CO2 Cars
Transportation / Energy & Power
After racing your cars, you will need to obtain your three times from the teacher. You should also have the weight of your car in grams already recorded. In your notebook, complete the following:
A drawing of your car, including a top view, side view, and the length
The weight of just the BODY of your car (the wooden part)
The assembled weight of your car (including wheels, axles, CO2 cartridge, etc)
The assembled weight in kilograms (200g = .2 kg)
The distance the car traveled, which is 65 feet
The three race times and the average (add your three times together, divide by 3. Round to the nearest thousandth)
The velocity of your car in ft/s, meters/s and miles per hour
velocity = distance / time (So take 65 feet and divide it by your average time)
For meters per second (m/s), take your velocity in ft/s and divide it by 3.28
For miles per hour (mph), take your velocity in ft/s and multiply it by 3600. Then divide it by 5280.
The acceleration of your car in meters per second squared (m/s2)
Take your velocity in m/s and divide it by your average time
The force applied to your car during the race in Newtons
Multiply the weight (mass) in kg and the acceleration from the previous step
You should have made some predictions about how your car would perform before the race. Write 3-4 sentences reflecting on the race--did your car perform as expected? Did anything unexpected happen? What would you do differently if you could do this project again?
Make sure you show your notebook to the teacher to receive credit!