Cover Page

Mousetrap Car Technical Report

Royal Palm Beach High School Team # 1

Team Members

Grade

Ben Mill

11th

Herbert Lee

11th

Michael Gunter

10th

Royal Palm Beach Community High School

School ID #2331
Mr. Paul Miller
January 11th 2012

Abstract
In the technical report you will understand the theory, design, and instructions on
how to build a mousetrap car, and issues and conclusions we have come onto while testing the
mousetrap car. For the car we used gears because it acts as a catalyst for the motion of the
mousetrap car. The gears of the car are in two different sizes mainly for the gear ratio. The ratio
of the car gears is 12:40 (when simplified it is reduced to 3:10 which means that for every two
full 360 degree rotations the small gear made the big gear made one 360 degree rotation. The
larger gear is located attached to the drive axle which has a major influence on the speed of the
car. (How Gear Ratios Work)This phenomenon is called the multiplier effect which has an
influence on the speed and power of the mousetrap car. The less number of spokes the small gear
has and the more spokes the large gear has the greater the torque or the measurement of force
associated with the rotation of an object around an axis. To build the car required rigorous work
that involved the use of measurements and calculations such as the N value formula which
involves using the weight of the mousetrap car after modifications, longest dimension of the car
and the speed or the distance of how far the car travels divided by the time it takes for the car to
get from point A from point B.
Also in the process of building the mousetrap car we found that the speed
component plays a greatly influential role in the new N value formula. In our findings when
testing our mousetrap car in test trials we have found that the speed plays out as the determining
factor for the new N value formula. For last year the distance traveled by the car in a straight line
from where it started to where it stopped played an influential role in the N value. By the way it
looks from the new N value formula it seems that speed is a more important factor in the N value
formula instead of the distance; because of that we have been spending more time on increasing
the speed of the mousetrap car instead of increasing the distance.

Table of Contents
Cover Page.......................................................................................................................................1
Abstract............................................................................................................................................2
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Design..............................................................................................................................................4
Construction Procedure...................................................................................................................5
Conclusions and Recommendations................................................................................................5
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................6

Introduction
To compete in the SECME mousetrap car building competition we have made a
technical diagram that shows the measurements and the design of the mousetrap car, a technical
report that consists of the scientific theory, the instructions on how we made the mousetrap car
and the product which shows the scientific phenomenon in action. For our mousetrap car we
used big these wheels with a diameter of 7 centimeters to help reduce friction and add more
traction to the car. We also compared our N value scores to other students at the schools
engineering academy to see how the engineering academy students compared to the SECME
team. The technical report of the mousetrap car shows accurate length and angle measures
pertaining to the car. For the N value calculations we have found that the speed (distance/time)
plays a key role in the N value. We also have tried experimenting with different wheels and
different gears to see if there was a change in speed.
Design
Before we continue into the parts of the car we need to know some scientific
aspects of the mousetrap car one of such is potential and kinetic energy. (Corporation) Newtons
first and second laws of motion relate to acceleration and force which applies to the kinetic and
potential energy. Potential energy can exist in a position where it is located towards a force-field
such as gravity. However kinetic energy exists when an object is motion and has the same
velocity. Traction was one of the first things we (action of string being pulled onto a road or
track) of the string because the string is what is used to wrap around the zip tie attached to axle.
The string stores potential energy which is then transferred into kinetic energy when the string
unwinds from the axle pulling onto the zip tie causing the mousetrap car into motion. The car
operates when one part of a string which is tied onto the arm of the mousetrap car and another is
tied as a knotted loop that is attached to a zip-tie piece on the axle. When the string is being
winded onto the axle the car gains mechanical potential energy which is then converted to kinetic
energy (the energy associated with motion) when the hammer of the mousetrap car is released
causing the string to pull on the zip tie which causes the axles and the wheels to be brought into
motion. (Potential Energy) The kind of potential energy used in this situation was elastic
potential energy which is the potential energy associated with changed properties of matter.
(Hooke's Law, 2005-2008) Hooke's law which is associated to restoring a force in a spring is
directly proportional to a small displacement. In equation form it would look like this.
F = -Kx
F = applied force
K = spring constant
x = displacement of spring (has negative value representing that the spring is compressed)
Hooke's law can apply to this situation because the motion of the car is mainly
influenced to the forces applied to the spring relating to its elasticity. When the hammer is pulled
back, the atoms and molecules of the spring get displaced due to exposure of stress and it gains
potential energy. When the hammer pulls back, the spring decompresses in which potential
energy converts into kinetic energy.

Construction Procedure
To build a functional mousetrap car you would need one mousetrap car, one set of small
popsicles that are about 11 cm long, one set of large popsicles that are about 15 cm long, 3 sets of
axles (two for the wheels and one for one of the gears. You also need two sets of axles, two gears
of different sizes (1 small and 1 large), a pair of thin wheels, a pair of thick wheels, a
screwdriver, pliers, clamp, saw, filers, drill, piece of string ( 18 centimeters), and rubber bands
(optional)With a mousetrap remove the arm piece (the metal piece hanging out that is not
attached to the spring) using pliers. Then measure how far you want the axle to be away from the
side of the mousetrap car by using a ruler. When you get the right measurement distance make a
small circle shaped mark on the set of popsicles using a pencil because you need to know where
you need to drill the hole. (Note: If you are planning to use gears you will need to make
additional marks per Popsicle). Before using the drill ensure that you aim the drill head towards
the mark so you get an accurate drill spot; once youre ready drill the hole. Then insert the
two axles into the holes you just drilled for the popsicles, if the axle doesnt fit use a filer to
expand the hole by using an in-and-out motion.
When the gears fit the axle you should now put the axle through the holes of your
popsicle stick. Glue the popsicle sticks to the mousetrap car while the axles are attached (make
sure that the popsicle sticks are parallel to each other) and use the clamp to keep the popsicle
stick from moving while the glue dries. For the other axle, attach it by placing in between the
holes of the other Popsicle stick and attach the axles into the wheel by placing the axle into the
compartment. Put the mousetrap car on its side and hammer it to keep the wheels from getting
loose. Then glue the part of the popsicle stick overlapping with the mousetrap car and clamp the
glued pieces (make sure that the sticks are parallel to each other) to keep stick in place when
drying. Take a zip-tie and wrap it around the axle of the car next to the back wheels. After that
pull the zip tie back until it is tightly attached to axle, and then the mousetrap car should properly
function.
Conclusions and Recommendations
One problem that we encountered when building our mousetrap car was the
process of making the hole for the bearings. The bearings of the mousetrap car were
implemented mainly to reduce the friction between the gears. Another problem we encountered
was finding an adequate breaking system for the mousetrap car. The purpose of the breaking
system was to maximize the N value formula for our mousetrap car. To better explain this, I will
discuss about the new N value formula. When we were in the process of building our cars, we
found that the faster the car travels in a given time, the higher the N value, so there might be a
variation between the speed and N value. That given the team the idea of introducing a breaking
system that would stop a car after traveling a certain amount of feet. If the car is stopped by these
breaks after traveling in a short period of time, the N value would be greater than if we did not
implement the breaking system.

Bibliography
Hooke's Law. (2005-2008). Retrieved from 4Physics:
http://www.4physics.com/phy_demo/HookesLaw/HookesLawLab.html

Corporation, O. (n.d.). Kinetic And Potential Energy. Retrieved from ThinkQuest:

http://library.thinkquest.org/2745/data/ke.htm
How Gear Ratios Work. (n.d.). Retrieved from HowStuffWorks:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/gears.htm
Potential Energy. (n.d.). Retrieved from University of Oregon:
http://jersey.uoregon.edu/vlab/PotentialEnergy/

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