MT Racer Design Brief

What makes the difference in a vehicle's energy efficiency? A car's energy efficiency depends on many things,
including its weight, its rolling resistance, and its aerodynamics. A car that is energy efficient can travel farther
on the same amount of gas, which saves the driver money. Creating more energy-efficient cars also decreases
air pollution and helps decrease greenhouse gas emissions due to automobile emissions. Also, gasoline is made
from oil, a fossil fuel. Oil is a non-renewable energy source, which means that when it is used up, no more is
available. For these reasons, engineers are continually figuring out ways to make cars more energy efficient by
decreasing their air resistance, rolling resistance, and weight.
The aerodynamics of a car is dependent on how much air the car has to move out of the way as it travels along a
road. Engineers often design cars to resemble aerodynamic animals and shapes in nature. Can you think of any
aerodynamic animals? Aerodynamic characteristics allow animals move through the air (or water) easily and
use little energy because they are sleek in their shapes, having no sharp corners or flat surfaces facing the wind.
This causes the air to flow smoothly (efficiently) over them. A sleek car moves more easily through the air than
a semi-truck does, which means the car is more energy efficient.
The amount of energy a car uses can also be affected by the resistance of a car's tires on the road surface. You
need to be able to find the balance between the amount of resistance, or friction, needed to keep the vehicle on
the road and the ability to move efficiently without it flying off the road or being "stuck" to the road. Engineers
design tires that increase a car's energy efficiency by rolling smoothly while making sure they are "sticky"
enough to stay safely on the road, especially through corners and on wet surfaces. A great example of this
would be a NASCAR race. Have any of you watched racing on television? The tires they use are expertly
engineered so that the cars can reach high speeds while staying on the track during the tight corners.
Finally, a car's weight affects its energy efficiency. Is it harder to push a loaded grocery cart or an empty one?
How about if you had to push the grocery cart uphill? Would you rather do it empty or full? A car's weight
determines how much energy it takes to accelerate, or speed up, the car, and it also affects how much energy it
takes to move the car up a hill. Heavier cars are less energy efficient than lighter ones. Engineers use newly
created, innovative materials whenever possible to reduce the weight of cars, as well as find ways to build them
smaller so fewer materials are needed, which in turn reduces the weight of the car.
All of these factors contribute to a car's energy efficiency, with some of them being more important at high
speeds and others being more important at low speeds.
All of these factors are considered variables, or something that you can change in an experiment or test.
Engineers perform experiments on the many different variables to design cars for different purposes. When
engineers perform experiments, they test only one variable at a time, while making sure that all of the other
potential variables are kept unchanged.

Car Design Worksheet

Problem
You are going to design a car that will roll down a track at the fastest possible speed.
Constraints
Your car must be designed to roll down a specified track (which limits the maximum size of your car). You only
have $750 to purchase supplies to construct your car. You may only use the materials listed below, purchased
for the cost shown. You will also need to create a “track” of your own degree of incline.
Material Costs
Item Cost per Item
Lifesaver Mints $75 per mint
Straw $100 per straw
Popsicle Stick $50 per stick
Masking tape $50 per 12” section
Index Card $25 per card
Paper Clips $25 per clip
Imagine
Brainstorm several ideas you have for building a really fast car. If needed, use a piece of scratch paper to draw
pictures.
Design
Draw out your car final design and label each of the different materials used (mints, tape, straw, etc.).

Build
List how much of each material you will need to build your car. Multiply the amount you need by the cost of
the material and then add all of the amounts together. How much is the total cost of your car? Do you have
enough money? Now build your car and decorate it.

Number Number x Total Cost of

Item Cost per Item
Purchased Cost Purchase

Lifesaver Mints $75 per mint

Straw $100 per straw
Popsicle Stick $50 per stick
Masking tape $50 per 12” section
Notebook Card $25 per card
Paper Clips $25 per clip
Total Spent
Race your Car

Now that you have engineered a prototype, it is time to find out how fast it is. Time how fast your car
goes down a track. Record your results in the table below. ALSO, POST A VIDEO OF AT LEAST
ONE OF YOUR TRIALS ON OUR CLASS SEESAW PAGE. BE SURE YOU EXPLAIN HOW AND
WHY YOU DESIGNED YOUR CAR THE WAY YOUR DID IN YOUR VIDEO!

Trial Distance (m) Time (s) Speed (m/s)

Trial #1

Trial #2

Trial #3

Trial #4

Trial #5

Average

Note: You will need a meter stick/measuring tape and a stopwatch. Divide your distance by time to
calculate speed.

Final Analysis

a) Which Virginnia science standards (SOLs) would this lab apply to?

b) How were you engaged?

c) Describe how I encouraged you to explore?

d) What possible probing questions could you ask for this lesson in each of the 5E sections of an inquiry
lesson?

e) How could you improve this lab experience?

f) How could this lab experience be adapted for a whole class? What could you calculate? How might
you elaborate following this lab? Which other SOLs could you incorporate other than science?