If you've ever hit a patch of ice while driving your car, you've experienced a very tiny piece of what driving a bobsled is like. On an icy road, there's almost no friction between your tires and the road surface, so you can't steer very well. And any sudden moves, like hitting the brake, can send you spinning out of control.
So imagine if your car was open at the top and back — like a bobsled — and that the patch of ice lasted for almost a mile. Not a mile of straight, level road, either — a mile that's downhill and full of dramatic curves. That's what being in a bobsled is like. Drivers and crew slide down a hill on a track, or run, that's full of twists and turns. A wrong move can cause a dramatic crash.
Modern bobsled races are competitions between two-person or four-person teams. Bobsleds have the same basic components whether they are built to hold two or four athletes. Each bob has:
The International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) sets rules for the composition and dimensions of each of these components, as well as the total weight of bobsleds. Bobsled manufacturers work closely with bobsled teams and designers to make the best sled design.
Each type of bob has a minimum weight when empty and a maximum weight with bobsledders and their equipment.
Heavier sleds go faster, so teams that do not reach the maximum occupied weight may add ballasts to make their bob heavier. Officials weigh the sleds at the end of the run to make sure they meet the weight requirement.
Bobsledders begin the race in a push-off stretch. This is a straight stretch that's wide enough to allow the bobsledders to push the bob. The athletes have to run as fast as they can — this push and gravity are the bob's only sources of speed for the entire race.
But winning a bobsled race starts long before the push-off stretch — it starts with the design of a fast, efficient bobsled. A good bobsled has to take advantage of the physical forces that help it accelerate, and it has to minimize the forces that slow it down.
Acceleration due to gravity is the same for all of the bobsleds in the race — it's the physical constant of 9.8 meters per second squared. Drag, friction and momentum, on the other hand, all vary based on bobsled design and can affect how much the bob actually accelerates. The strongest, fastest, most skilled team in the world cannot compensate for a bob design that ignores these factors:
After the push-off, gravity and momentum take over, accelerating the bobsled downhill. The driver has to choose a path down the run very carefully. Steering too high on a curve adds to the total distance the bob has to travel, making the trip take more time. A driver who steers too low loses the advantage of centrifugal force that keeps the bob going during banked curves.
In the end, all of these physical forces and athletes' actions lead to a very tight race. Often, the winning team's time is only a few hundredths of a second faster than that of the second-place team.
All information taken from https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/snow-sports/curling.htm
Note: this may take more than 1 day to complete. Also, before giving the design instructions, show the students where the bobsleds will be racing.
Note: this may take more than 1 day to complete.