Rubber Band Cars and Potential Energy

Potential Energy = Potential Fun?

In Physics, Energy is defined as the capacity to do work. When you jump, play, and exercise, you are using your body's energy and expending some physics energy, too!

Potential Energy is the energy that is held by an object because of its position relative to other objects. A real life example of this would be a cereal box on top of your fridge-- it is very far from the ground, so it has a lot of potential energy!

Now how does this pertain to rubber band cars? Well, stretching a rubber band causes it to store elastic potential energy, and when the rubber band is released, all that energy has to go somewhere else. What if we could use that energy to work for us? Using simple machines such as wheels and axles, along with the energy produced using the rubber-bands, we can make a rubber band powered car!

What You'll Need:

• Corrugated cardboard

• Two drinking straws

• Two wooden skewers

• Four CDs

• Sponge

• Paper clip

• Assorted rubber bands

• Tape

• Scissors

• Flat, hard surface for testing your car

• Hot-glue gun

Experiment Steps:

1. Use a ruler to figure out where you want the placement of the holes on the straws.

2. You will have 4 holes on each straw in total. On each end of the straw, drill the first hole 1/2 inch in from the end and the second hole is drilled one inch from the end. Repeat this for both straws.

3. Next is the assembly of the car frame. You will place a toothpick all the way through each structure hole.

4. Then, use your hot glue gun and glue both toothpicks that are in the inner holes. The toothpicks in the outer holes should be able to spin freely.

5. Once dry, cut the pointed ends off your toothpicks (save these) and place a little glue on the outside section of the straw.