CO2 Cars

CO2 Powered Dragsters are little cars that students can design, build, test, modify and race and that "impersonate" the real life AA Fuelers in their speed, power and explosive fun!

The cars travel down a 66 foot track powered by 8 gram CO2 gas cartridge.

The cartridges are pierced using a starting gate with a spring loaded ‘hammer' which is triggered to hit a steel pin into the gas cartridge.

The force from the CO2 cartridge's expulsion propels each dragster (very quickly) to the end of the track.

The cars are attached to the track by nylon fishing cord which runs through two screw-eyelets underneath the car.

Two cars can be raced at once as per dragster racing in the real world.

The cars cross the starting line and break a laser beam which sets off the lane timers.

At the finish, cars trip the finish line laser beam that stops the timer, recording the time for each lane.

It is basically a 1:20 scaled down version of the real thing....

Your students will always remember that you introduced them to this WOW FACTOR technology!

Students use the DESIGN, MAKE and APPRAISE

cycle to build and race CO2 powered dragsters!

This project is great for teaching technology as well as graphics. The students have fun, learning through the program itself, through the opportunities it creates as they follow the design, build, test and race cycle.

As they design, students learn about aerodynamics and ways to make their dragsters go faster - experimenting with the concepts of friction, inertia, thrust, gas expansion, alignment, weight, etc.

Students then build these dragsters using materials and tools in the workshop.

And finally...

..."there is the racing!  Experience the cars flying from one end of the specially designed track to the other in lighting quick speeds, timed to within 1000th of a second. Use maths and physics to calculate speed, distance and force to learn why and how one car travels faster than another.

I always look back and remember the fun time we had designing, building and then racing these little dragsters."

(as written by a past student... he should know!)