Optimizing Lever Arm Length and Material for Maximum Distance in a Mousetrap Car

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around optimizing the design of a mousetrap car for maximum distance, focusing on the lever arm length and material choices.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster questions the optimal length of the lever arm and the type of string to use for maximum distance. Participants share personal experiences with different designs, noting the impact of lever arm length on performance.

Discussion Status

Participants are sharing insights based on their experiences with mousetrap cars, discussing the effects of lever arm length and material choices. There is no explicit consensus, but some guidance regarding stability and weight considerations has been offered.

Contextual Notes

Participants are exploring various assumptions about materials and design choices, with some uncertainty regarding the best configurations for achieving distance.

decibel
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am doing mine for distance should i have a long lever arm or a short lever arm, and how long should it be? and should i use a like a rubber string or just a normal one and how long should that be?


thanks if you can reply by today
 
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Well, I have made a mousetrap car not too long ago so hopefully I can help. :smile: However, mine was very different from the rest of the cars, but it went 3m.

My friend's mousetrap car got the first place (almost 100m!) and his lever arm was very long. Also, I think he used a fishing rod string. When the mousetrap car was moving the leverarm went down very slowly, allowing the car to go further. If the leverarm goes down quickly, the car will also stop quickly.

Sorry, that's all I can remember... I just had a quick glance, I didn't look at it too closely.
 
wut kind of rod do u think i should use

a fishing rod?
 
Well, I don't *think* it really matters, as long as it's stable and not too heavy. :smile:
 

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