Building a Mousetrap Car for High School Physics Class

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on a high school physics project requiring the construction of a mousetrap car that moves forward 3 meters, then backward 2 meters, and forward 3 meters again, using only the power of a mousetrap. Participants express frustration with existing resources not addressing the specific movement requirements. Suggestions include revisiting online resources for design ideas, particularly a link provided to a relevant article. The focus is on finding innovative solutions that adhere to the project constraints. Collaboration and resourcefulness are emphasized as key to successfully completing the assignment.
CGC0805
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Member has been advised to post such question in the homework forums in the future.
I am in a high school physics class and have been recently assigned a mouse trap. We were given a mouse trap, that is all, and sent out on our own to create one. The requirements for this specific mousetrap car are to go forward 3 meters, then backwards 2 meters, and finally forward three meters again.
The mouse trap has to be our only source of power and we cannot use a rat trap. Any Suggestions would be great.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Have you looked on the web? There is even a Wikipedia article.
 
  • Like
Likes berkeman
Yes I did but it doesn't help with the idea of forwards backwards then forwards again
 

Thread '1:1 versus 2:1 Mechanical Advantage debate'

The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
View full post »

Thread 'Newton's first law?'

Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?
View full post »
Thread 'Beam on an inclined plane'

Thread 'Beam on an inclined plane'

Hello! I have a question regarding a beam on an inclined plane. I was considering a beam resting on two supports attached to an inclined plane. I was almost sure that the lower support must be more loaded. My imagination about this problem is shown in the picture below. Here is how I wrote the condition of equilibrium forces: $$ \begin{cases} F_{g\parallel}=F_{t1}+F_{t2}, \\ F_{g\perp}=F_{r1}+F_{r2} \end{cases}. $$ On the other hand...
View full post »

Similar threads

Mousetrap race car is not working
Replies
16
Views
8K
How can we improve the performance of our mousetrap racecar?
Replies
1
Views
1K
How Do You Calculate the Energy Stored in a Mousetrap for a Physics Project?
Replies
1
Views
12K
Physics project: Self propelled car.
Replies
13
Views
36K
Uncovering the Mechanism Behind a Mousetrap Car
Replies
1
Views
5K
Boy Scout Project: Build a Car 20m with Mousetraps & Beans
Replies
3
Views
2K
Need to find the spring constant to achieve Max Velocity
Replies
6
Views
2K
Build a Mouse Trap Car: Backwards Motion Help
Replies
1
Views
6K
Other Long-term challenging physics project for high school
Replies
1
Views
1K
Physics of mouse-trap driven car?
Replies
10
Views
12K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top