How do you build a mousetrap car ???

By SatchelFirst Semester Exhibition

Demonstration

Agenda

• Why I chose this topic• History• Important information• Step by step• Compare 2 racers• Fun facts• Questions & Comments

WHY ?????I chose this topic from a list of ideas that Mrs. Tiggs had because it seemed interesting.

History

The mousetrap car was invented to allow students to see and understand how the concepts of physics are applied.

The first mousetrap car was invented by British inventor James Henry Atkinson in 1897. He was an engineer born in England (1849-1942)

His most famous invention was the mousetrap- he called it the “Little Nipper”

Little Nipper

http://inventors.about.com/od/mstartinventions/a/mousetrap.htm

Important Information

• A mousetrap powered car uses a mousetrap for a motor and a string to transmit force.

• One end of a string is attached to an arm on the mousetrap and the other end is wound around an axle.

• If you wind the string around the axle, the mousetrap spring is stretched and you have stored energy

More Information

• As the mousetrap car is released, the mousetrap pulls the string off the axle causing the wheels to turn….. & OFF THE VEHICLE GOES!!!!!!!!

Step-by-Step

• The Basic Racer had 25 steps!!!!!• See my pictures

Materials

Measuring

Drilling

Building

Axles & Wheels

Balancing Tires

Attaching Mousetrap to Deck Top

Attaching String

Basic Racer Completed

Doc Fizzix

Basic Racer I

Basic racer #1 facts

• Great all-around racer• It can go fast• Can travel long distances• It can carry weight• Easy to build• More stable• Easier to operate

Big Wheel Racer

Big wheel facts

• Travels a greater distance for each rotation of the wheel compared to a basic racer.

• Its hard to build and it needs a lot of fine-tuning to maximize its distance

Fun Facts

• You can build a fast mousetrap car by using large wheels made from old cd’s that have rubber bands around them for better traction

• The mouse trap car cost $10.00 to make• The spring on the mouse trap gives the car its speed

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Resources

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBPipeb8t3Q

• http://www.ehow.com/how_6506021_instructions-kids-build-mousetrap-car.html

• http://www.scienceguy.org/Articles/MousetrapCarConstructionArticlePlan.aspx

• http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mousetrap_car

Resources

• Doc Fizzix Mousetrap Racers: The Complete Builder’s by Alden Balmer

Questions & Comments