Balloon Race Cars

Objectives:

To create a balloon powered race car for maximum speed and distance
To incorporate Newton's Laws of Motion
To learn how to use the formula Speed= Distance / Time

Materials:

9 inch balloon (standard size)

Pen barrel or straw
Various materials to construct the racers

Rules:
1.
2.
3.
4.

The car must be powered by no more than 2 balloons.

You can build the car out of anything.
It must have at least three wheels. Wheels are defined as anything that is round and goes around.
The wheels cannot be wheels from a toy car. They must be made out of something that was not originally meant
to be used as wheels.
5. The car may not leave the ground.
6. The car must be capable of traveling at least 5 meters.
Procedure:

You will bring in materials from home and assemble your car in class.
On race day we will set up a track in our classroom.
You will race in pairs against other classmates.
Cars that follow all of the rules will be eligible for awards.
Winning cars will be displayed in the hallway as well as on our web page!
These awards will be given in three categories.
Best Looking Car
Fastest Car (in first 5 meters)
Farthest Distance Traveled

Rubric:

Car follows all rules and can travel 5 meters (10 pts)
Data table (10 pts)
Distance vs. time graph (10 pts)
Analysis paragraph (10 pts)
Total (40pts)

Balloon Race Cars - Data

Name ________________________
Date _________________________

Directions:

After you race your car today, you will gather data from two other students to compare the

speed of your cars. Please use the tables below for the data collection.
On two separate pieces of paper, you will then:
1) Create a distance vs. time graph with data for all three cars.
2) Write a paragraph where you analyze the data collected for all three cars.

Your Data

Student 1s Data

Student 2s Data

Distance _________ m

Distance _________ m

Distance _________ m

Time ____________s

Time ____________s

Time ____________s

Speed = __________m/s

Speed = __________m/s

Speed = __________m/s

______ Car moved >5 meters

______ Car moved >5 meters

______ Car moved >5 meters

______ Car moved < 5 meters

______ Car moved < 5 meters

______ Car moved < 5 meters

______ Car Followed Rules

______ Car Followed Rules

______ Car Followed Rules

______ Car Disqualified

______ Car Disqualified

______ Car Disqualified

______ Not turned in today

______ Not turned in today

______ Not turned in today

Additional Notes