How Can a Physics Car Project Achieve Automatic Stopping at a Set Distance?

[Wondergirl137]

For my Physics class I have to build a car. This car must be no more than one meter in height and width. It also must carry a beanie baby passsenger. You see this car must not have a motor, and u cannot steer it in any way. You can't even push it to start it forward, you can only let it go. The catch is that the day the car is due he will assign the class a length from 8 to 12 meters. So when you release the car it will have to stop on its own exactly the distance in which he assigns that day. You are not allowed to do any testing with you car once the distance is assigned that day. For every centimeter your car misses the appointed distance, the more points you lose. I have no idea on how to make this car stop at any given distance. Please help me with my project! If you have any questions about my project feel free to post them! Thank you very much!

 

[Danger]

How ironic! I ran across this site by accident and saw this request. It's what prompted me to register. Now that I've managed to get access, I see that I'm several months too late. Just in case you still want help, I'll respond. Keep in mind that I have unusual and devious thought processes. One of my primary talents is circumventing rules without actually breaking them. Anyhow, your scenario is missing some critical details, such as what is supposed to make the car move. If no motor is allowed, it must be launched from an incline as would be a soapbox car. Is there a specific definition of "motor"? Simplest solution would be to attach a cord of specified length and anchor it. Otherwise, time or distance activated braking mechanism. Or place a barrier at the finish line. Lots of dirty tricks are technically legit.