Reflection
The third project we completed in STEM was the hybrid car. Hyundai asked our class to create alternative energy cars that could travel (and stop) at 5 meters while carrying 250 grams. The car couldn't use chemical or nuclear power. My group (Brigid O'Brien, Jake Schmidt, and Casey Leong) and I decided to build our car using rubber bands as the power source. We had around 7 days to complete the project. We spent the first day planning and drawing a schematic of our car. We spent the next 3 days building the car. We used the remaining days to perfect our car (getting it to hit 5 meters consistently) and working on the presentation. We presented the final designs to the class in the form of a "sales pitch." Overall, this project was very successful and our group got along really well.
This project was the first time we got to choose our own groups. This worked really well for my group. From the beginning we had a clear view of what we wanted to do to power the car. Everyone in the group agreed on using rubber bands and we quickly got to work. Every group member contributed an idea and we integrated them into the car. As every other group we had our ups and downs. First, we did really well on time management. We finished every aspect of the project on time and we even finished ahead of the due date. This reduced stress and made the project more enjoyable. Another thing I improved on is my optimism/attitude. I try to improve my patience and attitude during every project and I think this project really helped. Throughout the project, I stayed positive and it really improved my attitude as well as my group mates'. One thing I can improve on is trial and error. When it came to fixing and tweaking the car, it required a lot of precision and patience. This was one of the most difficult parts of the project. Next time, I can contribute more ideas about how to help fix the problems instead of depending on others to fix them. Another thing that I can improve on is contributing more to the building process. My knowledge about cars is pretty limited to how they look on the outside. Before this project I didn't fully understand how cars worked from an engineering stand point. This prevented me from understanding how to build a car. In the beginning I was really confused, but soon things started to make more sense to me and I could contribute a lot more to the group. In the end, I really enjoyed this project and I think that our car turned out great.
The third project we completed in STEM was the hybrid car. Hyundai asked our class to create alternative energy cars that could travel (and stop) at 5 meters while carrying 250 grams. The car couldn't use chemical or nuclear power. My group (Brigid O'Brien, Jake Schmidt, and Casey Leong) and I decided to build our car using rubber bands as the power source. We had around 7 days to complete the project. We spent the first day planning and drawing a schematic of our car. We spent the next 3 days building the car. We used the remaining days to perfect our car (getting it to hit 5 meters consistently) and working on the presentation. We presented the final designs to the class in the form of a "sales pitch." Overall, this project was very successful and our group got along really well.
This project was the first time we got to choose our own groups. This worked really well for my group. From the beginning we had a clear view of what we wanted to do to power the car. Everyone in the group agreed on using rubber bands and we quickly got to work. Every group member contributed an idea and we integrated them into the car. As every other group we had our ups and downs. First, we did really well on time management. We finished every aspect of the project on time and we even finished ahead of the due date. This reduced stress and made the project more enjoyable. Another thing I improved on is my optimism/attitude. I try to improve my patience and attitude during every project and I think this project really helped. Throughout the project, I stayed positive and it really improved my attitude as well as my group mates'. One thing I can improve on is trial and error. When it came to fixing and tweaking the car, it required a lot of precision and patience. This was one of the most difficult parts of the project. Next time, I can contribute more ideas about how to help fix the problems instead of depending on others to fix them. Another thing that I can improve on is contributing more to the building process. My knowledge about cars is pretty limited to how they look on the outside. Before this project I didn't fully understand how cars worked from an engineering stand point. This prevented me from understanding how to build a car. In the beginning I was really confused, but soon things started to make more sense to me and I could contribute a lot more to the group. In the end, I really enjoyed this project and I think that our car turned out great.
Here is a video of our car working:
Physics Concepts
Velocity- the rate of distance covered in a direction. To find velocity we used the equation Velocity=Distance/Time
Acceleration- rate of change of velocity (speeding up or slowing down). The formula for acceleration is Acceleration=Velocity/Time
Spring Potential Energy- energy stored by the compression or expansion of a spring. To find this we used PE=1/2 times Spring Constant times X squared. X represents the distance moved by the spring.
Kinetic Energy- energy due to motion. The equation for Kinetic Energy is KE=1/2 x mass x velocity squared
Spring Constant- a measure of how easily a spring is compresses and expanded. To find this we used Spring Constant=Force/Distance
Thermal Energy- potential energy converted into heat energy
Total Energy- the total amount of kinetic, potential, and thermal energy in a moving object
Velocity- the rate of distance covered in a direction. To find velocity we used the equation Velocity=Distance/Time
Acceleration- rate of change of velocity (speeding up or slowing down). The formula for acceleration is Acceleration=Velocity/Time
Spring Potential Energy- energy stored by the compression or expansion of a spring. To find this we used PE=1/2 times Spring Constant times X squared. X represents the distance moved by the spring.
Kinetic Energy- energy due to motion. The equation for Kinetic Energy is KE=1/2 x mass x velocity squared
Spring Constant- a measure of how easily a spring is compresses and expanded. To find this we used Spring Constant=Force/Distance
Thermal Energy- potential energy converted into heat energy
Total Energy- the total amount of kinetic, potential, and thermal energy in a moving object
Power- amount of energy used per unit of time
Velocity vs. Time- This graph shows the relationship between time and the velocity of the car. The velocity shoots up in the beginning when the rubber bands are still on the car. As soon as they fall off, the car stops accelerating and runs off of momentum. When this happens, the velocity starts to decrease until the car stops and the velocity hits zero.
Velocity vs. Time- This graph shows the relationship between time and the velocity of the car. The velocity shoots up in the beginning when the rubber bands are still on the car. As soon as they fall off, the car stops accelerating and runs off of momentum. When this happens, the velocity starts to decrease until the car stops and the velocity hits zero.
Materials Used
6 Rubber Bands - $0.15 (power source)
12 Cd’s - $2.40 (wheels)
Plywood - $3.55 (base of the car)
3 Poles- $3.28 (axles and pole where we attached the rubber bands)
16 Nails- $0.31 (secured the car)
TOTAL COST: $9.69
6 Rubber Bands - $0.15 (power source)
12 Cd’s - $2.40 (wheels)
Plywood - $3.55 (base of the car)
3 Poles- $3.28 (axles and pole where we attached the rubber bands)
16 Nails- $0.31 (secured the car)
TOTAL COST: $9.69