This may have the title of Hybrid Car, but there where actually 2 parts to this project. The first part was making a trebuchet and the second was making the car
Trebuchet- Fire Away!
For our fire away project we had to launch a projectile as far as we could with a trebuchet, or a catapult. However, no dimensions of the trebuchet could be longer than 1 meter. The way our trebuchet works is by putting the rubber bands around the nail on the front. Then you pull back so that the nail with the string is as low as you can get it. Finally, let go and let the projectile fire If you would like all of the specifics, I made of Proof of Efficacy showing everything from the design to the physics. Our design changed very much through the design of the project. Our first legs split in half, which caused us to make thinner and taller wood. We also originally had a cup to hold our projectile as we launched it, but we had to change to a string in order to have a farther launch.
Hybrid Car
For the hybrid car we had to make a vehicle that could transport 2 rolls of 50 pennies having a 250 gram mass exactly 5 meters. My group took a non-traditional approach for our. What we did was we took two tech decks, which are miniature skateboards, and used duct tape and rubber bands to attach then together. We then took our passengers and duct taped them to the tech deck so they wouldn't get damaged. Next we had 3 chains of rubber bands 3 strands long attached to 2 nails that are 30 centimeters apart. We put the teck decks in the middle of the rubber band, pulled back, and let go.
If you would like to learn more about the physics of our presentation, we have a Google Slides presentation explaining all the physics. This project was quite the travail for me because we first had a simple design of rolling the tech decks down a ramp, but realised after we had the pennies that we needed to change. So our final design was not what we intended to have, but still got the job done.
If you would like to learn more about the physics of our presentation, we have a Google Slides presentation explaining all the physics. This project was quite the travail for me because we first had a simple design of rolling the tech decks down a ramp, but realised after we had the pennies that we needed to change. So our final design was not what we intended to have, but still got the job done.
Reflection
These two projects were overall very challenging for me. One of the difficulties was not knowing my team members too well, which for me is a big challenge because I don't know how to work with these people. However after the first couple of weeks I feel like my group didn't do half bad on these projects
One of the things I did a good job on in this project was making the best out of the worst. With both of our projects, everything was going great in the beginning. Then we would have one major mishap, and we would have to make up for the problem quickly. Our projects may not be the next step in engineering, but we still met the criteria. Another peak for me would be stepping up and being a leader. In a lot of the projects I would sit back and let another person be the leader. But this time I was definitely more of a leader, making more of the big decisions and delegating work much more than I have in previous projects
While I may have done well on a lot of aspects, I also have some things that I need to improve upon. One pit I had was time management. With both of these projects I was spending far too much time working on the engineering part and too little on the calculations. This was a real problem with the hybrid car, since on the last build day we got the pennies and our machine didn't work. So we spent the final week scrambling to make a functional design, and I had to do the calculations with a launch that wasn't even with our final design. Another pit I had was having a fixed mindset. I got really latched on to the idea of tech decks, and then once they didn't work I didn't really have any ideas that didn't involve the darn skateboards. Overall I feel like on these projects I had more peaks than pits, but I definitely learned some important lessons.
One of the things I did a good job on in this project was making the best out of the worst. With both of our projects, everything was going great in the beginning. Then we would have one major mishap, and we would have to make up for the problem quickly. Our projects may not be the next step in engineering, but we still met the criteria. Another peak for me would be stepping up and being a leader. In a lot of the projects I would sit back and let another person be the leader. But this time I was definitely more of a leader, making more of the big decisions and delegating work much more than I have in previous projects
While I may have done well on a lot of aspects, I also have some things that I need to improve upon. One pit I had was time management. With both of these projects I was spending far too much time working on the engineering part and too little on the calculations. This was a real problem with the hybrid car, since on the last build day we got the pennies and our machine didn't work. So we spent the final week scrambling to make a functional design, and I had to do the calculations with a launch that wasn't even with our final design. Another pit I had was having a fixed mindset. I got really latched on to the idea of tech decks, and then once they didn't work I didn't really have any ideas that didn't involve the darn skateboards. Overall I feel like on these projects I had more peaks than pits, but I definitely learned some important lessons.
Concepts
Distance v time-Distance versus time is, as said, the change in distance compared to the change in time. This can also be used to find velocity
Velocity- Velocity is the change of distance over the change of time. Velocity is measured using the variable v. It is found using the equationg d/t where d is distance and t is time. It is measured in meters per second. Velocity is used anytime an object moves,
Potential Energy- There are two types of potential energy. Both types of energy are measured in Joules. They both use the variable PE
Gravitational- Gravitational potential energy is the energy an object has due to its height. Gravitaional PE is found using the equation mgh where m is mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity and h how high the object is above the ground. Anytime an object is above the ground it has potential energy
Spring- Spring potential energy is the energy stored from an object deforming, like a spring stretching. Spring potential energy is found using the equation 1/2kx^2 where k is the spring constant and x is the displacement of the spring stretching. Anytime a spring is stretched it has spring potential energy.
Kinetic Energy- Kinetic energy is the energy an object has due to motion. It is measured using the variable KE. Kinetic energy is found using the equation 1/2mv^2 where v is velocity and m is mass. It is measured in Joules, Any time an object moves it has Kinetic Energy
Thermal Energy- Thermal energy is the energy lost due to hear. Thermal energy is represented by the variable TE. It is found by adding the PE and KE and subtracing it from the total energy. Anytime an object has heat it has thermal enrgy
Friction- Friction is the result of molecules rubbing together in opposite directions. Anytime 2 surfaces rub against one another they have friction
Spring Constant- Spring constant is the energy required to compress or spress a spring. It is measured with the unit k. Spring constant is measured using the equation k=F/x where F is the force applied to the spring and x is the distance the spring stretches. Anytime a spring is stretched it has a spring constant
Velocity- Velocity is the change of distance over the change of time. Velocity is measured using the variable v. It is found using the equationg d/t where d is distance and t is time. It is measured in meters per second. Velocity is used anytime an object moves,
Potential Energy- There are two types of potential energy. Both types of energy are measured in Joules. They both use the variable PE
Gravitational- Gravitational potential energy is the energy an object has due to its height. Gravitaional PE is found using the equation mgh where m is mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity and h how high the object is above the ground. Anytime an object is above the ground it has potential energy
Spring- Spring potential energy is the energy stored from an object deforming, like a spring stretching. Spring potential energy is found using the equation 1/2kx^2 where k is the spring constant and x is the displacement of the spring stretching. Anytime a spring is stretched it has spring potential energy.
Kinetic Energy- Kinetic energy is the energy an object has due to motion. It is measured using the variable KE. Kinetic energy is found using the equation 1/2mv^2 where v is velocity and m is mass. It is measured in Joules, Any time an object moves it has Kinetic Energy
Thermal Energy- Thermal energy is the energy lost due to hear. Thermal energy is represented by the variable TE. It is found by adding the PE and KE and subtracing it from the total energy. Anytime an object has heat it has thermal enrgy
Friction- Friction is the result of molecules rubbing together in opposite directions. Anytime 2 surfaces rub against one another they have friction
Spring Constant- Spring constant is the energy required to compress or spress a spring. It is measured with the unit k. Spring constant is measured using the equation k=F/x where F is the force applied to the spring and x is the distance the spring stretches. Anytime a spring is stretched it has a spring constant