How does the wheel to axle ratio affect mousetrap car?
Wheels and Axles The ratio of the drive axle to the drive wheel represents the gearing of the vehicles or the transmission. By changing the size of the drive wheel(s) you can speed-up or slow-down your mousetrap vehicle. Larger drive wheels have a greater travel distance per each turn than smaller drive wheel.
What are the best wheels to use for a mousetrap car?
Use thin, light wheels.
- Old CDs or DVDs work fairly well for this purpose — they’re large, thin, and extremely light.
- If you have access to old vinyl, these also work extremely well, though they may be too heavy for the smallest mousetraps.
Is a mousetrap a wheel and axle?
A mousetrap car is a model car made from simple materials that is powered by a mousetrap. A mousetrap car can be made from cardboard or balsa wood with CD’s for wheels and axles of wood or brass tubing. Power to drive the wheels is provided by a mousetrap to which a wand and string is attached to the snap arm.
Are big wheels better for a mousetrap car?
Larger drive wheels will have a greater travel distance per each turn compared to smaller drive wheel. It would make sense to use a super huge drive wheel so for each turn of this massive drive wheel the mousetrap vehicle will travel an incredible distance.
How big should the wheels be on a mousetrap car?
The ideal size for an ultra big wheel on a long distance mousetrap racer seams to be somewhere between 10 and 15 inches. And the ideal size for a drive wheel on a speed-trap racer seams to be between 2 and 3 inches but no more than 4 inches.
What makes a mousetrap car go farther?
Using large rear wheels allow one rotation of the axle to take the car a much further distance. In other words, a given length of the string from the mousetrap moves the car a greater distance. The last note is to place your mousetrap as close to the front of the car as possible.
What makes a mouse trap car go further?
What is an axle hook on a mousetrap car?
An important part of a mousetrap vehicles propulsion system is the axle hook. Learn how to make and attach an axle hook in order to propel a mousetrap racer. A mousetrap powered car is a vehicle that is powered by the energy of a wound-up mouse trap’s spring.
What kind of wheels did you use in each axle What is the effect of using large or small wheels?
What kind of wheels did you use in each axle? Each axle had a CD wheel attached. What is the effect of using large or small wheels? Larger wheels are better for traveling over minor debris and cracks on the surface whereas smaller wheels are good for being lighter.
What happens if the mousetrap is mounted too far from the drive axle?
What happens if the mousetrap is mounted too far from the drive axle? You will lose pulling force or energy to friction.
For which purpose is the wheel and axle used?
wheel and axle, basic machine component for amplifying force. In its earliest form it was probably used for raising weights or water buckets from wells.
Should you put slack in your string when you wind it around the axle?
Do not put slack in the string as it is wound around the drive axle by holding down on the mousetrap. The string should be pulled tightly by the mousetrap’s lever as it is wound around the axle. lever arm to the drive axle’s hook.
What are 2 examples of a wheel and axle?
Some examples of the wheel and axle include a door knob, a screwdriver, an egg beater, a water wheel, the steering wheel of an automobile, and the crank used to raise a bucket of water from a well. When the wheel in a wheel and axle machine is turned, so is the axle, and vice versa.
Is a car a wheel and axle?
A smaller cylinder shaped wheel, called the axle, connects the wheels on a car. When the axle is turned the wheels turn together, allowing the car to move forward or backward. A wheel and axle is the simple machine at work in steering wheels, doorknobs, windmills, and bicycle wheels.