BALLOON-POWERED CAR CHALLENGE

INTRODUCTION
Build a balloon-powered car from recycled materials in this fun activity. You can even
grab a friend, build two cars, and race them against each other!

OBJECTIVE
Design and build your own balloon-powered car that will travel as far and fast as
possible.

QUESTIONS
What is potential energy?
What is kinetic energy?
What is Newton's third law of motion? .

HYPOTHESIS
When you inflate the balloon, put your car down, and release, your car should start
to move forward. It will keep moving until the balloon runs out of air.

BACKGROUND
Newton's third law of motion states that for every action, there is an equal and
opposite reaction. When the balloon deflates, escaping air is pushed out the back of
the balloon. In turn, the air pushes the car forward.

Newton's first law of motion states that an object in motion will remain in motion,
and an object at rest will remain at rest, unless acted upon by an outside force. You
may notice this is your car keeps moving even after the balloon has completely
deflated. The car is already moving forward, so even though the balloon is no longer
pushing it, it will keep moving until an outside force (friction) brings it to a stop.

You can also think about this activity in terms of energy. When you inflate the
balloon, it stores potential energy (in both the stretched rubber and the compressed
air inside). When you release the balloon, this stored potential energy is converted
to kinetic energy, the energy of motion. Eventually, the car will come to a stop, but
the energy is not lost—it is converted to other forms like sound and heat (from
friction). The total amount of energy is conserved.

Variables: other materials can be substituted, like a small cardboard box instead of a
plastic bottle, different sizes of balloons.

MATERIALS
 Plastic bottles

 Plastic bottle caps (4)

 Flexible straws (3)

 Wooden skewers (2)

 Balloon

 Rubber band

 Tape

 Scissors

 Hobby knife

PROCEDURE
 Cut two straws so they are slightly longer than the width of the bottle.

 Cap the straws to the bottle, make sure they are parallel.

 Two straws taped to the side of a bottle, parallel to each other.

 Cut the skewers so they are slightly longer than the straws.

 Use the hobby knife to make small holes in the center of all four bottle caps.

 Push a skewer through one of the holes.

 Thread the skewer through one of the straws, pointy end first.

 Push a bottle cap onto the other end of the skewer, this makes an axle with
two wheels.

 Repeat steps 5–7 to make a second axle.

 Plastic bottle with wheels and axles attached, made from straws, skewers, and
bottle caps.

 Make sure your axles spin freely. Put the car down and make sure it rolls
smoothly, it might get stuck if the wheels wobble or the axles are not parallel,
adjust them if needed.

 Slide the short end of the third straw into the neck of the balloon.

 Tightly wrap a rubber band around the neck of the balloon.

 Balloon attached to straw with rubber band blow the balloon up through the
straw to make sure there are no leaks.

 Cut a small hole on the top of the car.

 Press the free end of the straw through the small hole and out the mouth of
the bottle.

 Tape the straw so it points backwards, not down.

  Balloon car with the (deflated) balloon attached to the top Inflate your
balloon; then put the car own and release! Cover the tip of the straw with
your fingertip to keep the air in the balloon until you put it down.

OBSERVATIONS

Keep all variables constant, except tire type, to ensure that any difference in speed is
attributable to that factor.

You can take into account the weight of the cars and other factors that could affect
the speed.
This experiment will allow you to explore how different types of tires can affect the
speed of a balloon-powered car.

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS:

Record times and distances for each car.

Calculate the average speed for each car.
Compare the speeds obtained and see if there are significant differences.
 CONCLUSION
In the development of this project we realized that apart from being an experiment
to validate which variable reflects greater force and movement with the wind, we
also learned to have healthy fun using recycled materials to make the cars, with
which we can play by competing in the distances that each car travels, which takes
us a moment from the world of technology (use of technological devices) in which
we currently spend long periods of time immersed.
 APPLICATION
We could apply this project in the recreational part of our lives, since it is a healthy
entertainment, in which apart from having fun competing or playing by running
these cars, we learn to use recyclable materials, which are practical, easy and quick
to make. Being an activity that we could develop as a family, thus sharing quality
time.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RStgV8mA-gA&t=4s
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/balloon-car
ANNEX