Hybrid Car Design
For our project we were assigned to design and build our own car that did not run on gas. Our car had to reach 5 meters and had to hold 250 kg. My group consisted of me, Matt I, and Robert S. We started brainstorming all of our ideas for the car and wrote them on a piece of paper. We decided we would make a wind up car where spring would be the source of energy. We made the car out of wood and we connected wheels on an axle to the front and back of the car. After we finished, our car only made it to 4 meters and wasn't as strong as we wanted it to be. We took apart the car and made a new one that was stronger, longer, and faster than our other one. After testing our new car, we found that it reached well over 5 meters while carrying the load of 250 kg. Our new model of the car was a success.
Key Physics Concepts Used
Kinetic Energy- the energy an object has due to its motion. KE=1/2mass x velocity squared
At the beginning, the kinetic energy of the car is at 0J but gains kinetic energy as it accelerates, then gradually decreases as the car slows back down to 0J.
Potential Energy- the energy stored in an object that transfers into kinetic energy when put in motion. PE=mass x gravity x height
The cars potential energy was at its highest at the start of the run but loses all of its potential energy as it goes because it turns into kinetic energy.
Thermal Energy- the total amount of Kinetic and Potential energy. There is no thermal energy at the start of the run but as the Potential and Kinetic energy lose their energy due to heat, the thermal energy is quite larger near the beginning of the run.
Acceleration- the increase rate of speed of an object. At the beginning of the run, the car accelerated for the first few seconds, then it slowed down and decelerated at a negative acceleration.
Velocity- speed with direction
At the beginning, the kinetic energy of the car is at 0J but gains kinetic energy as it accelerates, then gradually decreases as the car slows back down to 0J.
Potential Energy- the energy stored in an object that transfers into kinetic energy when put in motion. PE=mass x gravity x height
The cars potential energy was at its highest at the start of the run but loses all of its potential energy as it goes because it turns into kinetic energy.
Thermal Energy- the total amount of Kinetic and Potential energy. There is no thermal energy at the start of the run but as the Potential and Kinetic energy lose their energy due to heat, the thermal energy is quite larger near the beginning of the run.
Acceleration- the increase rate of speed of an object. At the beginning of the run, the car accelerated for the first few seconds, then it slowed down and decelerated at a negative acceleration.
Velocity- speed with direction
I believe that our project went really well and our group worked well together with teamwork. There were a couple life long skills I learned from this project. First, I learned how to make graphs on a computer by entering numbers on a spreadsheet which we did for our power point. Second, I learned how to make my own gas free car using springs which I thought was really cool. There was also a couple things that I could of worked on to improve future projects. First, I could have worked on focusing on my work and not being easily distracted. Second, I can be more open to hearing other peoples ideas instead of forcing my ideas.Overall, I really enjoyed learning more about the concepts of physics.