How do you build a mousetrap car with speed and distance?

How do you build a mousetrap car with speed and distance?

Increase the size of the axle. In other words, you should match a larger axle with a smaller wheel to increase acceleration. Conversely, a mousetrap racer built for distance should have a smaller axle and a larger driving wheel.

How do you increase the distance on a mousetrap car?

If you want to maximize the distance your vehicle can travel, the lever arm length of your vehicle should be larger, which increases length of string pulling the drive axle, resulting in a longer time period required to fully use all of the mousetrap’s energy. However, the speed of your vehicle will be reduced.

What makes a mouse trap car go faster?

Weight. Reducing weight is the simplest way to both increase speed and distance that your mousetrap vehicle can travel. This is because of the power to weight ratio, which is the proportion between the energy a vehicle has and the weight of that vehicle.

What are some features of a mousetrap car made for long distance?

Long-Distance Racer: Most top long-distance mousetrap racers will have large drive wheels, small drive axles, and long lever arms. Long-Distance Racers will be slow moving so as to decrease friction as much as possible and extend the pulling distance of the mouse trap.

How do you make a mousetrap car aerodynamic?

Design your mousetrap racer so that it can slice through the air with the least amount of resistance; design your vehicle to be aerodynamic. Try sanding and painting wood frames in order to cut down on the air resistance. Slow moving mousetrap vehicles will experience less friction than faster moving vehicles.

Where should I place the mousetrap for the best performance for speed?

For optimal performance the mouse trap should be positioned on the chassis so that the tip of the lever arm falls directly above the drive axle when the mousetrap vehicle is in it’s fully wound position (as pictured bellow).

How long should a mouse trap car be?

Max Length – 45 cm. Max Width – 20 cm. Height – 20 cm. Min ground clearance – 4 cm.

How long should the lever arm be on a mousetrap car for speed?

For maximum speed, position the mousetrap 2 1/4 inches from the drive axle and cut the lever arm to a length of 4 1/4 inches. The lever arm can be cut using a dremel tool or by using a fine tooth hobby saw. The lever arm should always be “just” long enough to reach the drive axle or performance will be compromised.

How far do mousetrap cars go?

The average speed the rattrap car went was 4.1963ft/s and the mousetrap car’s average speed was 2.0771ft/s. The average distance the rattap car went was 18.6875ft and the average distance the mousetrap car went was 25.5ft.

What is the equation for figuring out your speed with the mousetrap car?

The work done on the mousetrap arm is found using the formula W = F  d, where F is the force (in Newtons) applied to the mousetrap car spring arm and d is the distance (in m) through which the force is applied.