Hybrid Car Design
The hybrid car was definitely an interesting project to work on. My group during the two to three weeks we had to work on this consisted of Mariana Warcholski, Jay Buckles, Kate Mayfield, and myself. The objective of this project was to create a hybrid car for the manufacturer Hyundai that could travel five meters and stop as soon after reaching five meters as possible. Additionally the car had to carry 100 pennies, or 250 grams. There were a variety of different techniques our class used to achieve this goal. One group in my class used a pulley system to make the car move. Others used rubber bands and cereal boxes. The design that my group used was the balloon powered car.
With our car design we attached a balloon to the main body of our car and blew it up all the way. The weights on the car gave it enough mass to be able to move smoothly.
With our car design we attached a balloon to the main body of our car and blew it up all the way. The weights on the car gave it enough mass to be able to move smoothly.
Materials Used
-Cardboard (for the main body of the car)
- Basic CD disks (for the wheels)
- Long straws from balloons on sticks (to hold the wheels to the body of the car)
- A balloon (to power the car)
- Weights (250 grams)
- One huge straw (We inserted this straw into the end of the balloon where you would put your mouth. When the air comes out of the straw it is more forceful, making the car go faster.)
As you can tell by the list above we used very basic supplies. When we presented the project to the class we had to demonstrate our car working. When it was time for the car to go it did not fail us. The car went exactly 5 meters and stopped right after clearing the distance. This was definitely a fun project to work on. I got to sharpen my skills with physics and learn a lot more about it. Before this project I had never made a car. Learning how to make it move was really enjoyable to me. I had a great group to work with.
Reflection
During this project I learned a ton about energy of all kinds. We learned the meaning of kinetic energy, potential energy, spring constant, etc... I also learned the true meaning of trial and error. This project started with rubber band technology, to spring technology, and finally to end up as a helium powered vehicle. For me this was always an interesting subject and I learned a so much by getting to take part in this project.
- Basic CD disks (for the wheels)
- Long straws from balloons on sticks (to hold the wheels to the body of the car)
- A balloon (to power the car)
- Weights (250 grams)
- One huge straw (We inserted this straw into the end of the balloon where you would put your mouth. When the air comes out of the straw it is more forceful, making the car go faster.)
As you can tell by the list above we used very basic supplies. When we presented the project to the class we had to demonstrate our car working. When it was time for the car to go it did not fail us. The car went exactly 5 meters and stopped right after clearing the distance. This was definitely a fun project to work on. I got to sharpen my skills with physics and learn a lot more about it. Before this project I had never made a car. Learning how to make it move was really enjoyable to me. I had a great group to work with.
Reflection
During this project I learned a ton about energy of all kinds. We learned the meaning of kinetic energy, potential energy, spring constant, etc... I also learned the true meaning of trial and error. This project started with rubber band technology, to spring technology, and finally to end up as a helium powered vehicle. For me this was always an interesting subject and I learned a so much by getting to take part in this project.