Engineering Principals

Mouse Trap Car Design Contest

Objective:  

v     Each individual student will design and engineer a vehicle, powered solely by the kinetic energy of one mousetrap.

v     The goal is to make the vehicle travel the greatest linear distance.

v     You will have two class periods to work on your vehicle and one for testing.

Construction:  

v      The device must be powered by a single mouse trap.

v      The mousetrap cannot be physically altered except for the following: The mousetrap’s trip mechanism will be removed.

v      The mouse trap must be reusable after the contest.

v      The device cannot have any additional potential or kinetic energy at the start other than what can be stored in the mousetraps spring itself.

v      All parts of the vehicle must remain with the vehicle as it travels down the track and stops.

v      The spring from the mousetrap cannot be altered.

v      The spring cannot be wound more than its normal travel distance, or 180 degrees.

v      The vehicle must steer itself; no outside forces may be used to guide it.

v      The vehicle must be self-starting and may not receive a push.

Competition:  

v      The race track will be the hall.

v      Each contestant will be given two attempts.

v      Winner will be based upon the longest single run by a contestant.

Materials:

1 - Mouse trap                         2 - 4 X 5 card
4 – CDs                                   1 – Coat hanger
4 - Craft sticks                         2 - Straws
30” String                                 2 – Rubber bands
Three glue sticks.                     

Grade will be biased on the following:

No completed vehicle = 50       Completed vehicle that fails to move = 60
Greatest distance = 100            Shortest distance = 70
Other Grades will be biased on distance ranking.