Final Blog Entry

I think the most exciting part of building our mousetrap car was when Andrea and I stayed after school one day, and completely rebuilt the model...it went from an unstable cardboard car to a successful sturdy car! We were both very excited and happy because we had put a lot of hard work into building the new model as well as formulating the idea together. There is no photographic evidence of this but I assure you it was very exciting.
In terms of teamwork, I felt our team collaborated together very well. We listened to each others' ideas, while staying on track, and were able to get work done productively. Personally, I feel I helped the group stay positive and on track (I was dubbed captain at some point, but it's no big deal). When our group was really depressed after our car broke for the second time, everyone was sad, including myself, but I turned our frowns upside down and said there was nothing hard work couldn't fix. However, I feel as though I could have helped a little more in terms of learning how to set the mouse trap. That confused me, so usually I was the video recorder, but I think it would've been helpful if I could have set the mousetrap to test it every now and then.
Overall, I think this project really helped me become a great team member as well as learning to listen to other peoples' ideas and opinions as well as contributing my own.

Maddie

Final Blog Entry

After two weeks of hard work and collaboration, the most exciting moment, to me, about creating our car was seeing it move in a straight line for the first time. I would post a picture or video, but it seems that every time I was in one, I was cropped out. I guess I just did not live up to the beauty of the car, but it was very exciting!! I promise.

Well personally I learned that just because I found an idea for a car, does not mean that it was the right idea. I just assumed that the small car with the cardbord wheels that I learned how to make on wikepedia was the right way to go. I told my team members what to do and in the end our first model fell apart. For our second try we were more strategic in our design, which was much more sturdy and I can't say it was my idea. I learned that I am not always right and even when I think I'm right, the best solution will come when you collaborate with our groups. Two heads are better than one!

Isabel

Law of Conservation of Energy

The energy of our car starts with the sun. In order for trees to grow they go through the process of photosynthesis which is fueled by the sun. When the trees grow and produce apples from the photosynthesis, the apples are now a product of the sun. Us humans eat apples to get energy to go to the gym. We use our muscles from the gym to build a mousetrap car. So our car is a product from the energy of the sun. We then use our energy pull back the snapper the thermal energy is converted to potential energy which obviously started with the sun. When we release the lever the potential energy turns into kinetic energy which turns the back axle, which turns the back wheels. The back wheels use their energy to move the front wheels. When the car comes to a stop, because of friction, there is no more kinetic or potential energy, but their is thermal energy. The Law of Conservation of Energy says that energy could not be created nor destroyed, so our energy that we got from our food, which was created by the sun, created a car that always has energy.

Calculations

As we finished our car, we were able to calculate the overall energy of our car as well as the effeciency.

Maximum Velocity Video

Our boss mouse trap car in action.

Maximum Velocity

After much hard work and dedication, our mousetrap car was able to score 2.98 as its final velocity! We are happy

Moving Car

Well the car is almost moving straight! I was having an issue with the setter because it would either fall off or get stuck so I decided just to hold down the snapper with my fingers instead!

Struggling

Every time I set the mousetrap it gets stuck! It's hard to find the car's maximum velocity if you can't get it to move.

Our Car Moving

It moves kind of in a circular motion but this problem is soon to be fixed.

Finishing the New & Improved Car

After working hard until 4:00 on Tuesday, our car is finally completed!! The four CDs are secured as wheels and the test runs are ready to be done.

New Beginnings

After almost completing our car, our front axel split in half! This made us really sad as well as frustrated. Having been the second time this has happened, our group decided to start from scratch, with sturdier axels and bigger wheels. Our new design features less weight, durable wheels, corks, and sturdy axels.

Failure

While trying to create less friction between the axel and body of our car, the axel broke and progress was setback. Ideas on how to resolve this problem were tossed around, and a new car is to be begun.

Mousetrap Car in Motion

A video of our mousetrap car rolling.

Success & Failure

Success
We were able to successfully cut the wheels while punching holes in the middle of them.

Failure
We struggled in making sure the holes of the wheels were not too big, so they slid around the wooden stick at first, but then we glued them to the stick, making them secure.

Uncertainty

We are pretty sure about our design for our mousetrap car, but we are having trouble cutting the wheels in a perfect circle and getting the rubber band around them. Once our wheels are perfectly round and have the right size rubber bands around them, we are very confident in the efficiency of our car and can't wait to get back to work!

Idea

We will tie the string to the setter of the mousetrap, also attached to the back axel. When the mousetrap is snapped, the string will make the axel turn, converting potential energy into kinetic energy. The wheels will be made of cardboard, with rubber bands around them to create traction. A cardboard base will be cut out to support the mousetrap on the wheels.

Blueprint

Materials

• Mouse trap
• Rubber bands
• Cardboard 
• String
• Tape
• Passion for physics
• Scissors
• Wooden sticks
• Hooks