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Regina Vermina Radical Velocity Rolling Vehicle for Recreating Vermin: RVRVRVRV

R3: Regina'sRollin' Ride

Making the Ride

In order to make the ride, we began with the basic materials needed. These were:

a small cardboard box (I used a trash bag box)

4 CD's or DVDs

A long wooden dwell( The appropriate thickness for the CDs)

Appropriate tool to cut the dowels to size- (lawn scissors work)

Thick cardboard squares (about 2 inches on all sides) with a hole punched through in the middle, the size of the wooden dowel.

A small (2"x2") wooden square to use as a stopper for the wheels ( a hub cap) with a hole the same size as the dowel pre drilled in the middle.

Hot glue (or strong glue)

Scissors

Decorations, Pipe cleaners, markers, tape, paper, felt, etc.

Something to create a moveable ramp, we used a sheet of plywood.

Gummy worms (or other candy test subjects)

MAKING THE CAR

we began by glueing the cardboard squares to the box, this is what holds the axle(dowel) in place. We hot glued all 4 onto the box while pressing firmly onto each one to ensure adherent.

We then used a heavy duty scissor to cut our dowels to the length of our box plus a little extra on both sides for our wheels and stoppers.

We then inserted the cut dowels through the holes on the glued in place cardboard squares- when gluing we made sure to leave just enough room for the dowel to not be rubbing the bottom of the chassis (the box) so they could freely rotate.

Next we put one CD on each of the 4 ends of the dowels.

We then firmly pushed on each one of the square wooden stoppers to prevent from of CD wheels sliding off the Axel.

We decorated our box with pipe cleaners to give it a unique look. We as a group we proud of our transformed trash bag box!

NOW it is time for the seat and seat belt- we used a small paper cup probably 3 ounces, and put our test subjects (THE GUMMY WORMS) into the cup, which we then used pipe cleaners to cross over the top and prevent any from falling out. We placed the cup in the bottom of our chassis (box) and we are ready for a radical ride!

**NOTE* if doing this activity with younger children modifications need to be made! Such as the cutting of dowels can be done for them as well as the administration of hot glue, reducing the hazards helps to increase the learning and the fun!

Testing

RADICAL VELOCITY

FIRST we had to understand our mission: Regina Vermina has an amazing theme park and she wanted to add a new ride and she knew we were the engineers for the job! So she called us up and explained that she needed the FASTEST, SAFEST, most RADICAL RIDE for an addition to her park! Her park is for recreating vermin (i.e. gummy worms) and she needs to keep all passengers safe in the new rolling ride! SO there it is our mission to create the best new ride for the park!

NOW that we know our mission and we have built our ride and SEATBELT we are ready to test our ride! Here is how we went about doing it:

1.) We used the plywood ramp we had access to and chose a flat, smooth, level, straight area to use as our testing zone.

2.) We then used a meter stick to measure our ramp heights.We would have one group member hold the meter stick, another hold the ramp and the third make sure everything was lining up at the height we had agreed upon. We tested at 4 heights- 0cm, 20cm, 40cm, and 60cm. Each height we did 3 test runs so we could be confident in the average of our results!

3.) We created a graph (pictures below) to keep track of each height and each trial run at that height and the distance it traveled.

4.) In order to test the most accurately we could we started our car at the same place on our ramp each time- the back wheels against the back of the ramp- with the bottom of the ramp on the same exact place on the tile floor. We placed the car on the ramp and then the same person in our group gently push started our ride each time to ensure the accuracy.

5.)Once the car was released the ride began, and then once it came to a complete stop we had to measure the distance it traveled. So we used our step length (one of our group members specifically) and then if the car had traveled in-between a step length we used our meter stick to measure the exact distance which we then multiplied the number of step lengths by the distance of each step (84cm) to get a total for the step length and then added the extra centimeters to the measurements to get the total distance traveled! (How to find step length is below!!) We measured the distance traveled from the bottom of the ramp specifically where the ramp met the floor and to where the vehicle stopped.

6.) With all of this information we knew which of our trials went the furthest and we would then be able to figure out which one traveled at the fastest average speed.

NOW we test the SAFETY

1.) Set the ramp up so it is facing the wall- only a short distance away so the impact to the vehicle will be severe.

2.) We had our ramp at height of 60cm for maximum velocity going into the crash.

3.) Release the car in the same was as previous test- wheels at the back of the ramp and a small push.

4.) CRASH THE CAR!!!

5.) Check on the recreating vermin- did they remain in their seat belts?

6.) YES! Our passengers survived the crash and had an overall good time test riding Regina's Rollin Ride!

Test Height at 20cm

Test Height at 40cm

Test Height at 60cm

Seat Belt Test CRASH

DATA-

graphs & charts

{LINE GRAPHS} Using a line graph for this project made since because this data is continuous. It suggest that if the ramp height was moved any where along the line that the distance traveled would fall somewhere alone the line as well. I was able to determine the correct axis for the dependent(Y) and independent(X) variables by determining what was dependent upon the other. For this experiment the distance traveled is dependent upon how high the ramp height is, therefore the ramp height is the independent variable and the distance traveled is the dependent. Need more clarification? Check out these videos!!

Want to make your own line graph? Check out the website:

Create A Graph

FINDING STEP LENGTH

In order to find our step length we have to have a set distance that we know the measure of and are able to walk. Lets say a hallway of 70 meters- we have a specific starting and ending location. When we begin we count the exact number of steps taken until the ending location is reached. Remember that number! Now the math part! The number of steps taken in the 70 meters is divided by the 70 meters. So the equation would look like 70/# of Steps. So lets do mine! I take 83 steps in 70 meters, my equation is 70meters/83steps= .8433 THEREFORE each step I take is equivalent to 84cm. I got 84cm because I am multiplying the number I get from my division by 100 because this is how many centimeters are in one meter. If this still isn't sound very clear here is a video that can help!

LETS TALK SCIENCE

Newton's Laws

Gravity

Newtons law states that an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. In this project we are learning about unbalanced forces and what happens. A requirement in this assignment is to crash our ride into the wall and see what happens to the gummy worms, do they stay in place or are they hurt? The unbalanced force is the crash into the wall- it is stopping the object from staying in motion- causing a dramatically quick stop. We created seatbelts for our recreation vermin to keep them safe in events like this. And the seat belt helps to prevent their motion while in the car crash. It is their safety restraint or their unbalanced force in this scenario where they begin to move because of the crash, and the seat belt holds them in place more or less balances the force.

Friction

Friction is a huge factor throughout this project. When building the ride it is important to not have the dowel touching the underbody of the car because that will cause friction which will then slow down the movement of the car. Friction works as an unbalanced force- it is taking energy away from the object in motion, as something is rubbing or rolling on another surface it will slowly begin to drain energy ultimately leading to why the car would stop. As the car built up speed going down the ramp once it hit the tile ground it then was creating friction (rubbing) between the tile and the CDs which as it traveled slowed down and then stopped without ever hitting another object, the energy from the ramp was depleted. That is why the higher the ramp height the further the car traveled, because the more energy it was able to build while it went down the heightened ramp.

The all important gravity, the idea that what goes up must come down! The very specific role gravity played in this project was the pulling down of the vehicle from the ramp. Gravity was the factor that pulled the vehicle down the ramp allowing it to build speed and continue its motion. When we et go of our car at the top of the ramp gravity was acting on it to pull it down the ramp, the higher the ramp the quicker the speed.

Transfer of Energy

The transfer of energy is what allowed our car to move. From the first push start at the top of the ramp- that was the initial transfer of energy. Then as it traveled down the ramp the friction between the CD wheels and the plywood ramp was another form of energy, once the car hit the tile floor that was another transfer of energy. As the car traveled along the floor the rolling of the wheels on the floor created a heat on the floor which transferred the motion energy to the floor heat which ultimately slowed down our vehicle. The energy never disappeared, it was just moved throughout different areas of our project, our fingers, the ramp and wheels, the tile and wheels, the floor heat- until the car stopped! All of this energy essentially comes from the sun, the sun grows our food, allows us to be able to consume the food, grows and nourishes our bodies and then allowed me to give my car the initial push start- all transferring the energy back to heat( which is the same energy as the sun!)

Volume of Chassis

Volume is the amount of space a given object consumes.In order to find the volume of my chassis (body of the car) it is important to understand the volume formula for a rectangular prism. This has 3 dimensions- Length, Width, and Height. We use those dimensions and multiply them that give us our basic formula: V=LxWxH. So lets find the volume of my chassis! the length of my box was 25cm the height was 11cm and the width was 21cm. So the formula for my box is 25x11x21=5775 cubic centimeters. **Note- A cubic centimeter and a milliliter are equivalent measurements so to transform my volume to milliliters is simple it is the same number with a different unit= 5775mL. If we wanted to convert this to liters, so we can better understand that as volume then we take the number of milliliters and divide by 1000( because thats how many mL are in ONE liter. 5775/1000=5.775l. There for my box is 5.775 liters so almost 3 soda bottles would fit inside of my car body!!!

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS

K-6 SCIENCE STANDARDS

Kindergarten: K.P.1.Understand the positions and motions of objects and organisms observed in the environment.

First Grade: 1.P.1.Understand how forces (pushes or pulls) affect the motion of an object.

Second Grade: 2.P.1. Understand the relationship between sound and vibrating objects.

Third Grade: 3.P.1. Understand motion and factors that affect motion.

Forth Grade. 4.P.1. Explain how various forces affect the motion of an object.

Fifth Grade: 5.P.1.Understand force, motion and the relationship between them.

Sixth Grade: 6.P.3. Understand characteristics of energy transfer and interactions of matter and energy.

MATH IDEAS

Measuring in Centimeters
Multiplication
Addition
Counting
Shapes
Graphing
independent/ dependent variables
x and y axis
Volume