Water bottle car
The Challenge: Design and construct a water bottle car that will travel the length of a given track the fastest
The required materials for the water bottle car include:
• 20 oz CARBONATED bottle
• At least 3 wheels with minimum size of 35 mm.
• At least 3 wheels with a maximum size that allows it to fit on the
launcher.
• One plastic drinking straw
The non-required but permitted materials include:
• A nosecone
• Decoration
• A chassis
• Adhesives
• Axles
The prohibited materials to use for the car include:
• Superglue on the main body bottle (changes the chemical makeup and
damages the integrity of the bottle)
• Hot glue on the main body bottle (melts the bottle and damages the
integrity of the bottle)
• Pre-fabricated body part made for that purpose except the wheels and
axles
The other requirements: • The car must fit on the launcher (available during design and
construction).
• The straw must be on the bottom of the car to allow for the guide wire
to be inserted.
• The bottle may not come apart during the race.
• The bottle must allow for another car to be on the launcher at the
same time.
• The bottle’s integrity may not be compromised in any way.
• Do not paint or place anything inside the bottle except water.
• Do not cut the bottle that is part of the main body.
The concepts explored and applied to the water bottle car are all three of Newton's laws, and sliding, rolling, and fluid friction. The card car and water bottle car are similar at a surface glance, and share some common characteristics and concepts, but are very different if you look into it. The card car was simpler and had less requirements, but it was also more monotonous. The water bottle car design and construction was so much more of an interesting process. The first comparison of the water bottle car to the card car is that they both share the concept of rolling friction. Like the card car, the water bottle car's wheels making contact with the ground produce rolling friction that causes the car to stop. This is caused by Newton's first law, inertia. Sliding friction, another concept applying to water bottle cars, wasn't present in our water bottle car because ours wasn't fixed on axels, we put the axels through a straw which was taped to the car so that we could have rotating wheels. Other cars attached their axels so that the wheels didn't rotate, and rather than rolling, they slid (sliding friction). But, as I said, this concept didn't apply to our car. Another concept that applies to water bottle cars is fluid friction. This is present with the force of the water bottle car moving through the air. Another concept that applies to water bottle cars is Newton's second law- F=MA or Force=Mass x Acceleration. The mass and the acceleration of the car are variables that affect the force of the car. If the mass of the car is larger, you need more force to accelerate it. The greater the force, the greater the acceleration. Newton's third law, which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, applies to the water bottle cars because they were placed on the launcher, which applied pressure to the water and air that was inside the water bottle car and the air and water were pushing back, causing the water to become pressurized and making the bottle launch.
I learned about the application of Newton's laws of motion to real-life situations and everyday things like automobiles. I learned about how evident and present these laws are in things we would never see as part of the laws. I learned about the different types of friction and how they are applied to many things in different ways. I learned that straws alone (without some kind of base, like a piece of cardboard) are very hard to work with and will rarely be stable and sturdy. I also learned that precision is important when placing your wheels and axels on the car. My group learned that if we should ever do this project again, we will strategically place the wheels and axels so that the car isn't lopsided and uneven like ours turned out to be. It was very unstable and didn't succeed.
The required materials for the water bottle car include:
• 20 oz CARBONATED bottle
• At least 3 wheels with minimum size of 35 mm.
• At least 3 wheels with a maximum size that allows it to fit on the
launcher.
• One plastic drinking straw
The non-required but permitted materials include:
• A nosecone
• Decoration
• A chassis
• Adhesives
• Axles
The prohibited materials to use for the car include:
• Superglue on the main body bottle (changes the chemical makeup and
damages the integrity of the bottle)
• Hot glue on the main body bottle (melts the bottle and damages the
integrity of the bottle)
• Pre-fabricated body part made for that purpose except the wheels and
axles
The other requirements: • The car must fit on the launcher (available during design and
construction).
• The straw must be on the bottom of the car to allow for the guide wire
to be inserted.
• The bottle may not come apart during the race.
• The bottle must allow for another car to be on the launcher at the
same time.
• The bottle’s integrity may not be compromised in any way.
• Do not paint or place anything inside the bottle except water.
• Do not cut the bottle that is part of the main body.
The concepts explored and applied to the water bottle car are all three of Newton's laws, and sliding, rolling, and fluid friction. The card car and water bottle car are similar at a surface glance, and share some common characteristics and concepts, but are very different if you look into it. The card car was simpler and had less requirements, but it was also more monotonous. The water bottle car design and construction was so much more of an interesting process. The first comparison of the water bottle car to the card car is that they both share the concept of rolling friction. Like the card car, the water bottle car's wheels making contact with the ground produce rolling friction that causes the car to stop. This is caused by Newton's first law, inertia. Sliding friction, another concept applying to water bottle cars, wasn't present in our water bottle car because ours wasn't fixed on axels, we put the axels through a straw which was taped to the car so that we could have rotating wheels. Other cars attached their axels so that the wheels didn't rotate, and rather than rolling, they slid (sliding friction). But, as I said, this concept didn't apply to our car. Another concept that applies to water bottle cars is fluid friction. This is present with the force of the water bottle car moving through the air. Another concept that applies to water bottle cars is Newton's second law- F=MA or Force=Mass x Acceleration. The mass and the acceleration of the car are variables that affect the force of the car. If the mass of the car is larger, you need more force to accelerate it. The greater the force, the greater the acceleration. Newton's third law, which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, applies to the water bottle cars because they were placed on the launcher, which applied pressure to the water and air that was inside the water bottle car and the air and water were pushing back, causing the water to become pressurized and making the bottle launch.
I learned about the application of Newton's laws of motion to real-life situations and everyday things like automobiles. I learned about how evident and present these laws are in things we would never see as part of the laws. I learned about the different types of friction and how they are applied to many things in different ways. I learned that straws alone (without some kind of base, like a piece of cardboard) are very hard to work with and will rarely be stable and sturdy. I also learned that precision is important when placing your wheels and axels on the car. My group learned that if we should ever do this project again, we will strategically place the wheels and axels so that the car isn't lopsided and uneven like ours turned out to be. It was very unstable and didn't succeed.