The Science Behind our Car

In the process of testing our car, Swervy Curbie, we were able to explore the science of energy transfer. In built-it class, we learned that ENERGY NEVER DISAPPEARS, IT ONLY CHANGES FORM. This idea is seen in this project as we are dealing with many different types of energy such as chemical, kinetic, gravitational, heat, sound, etc. In the process of energy, the sun is always the first step. The sun gives off energy and things like corn, carrots, and other plants absorb this energy. Then, people or animals such as chickens, eat these crops and again, take in some of the energy. Going back to the chicken or example, when the chicken lays an egg and humans eat it, humans again are getting energy out of the egg that came from the chicken. Now that we know humans get their energy from food, this is called chemical potential energy. We, humans, use this energy, called gravitational potential energy, by using our muscles to lift things. In this example, we see all these energies working together, described in the image to the right. On the day we tested our cars, I received chemical potential energy from the salad I ate before class. I then used this energy to place our car onto the ramp, using gravitational potential energy. As the car started rolling down the ramp and moving through the hallway, it let off kinetic energy. Lastly, as the car is rolling down the hall as it nears its stopping point, it lets off other types of energy such as the sound we hear from the car rolling and heat from the wheels rubbing on the ground as friction is occurring. So, we can conclude that the higher the ramp height, the higher I had to lift our car, meaning the more energy the car has to let off sound, heat, kinetic energy, ultimately traveling further.

REGINA VERMINA RADICAL VELOCITY ROLLING

Swervy Curbie!

Close Ups of Swervy Curbie

Crash Test!

Test Run Results

Graph of Results

Swervy Curbie in Action

Connection to the K-6 Curriculum

Kindergarten:

K.P.1

Understand the positions and motions of objects and organisms observed in the environment.

K.P.1.1

Compare the relative position of various objects observed in the classroom and outside using position words such as: in front of, behind, between, on top of, under, above, below and beside.

K.P.1.2

Give examples of different ways objects and organisms move (to include falling to the ground when dropped ):

Back and forth
Fast and slow
Straight
Zigzag
Round and round

K.P.2

Understand how objects are described based on their physical properties and how they are used.

K.P.2.1

Classify objects by observable physical properties (including size, color, shape, texture, weight, and flexibility).

First Grade:

1.P.1

Understand how forces (pushes or pulls) affect the motion of an object.

1.P .1.1

Explain the importance of a push or pull to changing the motion of an object.

1.P .1.3

Predict the effect of a given force on the motion of an object, including balanced forces.

Third Grade:

3.P.1

Understand motion and factors that affect motion.

3.P .1.1

Infer changes in speed or direction resulting from forces acting on an object.

3.P .1.2

Compare the relative speeds (faster or slower) of objects that travel the same distance in different amounts of time.

3.P .1.3

Explain the effects of earth’s gravity on the motion of any object on or near the earth.

Fifth Grade:

5.P.1

Understand force, motion and the relationship between them.

5.P .1.1

Explain how factors such as gravity, friction, and change in mass affect the motion of objects.

5.P .1.2

Infer the motion of objects in terms of how far they travel in a certain amount of time and the direction in which they travel.

5.P .1.3

Illustrate the motion of an object using a graph to show a change in position over a period of time.

5.P .1.4

Predict the effect of a given force or a change in mass on the motion of an object.

Math Tools Used

In creating Swervy Curbie, we used math tools such as:

measurement units (meters and cm)
measuring distance
division/addition/subtraction
graphing
averaging
collecting data
rounding
estimating

For this project, we were tasked with creating a car that was fast and safe. We had to create a safe car that would protect vermin (gummy worms) on impact. We tested our car by releasing them down a ramp at different heights

(0, 40, 60, 80cm) to see how far it traveled.

Materials Used:

Box for chasis
CD wheels
1/4" Ivan plywood wheel adaptors with 1/4" hole drilled
Rat box cardbaord bearings with hole punch
1/4" dowel
Hot glue gun
4 gummy worms
Balloon to brace the car on impact
Pom poms/ felt for decorations

The Science Behind Swervy Curbie:

We studied Newton's Laws as we created our car, Swervy Curbie. In particular, Newton's first law of motion states that an object will remain at rest or in motion in a straight line unless it is acted on by an external force, causing it to change its state. With Swervy Curbie, we see that it has inertia by traveling down the ramp and then down the hallway. Inside our car, the vermin also follow Newton's law by continuing to travel in a straight line inside the car(or whatever direction the car was traveling before it stopped). As our car is slowed down and eventually stopped by the unbalanced force of friction(working against gravity as the wheels come in contact with the ground), our vermin inside the car continues to move in a straight line, continuing the motion they were originally traveling in. If it wasn't for the seatbelts we made, the vermin would continue traveling straight. They would crash into the steering wheel or fly out of the car until they hit an object that would stop them abruptly. Since our vermin are wearing seatbelts, the seatbelt acts as an unbalanced force in this situation as it stops the vermin from flying out of the car. Without the seatbelt, the vermin would continue going straight as Newton's Laws prove, however, with the seatbelt, we now have an unbalanced force that stops the vermin in their path and holds them back, interrupting and changing their state of travel. Lastly, we also see gravity playing a role in this project. Gravity is working to pull the car down the ramp and speed it up as it travels down the hallway. Gravity and friction compete with one another as the car races down the hallway.

A graph representing the height of the ramp and the AVERAGE distance traveled.

To start, we used Sarah's step length which was 85.5 steps to get down the whole hallway, which is 70 meters long. So we did 70m/85.5steps =.81871345 ~~about .82m/step. Next, we wanted to find the average step length in centimeters so we took .82m/step x 100cm (because there is 100 cm in 1 meter) and got 82 cm. So, we then concluded that our average step length was 82cm, which we could then use for our calculations.

Test Procedure:

We measured the height of the ramp by measuring the floor to the top of the ramp with a meter stick. We angled the ramp so it was the height in centimeters off the floor that we wanted.
We placed our car on the ramp with the back wheels even with the end of the ramp.
We measured how far our car traveled by using our step formula. We started the steps at the back of the ramp where the car started and got as close to the end of the car as possible(we measured to the end of the balloon.)
If our car was not the exact amount in steps, we measured the rest of the distance to the end of the car using the meter stick. We measured from the back of the foot to the front of the car in centimeters. Our formula was (82 x # of steps)+extra distance in cm= test run distance.

(Here is a video that breaks down how to calculate your step length)

The balloon we used to absorb the impact of our car crashing.

A close up of our vermin in the car with the seatbelt we made.

A close up showing the wheel and axel.

Our license plate

Our finished car

The volume of my chasis:

L=22cm

W=13.5cm

H=4cm

l*w*h=22*13.5*4=1188cm^3.

1cm^3=1mL

1L=1000mL

1188mL/1000=1.188L

The volume of our Chasis =1.188L

OR 1188 cubic centimeters

A line graph is appropriate when graphing my results because we are trying to see the trend between the ramp height and the average distance the car traveled. With a line graph, we can easily see how the line slopes and the difference between our results for each trial. Furthermore, I know that the x-axis is at the bottom and holds the dependent variable. I also know that the y-axis, the verticle line, holds the independent variable. I know that the independent variable is what we are changing in our experiment and the dependent variable is what changes as a result. In this situation, we are changing the height of the ramp and seeing how the average distance the car travels is changed in return. Therefore, I know that the ramp height is the independent variable that we are manipulating, meaning it goes on the y-axis and the average distance traveled goes on the x-axis.

Link to the create-a-graph website I used to create my graph:

create-a-graph

image explaining the science of energy transfer