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For this project we had to build a vehicle that used a source of energy that was not batteries, chemical energy, or nuclear power. Our vehicle also had to carry two rolls or pennies as "passengers" and get as close to six meters as possible.
Our car was made of woods, a wheel chair wheel, Kinex axle and wheels, a wooden axle, and a wooden wheel. Our vehicle was a car that used gravity as it's energy source. It used gravity as its source of energy by rolling down a ramp. Our car had to be adjusted many times for it to finally work.
Spring Potential Energy
Spring Potential Energy
Our vehicle was not run on spring power.
Total Energy
Total Energy
The total energy stays the same throughout the entire trip of our car. The total energy always stays the same. The total energy of our car was 2.13 J.
Velocity Vs Time
Velocity Vs Time
Velocity vs time shows how the velocity changes over a period of time. At 0 seconds the velocity was 1.79 m/s. At 0.74 seconds the velocity was 1.67 m/s. At 1.43 seconds it was 1.32 m/s. At 2.24 seconds it was 1.16 m/s. At 3.14 seconds it was 0.96 m/s. At 4.68 seconds it was 0.61 m/s and at 6 seconds the velocity was 0 m/s.
Gravitational Potential Energy
Gravitational Potential Energy
Gravitational potential energy is the energy an object has due to its position or gravitational field. Our car's potential energy at the start was 2.13 J. After we let our car go from the ramp, it no longer has potential energy for it is converted to kinetic energy.
Thermal Energy
Thermal Energy
Thermal energy is energy lost to heat. The thermal energy slowly rises and rises until it reaches the same as total energy. At 0 meters it was 0.68 J. At 1 meter it was 0.87 J. At 2 meters it was 1.34 J. At 3 meters it was 1.52 J. At 4 meters it was 1.72 J. At 5 meters it was 1.96 J. And finally, at 5.25 meters, it was 2.13 J.
Rotational Inertia
Rotational Inertia
In our car the rotational inertia is demonstrated in our car's wheels that rotate when the car is going. The front of our car is the heaviest but we have one big wheel in the front of our car to balance every thing out.
Kinetic Energy
Kinetic Energy
Kinetic energy is energy of motion. Our car's kinetic energy to start was 0 because there was no movement in the car. At the 0 and 1 meter mark was where our car was going the fastest so it had the most kinetic energy. At the 0 meter mark it had 1.45 J and at the 1 meter mark 1.26 J. Over time, our car slows down so its kinetic energy decreases. At the 2 meter mark our car's kinetic energy is 0.79 J and at the 3 meter mark 0.61 J. Our car continues to slow down as it reaches 5 meters. At the 4 meter mark our car's kinetic energy is 0.41 J and at the 5 meter mark 0.17 J. Unfortunately, our car didn't stop on the five meter mark but on the 5.25 meter mark. At 5.25 meters our car has come to a complete stop so it's kinetic energy is 0 J.
Distance Vs Time
Distance Vs Time
Distance vs time helped us figure out how long it took our car to go from 0 meters to 5.25 meters and what the time was at each meter mark. At the 1 meter it was 0.74 seconds. At the 2 meter mark is was 1.43. At the 3 meter mark it was 2.24 seconds. At the 4 meter mark it was 3.14 seconds and at the 5 meter mark it was 4.68 seconds.
Reflection
Reflection
My group did really well on critical thinking and collaboration. My group's car would not go for some reason. We tried a million different things and really questioned our design. While trying to find out why our car wasn't working, we also made many modifications that weren't related to our problem but I think if we hadn't made them our car wouldn't have been able to run as good. Eventually, we figured out our front wheel's axle was uneven and that's why it kept tipping over. My group is very good at solving our own problems. My group is also very good at collaborating. We are all sort of leaders and cooperate in what we are doing all the time. When our car wasn't working, we were all working together to try and figure out what was going wrong.
Some things my group struggled with was communication and being conscientious learners. My group really needs to work on listening. I kept on suggesting that our main wheel was uneven but no one really listened and just pushed that idea aside. Eventually, we were desperate so I drilled two new holes for our vehicle's axle and sure enough, it worked. One thing I can do to prevent this in the future is speak up and explain why my idea might work. Another think my group struggled with was being a conscientious learner, specifically time management. Our group spent so much time trying to fix our car and when we finally go it working we had to speed through the calculations, graphs, and presentation. Luckily, we got it all done. What we could've done to prevent this was have one of us start on the presentation and the other two of us continue to figure out what's wrong with the car.
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