Making the length of the mouse trap's lever arm longer will decrease the pulling force but increase the amount of string that can be pulling from the drive axle. Shortening the length of the lever arm increases the pulling force but decrease the amount of string that can be pulled from the drive axle. The mousetrap storespotential energyin the form of the spring. That potential energy is converted into kinetic energy in the form of the arm rotating forward.
The arm pulls on the wound-up string, which turns the drive wheel dowel, which is connected to the wheels, which makes the car drive forward. Torque has been defined either as a twisting force or the tendency to rotate around an axis. For a mousetrap car that will go a long distance the lever arm needs to be longer to pull more line that is wrapped around the driving axle.
Making The Vehicle Faster Thicken the axle: Wrapping some tape radially around the axle or adding a spool. It may be surprising as to how much faster this makes the vehicle. Use smaller wheels. They will require less force to complete a rotation. Make the vehicle lighter. The most basic design for propelling a mousetrap racers is to tie one end of a string to a mouse trap's snapper arm and then attach the other end of the string to a drive axle.
By turning the drive axle the string is wound around the drive axle causing the mouse trap's spring to compress and store energy. A mousetrap car uses the stored energy of a mousetrap spring to generate forward motion. In other words, the goal is to maximize the distance traveled on both these surfaces. How do you make a mousetrap car axle?
Category: home and garden home appliances. What kind of string is best for a mousetrap car? How wide should a mousetrap car be? What can you use for wheels on a mousetrap car? What is the axle on a mousetrap car? When the trap snapped closed, it yanked the string forward. As the string was pulled, friction between it and the axle caused the axle to rotate, spinning the wheels and moving the car forward.
There are many different ways to build a mousetrap car. Your simple model moves forward a few feet, but how could you design it to go longer distances? Or how could you design it to go faster? Here are some things to think about:. Home Science Tools offers a wide variety of Physics products and kits. Life happens! But with the right mix of experiences, we can be more prepared for the unexpected. The idea of learning a life skill is that you can become better at dealing with everyday challenges that arise through various possible circumstances.
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In this article, we will discover the lifecycle of a Honey Bee. Pollination is how plants reproduce. An Overview of Robotics Robotics is the study of robots. That makes it different from a theoretical science, which deals with hypothetical and imagined concepts. This article has been viewed 1,, times. Learn more So, your science teacher has given your class the classic "mousetrap car" assignment: to make, design and build a small vehicle powered by the snapping action of a mousetrap to make your car travel as far as possible.
If you want to come out ahead of all the other students in your class, you'll need to make your car as efficient as possible so you can squeeze every last inch out of your "car".
With the right approach, it's possible to streamline your car's design for maximum distance using only common home materials. You could also buy a mousetrap car kit from any craft store and skip wondering if it will work.
To adapt your mousetrap car for distance, use large, light wheels for less friction and greater inertia. For example, old CDs make great wheels to increase distance. If your car is a rear-wheel drive car, set the wheels on a narrow rear axle so the wheels turn more and travel further.
You can also increase the distance your car will travel by making the frame lighter. Balsa wood is a great lightweight but sturdy material for your car. You can also use glue instead of nails or screws wherever possible on the frame to decrease weight. Try to use the most powerful mousetrap that you can and spray a little WD on the axles to decrease friction and increase distance. For tips on how to trap on the frame, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No.
Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Method 1. Use large rear wheels. Large wheels have greater rotational inertia than small wheels. In practice, this means that once they start rolling, they're harder to stop rolling.
This makes large wheels perfect for distance-based contests — theoretically, they'll accelerate less quickly than smaller wheels, but they'll roll much longer and they'll travel a greater distance overall. So, for maximum distance, make the wheels on the drive axle the one the mousetrap is tied to, which is usually the rear one very large.
The front wheel is a little less important — it can be large or small. For a classic drag racer look, you'll want big wheels in the back and smaller ones in front. Use thin, light wheels. Thinner wheels have less friction and may go farther if the distance is what you want or need with your mousetrap racer. It's also important to take the weight of the wheels themselves into account — any unneeded weight will ultimately slow your car down or lead to added friction.
In addition, it's worth noting that wide wheels can even have a small negative effect on the car's drag due to air resistance. For these reasons, you'll want to use the thinnest, lightest wheels available for your car. In this case, a plumbing washer may be used to reduce the hole size in the middle of the CD to fit the axle better. If you have access to old vinyl, these also work extremely well, though they may be too heavy for the smallest mousetraps.
Use a narrow rear axle. Assuming your car is a rear-wheel-drive car, each time your rear axle turns, the rear wheels turn. If your rear axle is extremely skinny, your mousetrap car will be able to turn it more times for the same length of string than it would if it were wider. This translates to turning your rear wheels more times, meaning greater distance!
For this reason, it's a wise idea to make your axle out of the skinniest material available that can still support the weight of the frame and wheels. Narrow wooden dowel rods are a great, easily-accessible choice here. If you have access to thin metal rods, these are even better — when lubricated, they usually have less friction.
Create traction by giving the edges of the friction of the wheels. If the wheels slip against the ground when the trap is sprung, energy is wasted — the mousetrap works to make the wheels turn, but you don't get any extra distance. If this happens with your car, adding a friction-inducing material to the rear wheels may reduce their slippage.
To keep your weight requirements down, use only as much as is necessary to give the tips of the wheels some grip and no extra. Some suitable materials are: [1] X Research source Electrical tape Rubber bands Popped balloon rubber Additionally, placing a piece of sandpaper under the rear wheels at the start line can reduce slippage as the car begins to move when it is most likely. Method 2. Build the lightest frame possible. Above all, your car should be light. The smaller the mass of your car, the better — every gram or milligram you can shave off of your car's frame is a little further your mousetrap will be able to push your car.
Try not to have any extra frame material beyond what's necessary to keep your mousetrap and wheel axles in place. If you see wasted space on your frame, try removing it, or, if this is impossible, make holes in it with a drill to bring its weight down. You'll also want to use the lightest material possible for your frame. Make the frame long and narrow. Ideally, you want your car to be shaped aerodynamically — that is so that it presents the smallest possible surface area in the direction it will travel.
Like an arrow, a longboat, an airplane, or a spear, a vehicle that's designed with maximum efficiency in mind will almost always have a long, skinny shape to minimize drag from air resistance. Remember, to minimize drag, you're trying to give your car the narrowest, smallest profile possible. Try getting down on the ground and looking at your car from the front to spot pieces of the frame that make your car's profile unnecessarily large.
Use glue instead of nails wherever possible. Wherever you can, try to use glue in your car's design, rather than nails, pins, or other heavier solutions. For instance, you should only need to use just a few small spots of glue to fix your mousetrap to the frame. Generally, the glue will hold just as well as nails, which can add unnecessary weight.
Use super glue not school glue it won't hold as good.
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