Hybrid Car

By Gaby Romero
Physics 2nd period

The goal
The whole point of this project is to be able to
construct a small car of recyclable materials so it can
travel 5 meters then stop. This project will teach use
how to put into action our knowledge of physics into
play. There will be 4 components to this project that we
must calculate. 1) The velocity of the car 2)
Acceleration 3) Potential energy 4) Kinetic Energy.

Ideas...
- We knew we had to somehow make this car without
pushing it or use any outside forces to cause
this car to move
- We had to understand the anatomy of a car to
understand how they can operate
- We sketched out our ideas and came together as a
group to decide what wed use

Model one
Our original plan was to use a shoe box
and attach toy wheels to the sides so it
could roll.

Not the best idea so we skipped that

Our latest model

After a
couple
attempts at
making a car
we stuck
with one
model.

How we made this

We went to my house because my
dad has some metal parts and tools.
1st: We drilled holes into the
aluminum frame
2nd: Attached the steel axles with
the wheels in their designated place
3rd: We added a spoiler and attached
that with the wire that allows the
rubber band to cling on and locked
it with the rivets

How this works

Stretch the rubber-band from
the end of the wire down to the
hook located in between the two
wheels at the back. Once the
rubber- band has a good grip on
the hook slowly and steadily move
the car backwards (in a reverse
motion). This builds up the
potential energy that the rubberband has stored so when we let
the wheels go and release
pressure from the aluminum frame
the car will launch forward.

Materials and measurements

Wire: 12 in long
Aluminum spoiler: 3.5in wide, 1.9in long
Steel axles: 4.6ins
2 rivets
3 rubber wheels each 1in tall
4 screws
3 rubber-bands

Calculations
On average our car travels 5 meters in 4.94 seconds
Average velocity

Acceleration

- 1.01m/s

- 4.94m/s

Kinetic energy

130.3 J

Potential energy ( PE= mpg)

2, 375.52 J