Fire Away |
Hybrid CarIn this project my group and I were tasked with moving a 100 pennies exactly five meters. We did this by making a car that uses gravity to move forward. Their is a weight connected to a string on a pulley which when dropped pulls the string connected to the axle spinning it which allows our car to move. We measured how high the weight has to be dropped from in order to move the car exactly five meters.
|
Content
Distance vs. Time: In our presentation you can see a graph of the distance vs. time of our vehicle. The x-axis shows time and the y-axis shows distance. As you can see our vehicle moved farther as time went on. If you find the slope of the line it gives you the velocity. We made this graph by timing how long it took for our car to move each meter.
Velocity: Velocity is the rate at which an object moves in a certain direction. It is calculated by dividing the change in distance by the change in time. The slope in the distance vs. time graph is velocity. Our car and the projectile of our trebuchet both have a certain velocity.
Spring Potential Energy: Spring potential energy is the amount of energy stored in a spring when pulled back. It is calculated by taking one half of the spring constant multiplied by the displacement of the spring squared. The rubber bands in our trebuchet have a certain spring potential energy.
Gravitational Potential Energy: Gravitational potential energy is the amount of energy stored in an object that is risen into the air. It is calculated by multiplying the mass of an object by the acceleration due to gravity by the height of the object. The weight that propels our car has a certain gravitational potential energy.
Kinetic Energy: Kinetic energy is the amount of energy that an object in motion lets out. It is calculated by taking half of the mass of an object multiplied by the objects velocity squared. Our car has a certain kinetic energy.
Thermal Energy: Thermal energy is the amount of energy that is lost to heat when an object encounters friction. It is calculated by subtracting potential and kinetic energy from total energy. Eventually all energy becomes thermal energy, because energy cannot be destroyed nor created.
Friction: Friction occurs when molecules rub against each other. This is called molecular collision and it creates a force acting in the opposite direction that an object is moving at.
Velocity: Velocity is the rate at which an object moves in a certain direction. It is calculated by dividing the change in distance by the change in time. The slope in the distance vs. time graph is velocity. Our car and the projectile of our trebuchet both have a certain velocity.
Spring Potential Energy: Spring potential energy is the amount of energy stored in a spring when pulled back. It is calculated by taking one half of the spring constant multiplied by the displacement of the spring squared. The rubber bands in our trebuchet have a certain spring potential energy.
Gravitational Potential Energy: Gravitational potential energy is the amount of energy stored in an object that is risen into the air. It is calculated by multiplying the mass of an object by the acceleration due to gravity by the height of the object. The weight that propels our car has a certain gravitational potential energy.
Kinetic Energy: Kinetic energy is the amount of energy that an object in motion lets out. It is calculated by taking half of the mass of an object multiplied by the objects velocity squared. Our car has a certain kinetic energy.
Thermal Energy: Thermal energy is the amount of energy that is lost to heat when an object encounters friction. It is calculated by subtracting potential and kinetic energy from total energy. Eventually all energy becomes thermal energy, because energy cannot be destroyed nor created.
Friction: Friction occurs when molecules rub against each other. This is called molecular collision and it creates a force acting in the opposite direction that an object is moving at.
Reflection
Two things that I did well on these projects were leadership and work ethic. I was able to take leadership when I needed to and let other people lead when they should. During these projects there were times when I was able to keep my group on task and help us get finished. I also had good work ethic. I was almost always on task and trying to work on our designs and get them working.
Two things I need to work on are time management and empathy. During the alternative energy vehicle project I had poor time management and overestimated how time my group was given. I also need to work on empathy. There were many times when I did not listen to what my teammates had to say. This led to my group not getting all of our ideas across.
Two things I need to work on are time management and empathy. During the alternative energy vehicle project I had poor time management and overestimated how time my group was given. I also need to work on empathy. There were many times when I did not listen to what my teammates had to say. This led to my group not getting all of our ideas across.