Name: Period: Due Date: Physics Project: Balloon Powered Car

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1 Name: Period: Due Date: Physics Project: Balloon Powered Car Challenge: Design and build a balloon car that will travel the greatest distance in the Balloon Car Cup. To do this, you must combine key concepts and understandings developed in this unit. An important part of this challenge is to demonstrate that you have a solid understanding of the forces that are acting on the car and be able to apply Newton s Laws of Motion to explain how the car works. Use your Interactive Text packet and worksheets from the unit as a reference while working on the project. Objectives: Design and build a balloon powered car for maximum speed and distance and apply Newton s Laws of Motion to how it works Calculate speed of the car using the equation s = d t Rules: No more than (2) standard 9 or 12 inch balloons may power the car. You can build the car out of just about anything EXCEPT vehicle kit parts, Legos or pinewood derby cars. Your car must have at least 3 wheels. The wheels cannot be wheels from a toy car. The wheels must be made out of something that was not originally meant to be used as wheels. The car may not leave the ground and it must be capable of traveling at least 2 meters. Bonus points will be awarded for cars that reach the 3 meter mark! Procedure: Look around your house and use a variety of materials to construct your car- look through junk drawers or in the recycling bin. You do not have to buy materials at the store for this project. Be creative with what you find around the house. If you cannot find materials at home or need some helpful hints ask Miss Zack. Build your balloon powered car and bring it to school the due date. Fill out the Project Information Sheet and the Car Design and Materials Sheet and turn them in with your car. Use complete sentences and make sure your name is on your car! You will test your car on the due date and see if it meets the 2 meter requirement. You will gather data, record it on the Data Collection Sheet, reflect on the performance of your car and turn all paperwork in to Miss Zack by. 1

2 Balloon Car Cup: Project Information Sheet Name of the car: Materials used for the car: 1. List and describe three things you thought of, while designing your car, that are important in how the car starts it motion and continues to accelerate? A. B. C. 2. Define inertia: The amount of inertia the balloon powered car has depends on its. Explain how your car s inertia affects how quickly it starts up from rest or comes to a stop. 2

3 3. State Newton s Third Law of Motion: Relate Newton s Third Law of Motion to the motion of your balloon powered car. In the box, make a quick sketch of your balloon car. Using arrows, label the action force (A) and the reaction force (R). 4. Where does the car get the force it needs to move? Explain how the size of the force affects the distance the car travels? 3

4 5. Define friction: Identify the type of frictional force when your balloon car is: a. at rest at the starting line b. crossing the finish line c. When my balloon car is moving, there is frictional force between and. d. If my balloon car is moving forward, the direction of friction is. 6. Describe three variables you could change to increase the speed of your car: A. B. C. 7. Suppose you want to set up an experiment to find out more information on what type of balloon powered car can travel the farthest distance. Choose one variable to test and write an investigative question for a possible experiment. a. independent variable b. dependent variable c. controlled variables 4

5 Balloon Car Cup: Car Design and Materials Sheet Make a detailed drawing of your balloon powered car. Label the important parts and list the materials you used for those parts. 5

6 Balloon Car Cup: Data Collection Sheet Name of Car: Length (cm) = Mass (g) = Speed: Trial 1: Speed: Trial 2: Testing your car: 1. Put your car at the starting line. When I say go, you will release the balloon(s) and your partner will start timing in seconds. 2. Record the time it takes for your car to reach the finish line. Trial # 1 D= cm T= sec 2 meter requirement? yes/no 3 meter bonus? yes/no Trial # 2 D= cm T= sec 2 meter requirement? yes/no 3 meter bonus? yes/no Competition reflection questions: 1. Describe how your car performed in the two trials. 2. What changes could you make to your car to improve how it functions? 3. Of the class examples, which designs were the most effective? Explain two characteristics that made them function so well: A. B. 6

7 Apply What You Learned: For each of the following stages of a balloon car s motion: describe the motion of the car using words such as speeding up, slowing down, moving quickly, moving slowly, stopped and so on explain what is causing this motion using science ideas such as mass, force, friction and so on. Balloon car just released Balloon half deflated Balloon just finished deflating After the balloon finished deflating 7