Card Car Project
![Picture](/uploads/1/4/0/7/14075844/1365116905.jpg)
The card car was the first project that we did. We had only 3 days to complete the project and then we raced the cars. For this particular project, we had a lot of specifications to fullfil, but one of the most important ones was that the car had to hold at least 5 grams of clay. This may not seem like a detail worth mentioning, but it changed how my partner and I drew out the design for our car.
We drew two designs for our car, and both were very similar (you can see the designs at the left). After that, we had to put our ideas into effect by building the car. Our last building day was on a Friday, so my partner (Jacob) took the car home over the weekend to finish it. On Monday, we raced the cars by placing them on a ramp; we didn't push them, we simply used gravity. In order to do this project, we had to know about two principles; rolling friction and gravity. You can learn more about these principles below.
We drew two designs for our car, and both were very similar (you can see the designs at the left). After that, we had to put our ideas into effect by building the car. Our last building day was on a Friday, so my partner (Jacob) took the car home over the weekend to finish it. On Monday, we raced the cars by placing them on a ramp; we didn't push them, we simply used gravity. In order to do this project, we had to know about two principles; rolling friction and gravity. You can learn more about these principles below.
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/mov.png)
My Partner and I Assembling the Car | |
File Size: | 23 kb |
File Type: | mov |
Gravity and Rolling Friction
Dictionary.com defines gravity as "the force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth", which is almost entirely correct. Gravity is a force of attraction that draws objects toward the center of a planet, not just Earth. Gravity varies from planet to planet as well; the moon has less gravity than Earth while Jupiter has more. Gravity was very important to our card car project because it is what forced our car to move; it was dragging the car towards Earth's core.
Rolling Friction is also important; it is what kept the cars from barreling down the ramp. Rolling friction is friction between a wheel or rounded surface and another surface (usually the ground). This applies to our card car because rolling friction was the friction affecting it as it rolled down the ramp.
Rolling Friction is also important; it is what kept the cars from barreling down the ramp. Rolling friction is friction between a wheel or rounded surface and another surface (usually the ground). This applies to our card car because rolling friction was the friction affecting it as it rolled down the ramp.
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/mov.png)
img_0298.mov | |
File Size: | 18 kb |
File Type: | mov |