Rubber Band Car Designs For Speed

Teams of students construct rubber band powered cars from everyday materials.

Rubber band car designs for speed.

With this you can design the car to speedily sprint a short distance or travel a long distance. Loop one end on the hook at the front of the car and loop the other end over the catch on the rear axle. The video below shows a thirty foot run would have been longer but the trans. This rubber band powered car is an awesome engineering activity for your next stem project time.

Long distance rubber band car. One of the keys to a successful rubber band car are large wheels with rubbery grip that don t slip on the axel. And only utilize one rubber band for it s main power source. On twisting the rubber band around the axle you are storing potential energy in it that gets transformed into kinetic energy when you let it go.

It must travel at least 20 meters and best of all is above. Turn the rear axle several times to wind the rubber band around it set the car on a smooth hard surface and let go. Students must design their cars to travel in a straight line for a distance of at least 3 meters within a 1 meter wide track. Anything below 20 meters is a failing grade.

Because the rubber bands in this tricycle style assembly rotate in the same axis as the wheel it is possible to rotate the drive wheel dozens of times per rubber band. The focus of this lesson is on rubber band powered car design. 6 rubber band car designs use a body axle and wheels to teach potential and kinetic energy. How does it work.

Legos cardboard and other household items are used. Wind the rubber band around the axle. Corrugated cardboard two drinking straws two wooden skewers four cds that are okay to get scratched sponge paper clip assorted rubber bands tape scissors flat hard surface for testing your car hot glue gun optional. Plus it s even more fun if you can make a car go without just pushing it or by adding an expensive motor.

Loop the loose end of the rubber band over the catch. When you turn the axle on the car you are giving the rubber band potential energy which is stored energy. Choose a large rubber band to power the car. When the rubber band unwinds and the axle spins it transforms the potential stored energy into kinetic energy or motion.

Your car is ready to roll. There are lots of creative rubber band car ideas but you definitely need a rubber band and a way to wind it up. The aim of this project is distance.