormal margins (1” top, bottom, right and left) 12 pt. font (Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman) 1.0-line spaceGrammar counts: punctuation, capitalization and spelling, paragraphs indicatedUse your packet to help write your paperInclude the following vocabulary words in your paper:GravityFrictionUnbalanced forceNewton’s 1st LawNewton’s 2nd LawNewton’s 3rd LawAccelerationMassForceEnergyEnergy transferMomentumFinal Report Outline:Brief description of the projectMaterials and toolsDefined taskBrief description of your carProblems and solutions you encounteredDataWhat type of data did you collectWhat did your data tell you? Summary of what you learnedUsing your vocabulary and information you learned about force and motion in unit 3, explain what concept of motion stood out to you the most. What did you find most helpful in construction your car? What would you do differently next time?Concluding thoughts about the project.Use your packet!!!! It is a great prewriting source. Your report is basically written for you in your project packet. You have been filling out, recording data and answering questions.Scoring for Race Day Name____________________________________50 total + bonus points Group Members __________________________________ _______________________________________________Car MovedPointsExtra Credit4 Meters or more25 For every additional meter the car moves, one extra point will be added to the score (15 Point Maximum)3-4 Meters212-3 Meters191-2 Meters17Less than 1 Meter15Completed car, but does not move13Class participation 15 Points:Group participation, help with other racer’s timing, encourage others, help set up and clean up, stay on task, stay in group and no horseplay! ……………………………………Discussion: 10 pointsUsing data sheet for your group discuss and record your answers to the Conclusion Questions ……………………………………… Race Day Total PointsPossible PointsEarnedPacket completed: All parts of the packet were completed50 Report100Followed outlined directions 20Discussed data20Addressed problems and solutions20Used vocabulary appropriately20Length of paper (at least two pages, 1.0 spaced, 12 pt. font, typed and printed)20Total of 200 points for the complete project!(With bonus points 215 possibility)******NO LATE WORK ACCEPTED!222631011642GROUP DATA SHEET00GROUP DATA SHEETGroup Members __________________________________________________________________Name of Racer: ______________________________________________________________________RACETime in 1st 4 metersDistance 4 meters Speedm/sTotal Distance TraveledTrial 1Trial 2Trial 3Average Speed of all three trialsAverage distance in all three trialsName of Racer: ______________________________________________________________________RACETime in 1st 4 metersDistance 4 meters Speedm/sTotal Distance TraveledTrial 1Trial 2Trial 3Average Speed of all three trialsAverage distance in all three trialsName of Racer: ______________________________________________________________________RACETime in 1st 4 metersDistance 4 meters Speedm/sTotal Distance TraveledTrial 1Trial 2Trial 3Average Speed of all three trialsAverage distance in all three trialsGroup Data:Car TimeDistance Speed MassWho’s car traveled the fastest? ___________________________Who’s car had the best design? _______________________ Why?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Graph each members’ results using their average time with a distance of 4 meters. Use graph paper to create the time/distance graph. You will need to create one for each member of your race team.Conclusions:1. Describe how your knowledge of motion helped you in this experience.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2. Explain why some friction is necessary for wheeled vehicles to move. Use evidence from the races to support your answer.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3. Talk about how you can apply Newton’s laws of motion to this project. Give concrete examples from the project to help explain your answer.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4. Look up the “Law of Conservation of Energy” and describe how you can apply it to this project.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5. What type of force causes an object to move? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6. What must be overcome in order to get the car to move?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7. What property of matter determines how much inertia an object has?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8. What caused your car to stop moving?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9. What caused your cars to move forward?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________10. Explain why the open end of the balloon must face backwards if you want the car to move forward.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ................
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