Coaster Car Research Paper

The objectives of the project were to design and build a car from a mousetrap and other materials, the main goal being to reach maximum displacement, and to use the design to demonstrate a personal understanding of the principles of physics incorporated. While our car did move and function, it did not reach a distance of ten meters, a set goal. Overall the goals, while not met completely, were at least somewhat accomplished.

To create a mousetrap car and measure its performance. We will also see where force and energy is impacting on the performance, for example friction will impact on the cars performance as it generates heat and slows to car down thus meaning that the car may not travel as far as it should. Another force that is demonstrated in testing of the car kinetic energy, without kinetic energy the car would not travel at all.

Before we did trials on the second day Taylor and I both realized that the front right wheel on our car was rubbing against the frame, therefore slowing it down. So we used the pliers to cut off a little bit of the frame in front of the wheel so it would have room to spin. Then we began our last set of trials.After Taylor and I finished these trials we

Roller coasters are driven almost entirely by inertial, gravitational and centripetal forces. Amusement parks keep building faster and more complex roller coasters, but the fundamental principles at work remain the same.

The purpose of this laboratory experiment is to construct a mousetrap vehicle. The vehicle needed to go travel five meters. My partner and I build a mousetrap car that obtain a two-axle vehicle with four CDs making the produce optimum acceleration and travel.

We were given groups to design and make a mousetrap powered car that will roll as far as possible. This will be measured and be put into a graph. We will make three modifications to our mousetrap car over the course of the experiment. We have a variety of different materials, including plastic, wooden wheels and a dowel, screws, mousetrap, blue tack and a piece of string. Forces were acting in a negative way and a positive way on the car. Gravity was pulling the car down to the ground. Uplift was pushing up upon the car against gravity. Drag was also known as friction, holding back the car while it was moving. Thrust was in the cars favour, pushing forward against the force drag. There were also many forms of energy being used and being wasted like heat and sound energy. Potential energy was stored in the mousetrap, propelling itself forward. Kinetic energy was also demonstrated when the car started to roll.

The aim of the experiment is to examine how the acceleration of the car differs when the angle of inclination of the ramp is amplified and to record and analyse findings.

The Chevrolet Camaro and the Ford Mustang rivalry has been out for a long period of time. Some people say the Camaro is better, but on the other hand there are people saying the Mustang is better. “The Ford Mustang has blown past the Chevy Camaro as America’s best-selling pony car and in June, it was even close” (Migliore 2). There are many factors that can affect this topic from the sunroof to the wheels. Although the Camaros and Mustangs are similar in appearance, they differ in the important aspects of performance and powertrain.

The mousetrap car, Versace, was tested multiple times to test how far it went. When constructing the car, the group members had different ideas, but all ideas were put into the construction of the car. The car was tested with CDs as wheels and then paper plates as wheels. Each time, when testing the car, the axle gearing had different measurements and distances. The group had finally gotten the best distance on the car. The group was also able to find the kinetic energy of the boat. Then the data from the tests were used to find the efficiency of the car. Overall, the car did very well.

and are designed out of different materials like wood and steel. Although roller coasters are fun and exciting, the questions, what allows them to twist and turn, go up and down hills at a fairly good speed? Why do they not fall off of the track when it goes through a loop? The answer to these questions and others about roller coasters lies in the application

In this case we need to overcome the friction force from the axles, and tires to be able to power the vehicle by mousetraps far enough. There is a coefficient of friction between the axle and the bearing where the axle sits in the bearings and does not spin together so that is where most of the friction is created. The front wheels currently are hard rubber, and the rear wheels are currently cutting disks which are a hard material and very skinny, creating a very little amount of friction. The total force of friction would need to be less than the force of the mousetraps on the axle throughout the traps angular travel. Methods that were used to reduce friction consists of using lubrication on the axles to make it easier to spin, use skinnier wheels to reduce friction from the ground, and making the vehicle lighter with a simpler design. (See APPENDIX 1 for detailed

Miller held over 100 patents, and he invented many of the safety devices used in today’s coasters. One of his contributions was the safety chain dog, which prevents the train from rolling backward if the lift chain breaks. Miller patented this ingenious device, which is the cause of the clanking sound heard when the train is pulled up the hill, in 1910. Two years later, Miller patented the brilliant invention of the under friction wheels. Coaster cars have three sets of wheels: a weight-bearing set riding on top of the track; a set inside the track keeping the cars on course; and a third set - the under friction wheels under the track, which lock the cars to the track (Harris).

A roller coaster is to move, change, or occur in a dramatically changeable manner of a roller coaster. As you ride a roller coaster there are points within the ride that are a thrill and others that are a scare. When the cart starts going up to the top and you begin to get higher and higher the more anticipation that starts to build within you and the more your adrenaline starts to kick in and the higher you go the scarier it gets. The cart reaches the top and as it goes down the scarier it is as you have to go through all these twists and turns until finally, you reach the end. When the ride is over and as you are taking off your seat belt and as the lever rises up from your lap the person on the intercom says "thank you for riding life".

What do you think about when you're on a roller coaster? Do you ever think how you're being pulled up this huge hill or down the hill?

The average driver doesn’t think about what keeps their car moving or what keeps them on the road, but that’s because they don’t have to. The average driver doesn’t have to worry about having enough downforce to keep them on the road or if they will reach the adhesive limit of their car’s tires around a turn. These are the things are the car designers, professional drivers, racing pit crews, serious sports car owners, and physicist think about. Physics are an important part of every sports and racing car design. The stylish curves and ground effects on sports cars are usually there not just for form but function as well allowing you to go speeds over 140 mph in most serious sports cars and remain on the road and in