PHYSICS PROJECTS 13-14
Individual Projects worked on outside of class.
OBJECTIVE:
Students need to learn to turn work in on time, work with their hands as well as
their mind’s, research topics challenge their creativity and learn to have fun even
when working.
GRADING:
All parts of the assignment are to be completed and on time. Your work should
always be neat, clean, typed and professional looking. Acceptable language and
behavior is a priority when competing and presenting. A professional positive
attitude is a must. Whining, complaining and a negative attitude will lose
points. Grading information for each project is included in this packet. Any
material here is possible test material.
All work is to be your own. You may seek assistance and advice but remember
this is your project and no one else’s. Using another person’s project as your
own with or without permission is cheating and will be treated with maximum
penalties. Rule breaking will result in disqualification or point deduction
depending on the rule and the magnitude.
These projects have many parts to them with different types of skills being used.
Everyone is not good in all things, do your best, be on time with completed
assignments and you will do fine.
LATENESS:
This means after your class period. One day late is half credit – no excuses. If
you are going to be absent have someone else bring in your project or it is late!!!
Turn in your project early. ABSENT = LATE = ½ credit (lose 10% every
day there after)
TIME SCHEDULE
DUE DATES
PROJECT
Sept. 18, Oct. 9*, Oct. 10*, Oct. 23
MOUSETRAP CAR
Nov 6, Dec. 17*, Dec. 18*, Jan.7
SPAGHETTI BRIDGE
Jan. 22, Feb. 19 *, Feb. 20*, Mar.12
LAUNCHER
April 2, April 24, May 1, May? ** TBD, May? ** TBD
PHYSICIST
*
**
Date the major part of the project is due
To be determined (due to end of the year schedule)
Specifics on each project are found in this project pack.
THE MOUSETRAP CAR – 123 pts.
Design and build a single mousetrap powered vehicle using inexpensive household materials, which will
travel at least 500 cm.
DO NOT DESTROY YOUR CAR WHEN WE ARE DONE. WE MAY USE IT IN A NEW PROJECT.
Sept. 18
poster- picture of car design and material list (25 pts)
Oct. 9
oral presentation – finished car used in presentation (use
questions from this packet) (34 pts)
Oct. 10
competition – car travels 500 cm with the lowest time (50 pts)
Tentative date will start as soon as finished with oral presentation
Oct. 23
wrap up questions (14 pts)
Building Rules:
1. Some ideas of materials that may be used: only 1 wooden mousetrap is to be used
1 mousetrap
Lids from containers
Rubber bands (not for energy)
Staples
Aluminum foil
Wood pencils
Paper clips
Nails/screws
Washers
Paste board
aluminum beverage cans
wood or paper match sticks
string or thread
tape (any kind)
pipe cleaners
dowels
index cards
CD’s
wire mesh
pine strips
wire coat hanger (cut)
soda straws
fishing line
glue (any kind)
wood or plastic thread spools
thumb tacks
twist ties
lug nuts
cardboard
balloons
Any common household material pre-approved by the teacher. Be sure to ask if you have any questions.
*IMPORTANT:
Prefabricated wheels (manufactured wheels) may be used but points will be
deducted 5 points out of 50 to give 90%.
2. No prefabricated materials ex: car bodies, wheels*, .remember this is a homemade car, use your
creativity to its fullest.
3. The only energy source for the vehicle must be the mousetrap; useful energy may not be stored in any
other part of the vehicle at the start the run. That means no stretched rubber bands for power.
4. The vehicle must retain all its components for the duration of the run. (The car cannot be launched so it
must remain on the floor.)
5. The vehicle will be disqualified if it is not homemade, made by someone else, has not used one mouse
trap.
6. Metal or plastic parts listed in rule #1may not be melted for adhesive purposes or for the fabrication of
vehicle parts.
7. Items listed in rule #1 do not have to retain their original configuration or function, except as listed in
rule #6.
8. No outside assistance (other than friction with the track) may be provided to the vehicle. The vehicle
may not be aided by any external launching device.
9. The track will be approximately 30 inches wide (3 tiles wide).
10. The vehicle may not exceed 30.0 cm in height, width or length. These dimensions may not be
exceeded at any time during the run. (1ft3)
11. The distance will be measured in centimeters along the border from the starting line to the point where
the vehicle leaves the track or to the point on the vehicle farthest from the starting line after the vehicle
comes to a complete stop for a minimum of 5 seconds.
1.
Scoring: 50 pts
A. Distance Round: Everyone needs to give their best try. A car that has been built to the best of your
ability but is just having trouble moving has a safety net of a 34/ 50.
34 pts
35 pts
36 pts
37 pts
38 pts
39 pts
40 pts
41 pts
42 pts
43 pts
44 pts
45 pts
does not move
0.1 cm – 49.0cm
50 cm – 99.9 cm
100 cm – 149.9 cm
150 cm – 199.9 cm
200 cm – 249.9 cm
250 cm – 299.9 cm
300 cm – 349.9 cm
350 cm – 399.9 cm
400 cm – 449.9 cm
450 cm – 499.9 cm
500
B. Speed Round: This year we will set up a motion detector to determine the speed of the cars that reach
the 500 cm mark. The fastest car that travels 500 cm earn 5 more points. If we run into problems we will
test them the old way. Two cars will race each other to the finish line of 500 cm. Whoever has the fastest
car proceeds to the heat until there is finally a winner?
13. The score will be determined by the faster car to travel 500cm. The fastest car (shortest time) will
receive 50pt /50 pts. The rest of the times will be figured from 45pts to 49 pts. If you use prefabricated
wheels 5 pts will be deducted from your total. This means that a prefabricated wheel can be the big winner
but has a 45 pts as their final grade.
C. Bonus: The car that travels the longest distance in the hallway. It can bounce of the walls, and not even
go straight. It is where it stops. The three longest distances will be given up to three bonus points. The
longest wins three points and
POSTER REQUIREMENTS - (25 pts) No poster board will be handed out on the due date
-
Title (put your name on back) and all written words are typed (3 pt)
-
Neat, professional looking, detailed drawing. (Use a straight edge) (10 pt)
-
Material list (3pt)
-
The poster must be at least 18” X 23” minimum. (3pt)
-
Four colors in addition to the poster color (3 pt)
-
Your information should cover 75% of the poster. (3pt)
-
Bonus pt(s) for actual pictures of your finished car /poster wow factor
ORAL PRESENTATION – (34 pts)
MECHANICS
2 minute prep time before beginning
Good eye contact and good articulation (no laughing, stuttering, mispronunciation)
Typed outline of questions and answers for teacher before presentation
Use poster in presentation
QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED IN PRESENTATION
1.
How does the mousetrap make your car go?
2.
Did you follow the size dimensions? What were your dimensions in cm X cm X cm.
3.
Explain why the size of the wheels matter.
your design
4.
How did you get friction for the wheels?
5.
Explain how weight impacts the movement of the car. Attach weights (ex: coins), to your car in 3
different locations. Experiment and document what you found.
6.
What type of string did you use and why?
7.
How did you wrap the string around the axle?
8.
What is your strategy for making the car go straight?
9.
How long did it take to build and modify? What would you do differently?
Show the research and site your resources to support
10. What changes did you need to make since making your poster?
WRAP UP (14 pts) – all written portions are typed or it will not be accepted
Theoretical Problem Solving- NO BUILDING
You are to design another mousetrap car that uses multiple mousetraps and an infinite number of rubber
bands. You are showing what you learned so be sure to include the information you learned in the
presentations and competition.
A. Make a neat, detailed drawing of your newly designed “mousetrap car”. The size of the car should be
larger than a DVD case (5 ½ “ X 7 ½ “)(5 pts) and be sure to include a material list (2 pts)
b. Write a detailed, explanation of how it moves ( 3pts) be sure to include the following:
Explain the axle wheel ratio (2 pts)
Explain how you would use the rubber bands.(2 pts)
(This includes no grammar or spelling errors, neat, clean, legible with no scribbles)
SPAGHETTI BRIDGE – 136 pts
Design and build a bridge made of #8 spaghetti ( if you cannot find a number then make sure the spaghetti
box is marked spaghetti but not fine or thin spaghetti) that spans a 30 cm (1 foot) opening. The bridge is to
include a super structure, a roadbed and a substructure designed within certain specifications. Use at least
two web sites for your resources.
Nov. 6
poster – drawing of bridge to scale or larger and
Dimensions (21 pts)
Dec. 17*
inspection and quality check - checking dimensions, mass
and quality of building (50 pts)
Dec. 18*
competition – how many times its own mass it can hold
Tentative date will compete after bridges are inspected (50 pts)
Jan.7
wrap up questions (15 pts)
Building Rules:
1. Construct a bridge from #8 spaghetti and glue. Rubber cement is not allowed.
2. You cannot coat or impregnate spaghetti with glue, paint or other material to make them stronger. This
includes colored glues used as paint.
3. Glue must be confined to points of contact between spaghetti pieces. Glue makes the spaghetti brittle.
4. Your bridge must span an opening of 30 cm wide. The bridge cannot be tied to any surface. This
means your road bed will need be longer than 30 cm so it may set on the tables.
5. The width of the roadbed must be at least 4 cm.
6. There is no limit to the overall height of the super structure but the height of the road bed should not be
greater than 5 cm above the desk top.
7. A wooden block (5cm X 5cm X 2cm) with an eye screw will be placed on the top of the roadbed. A
hole should be designed to be in the center of the roadbed for the eye screw to fit through. (Pinky size is
more than sufficient) An S hook will be connected through the eye and a bucket will be connected and
weights will be placed in the bucket.
8. Your bridge may touch the top surface of the supports for any length, but it may only touch the inside
vertical surfaces of the supports for up to 5 cm. Your bridge must have underneath supports and above
supports as well as a skeletal roadbed.
9. The mass of the bridge should range between 50 g and 150 g. You may bring your spaghetti into be
massed. This is approximately 4 ounces. The glue will give more mass so don’t over glue. (1 piece of
regular length spaghetti is approximately equal to one gram) You may bring in your spaghetti to be
checked.
10. Any glue that will stretch at the joints of your bridge is not allowed. Rubber cement is not allowed.
Do not use water based glues. Water based glues like Tacky Glue or Elmer’s Glue may take a very long
time to dry and they do not hold. Hot glue is very messy and hard to control and so it is difficult to do well
on gluing when hot glue is used. Use hot glue as a last resort back up.
The recommended glues on different web sites are epoxies like Deco Cement or Super Glue. Stay away
from epoxies you have to mix. If they are not mixed in exact proportions they do not stick. Remember
super glue sticks to skin so be careful. Acetone dissolves super glue, some good-quality nail polish
removers will help dissolve the glue. ALWAYS GLUE IN WELL VENTILATED AREAS. Open
windows and outside doors to ventilate.
There are many other glues are there so read the package carefully. Stay away from glues that will not dry
clear.
11. There are two grades that are given for the actual bridge. The first grade is a quality grade. How well
directions were followed. Dimensions or checked along with joining, gluing, symmetry, square ness, mass
and the whole placement for testing.
12. The second grade is a ratio what the bridge holds compared to its own mass. The bridge with the
highest structural efficiency is the winner.
E =
max. Load supported grams /
mass of the bridge grams
If there is a tie the least massive bridge wins (number obtained earlier).
13. The slotted weights should be placed evenly in the bucket. Once all the weights have been placed that
can safely (depends on the design) and the bridge still has not broken, the testing will be stopped. The
bridge must hold the load for at least 5 seconds to be counted.
Efficiency scoring
35 pts
36 pts
37 pts
38 pts
39 pts
40 pts
41 pts
42 pts
0-5
6-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-32
33-39
40-46
43 pts
44 pts
45 pts
46 pts
47 pts
48 pts
49 pts
50 pts
47-53
54-60
61-67
68-75
76-83
84-91
92-99
100-110
50 + pts bonus-max 3pts- scaled
POSTER REQUIREMENTS (21 pts) No poster board will be handed out on the due date
-
Title (put your name on back) (1 pt)
-
Neat, professional looking, detailed drawing drawn to scale or larger. Use a straight edge. (10 pts)
-
Four colors in addition to the poster color. Use different colors to represent the substructure, road
bed, superstructure and block (4 pts)
-
Include the dimensions of the roadbed (width, height and length), sub structure (width, height and
length), super structure (width, height and length) and block placement with hole for the eye screw
( size of pinky finger) (5 pts)
-
The poster must be at least 18” X 23” minimum. (3 pts)
-
Your information should cover 75% of the poster. (3 pts)
INSPECTION AND QUALITY CHECK (50 pts)
Points of poor ( 0 ), okay ( 3 ), excellent ( 5 ) will be awarded for the following:
Super structure present
substructure present and 5 cm high or less
roadbed 5 cm high or less
roadbed 4 cm wide or more
hole for block
gluing
joining
mass
symmetry
square ness
COMPETITION (50 pts)
Greatest efficiency wins.
Efficiency =
total bridge holds divided by the mass of the bridge
There are better designs than the above picture but it is a good picture for dimensions.
The best efficiency ever ( sy.11-12) was 279 X its own weight. The previous highest was held for many
years of 186 X.
WRAP UP (15 pts) - all written portions are typed or it will not be accepted
Answer the following questions:
1.
List three resources that you used to build your bridge. (list at least two web sites).
2.
Describe your design.
3.
Give three reasons for choosing that design.
4.
What turned out to be your weakest point on your bridge?
5.
What would you do differently?
LAUNCHER - 109 pts
Design and construct a device that will launch a rubber eraser hitting the bull's eyes of targets at 1,2,3 and 4
meters away.
Jan. 22
poster – picture of launcher design and material list (25 pts)
Feb. 19*
oral presentation (26 pts)
Feb. 20 *
competition (30 pts)
Mar.12
wrap up questions (28 pts)
Building Rules:
1. The device must be able to adjust to variable distances.
2. You will show the mathematics in a poster size table that proves why your launcher works ( or should
work).
3. The eraser may not be thrown directly or indirectly by your hand (no hand held sling shots).
4. Only the eraser should be on the target no part of the launcher or device may be on the target at any
time.
5. Your launcher base or launcher arm may not cross the starting line when ready to be launch.
6. Your launcher should be no more than
50 cm
X 50 cm X 50 cm and should be able to be
carried by one person . ( a 4 pt deduction from competition grade for not following this rule)
7. The device should be portable so the target can be placed on the floor in the room that the teacher
chooses.
POSTER REQUIREMENTS (25 pts) No poster board will be handed out on the due date
-
Title (put your name on back) and all written words are typed (3 pt)
-
Neat, professional looking, detailed drawing. Use a straight edge. (10 pts )
-
Material list (3 pts)
-
The poster must be at least 18” X 23” minimum. (3 pts)
-
Four colors in addition to the poster color (3 pts)
-
Your information should cover 75% of the poster. (3 pts)
ORAL PRESENTATION (30 pts)
MECHANICS
2 minute prep time before beginning
good eye contact and good articulation (no laughing, stuttering, mispronunciation)
typed outline of questions and answers for teacher before presentation
use poster in presentation
QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED IN PRESENTATION
How does you launcher work?
Explain 3 reasons why you used this design.
What did you change to make the eraser go further?
Did you follow the size dimensions? What were your dimensions in cm X cm X cm.
Explain the correlation between the stretch or compression of the elastic source and the amount of
force. Show the research and cite your resources to support your design
Why is the same size, shape and weight eraser used? Show the research and cite your resources to
support your answer.
On a second poster make a table showing the distance of each target and include the velocity, time
and vertical distance to each target. You may use v = d /t for your estimations. (12 pts)
COMPETITION (40 pts)
bull’s eye (red/yellow)
black/blue
white
tile
16
15
14
13
2
12
11
10
9
3
8
7
6
5
4
4
3
2
1
meter target
1
WRAP UP (28 pts) - all written portions are typed or it will not be accepted
Answer the following questions:
1.
List your three resources ( at least one should be a website) (3 pts)
2.
Describe your design. (3pts)
3.
Give three reasons for choosing that design without using easy or simple as reasons. (3pts)
4.
What turned out to be your weakest part of your launcher? (3 pts)
5.
What would you do differently? (3pts)
6.
Why were some launchers more accurate? (3pts)
7.
Theoretical Problem Solving – NO BUILDING
Some colleges have a competition that combines mousetrap cars and launchers. The target is set
vertically, much like a skee-ball target. The mousetrap car travels a linear distance just like our
previous project it then launches a ping pong ball at the target. The closer the mousetrap car gets to
the target the better the chance you have of hitting the target. The ring of the target where the ball
stops has a point amount associated with it. You would get two shots. The total of the points is your
score.
a. Think about how you would make the car move and how you would make it shoot the ping
pong ball. You may use more than one mousetrap and rubber bands as you choose. The ping
pong ball may be set off by the original mousetrap but it is not required.
Make a neat, detailed drawing of your “launcher – mousetrap car”. The size of the car
should be larger than a DVD case (5 ½ “ X 7 ½ “)(5 pts)
b. Write a detailed, explanation of how it moves and launches. (5 pts)
PHYSICIST – 90 – 110 pts
Research the life and accomplishments of a physicist.
April 2
Choose a physicist (0 pts)
April 24
Write a 1-2 sentence description (5 pts)
May 1
posters (30 pts)
May ?** TBD
oral presentation ( 55 pts)
May ?** TBD
evaluation of information ( 10 –40 pts)
Quiz and Final
PHYSICIST
A physicist list will be circulated for you to sign up, only one person to a physicist per class. Lottery or
coin toss will determine a winner in case of arguments. Physicist may be added to the list if kayed by the
teacher.
DESCRIPTION (Makeup time is limited due to timeliness of study sheet
Write a one to two sentence description of your physicist, if they are not on the signup sheet This will be
used to produce a study sheet and an assessment.
POSTER REQUIREMENTS ( 30 pts) No poster board will be handed out on the due date
-
Physicist’s full name (put your name on back)
-
Picture of the physicist
-
Birth date
-
death date
-
Major accomplishments ( Be selective – use headlines NOT paragraphs)
-
All wording is typed
-
28 pt and above so it is easy to read from across the room
-
The poster must be at least 18” X 23” minimum.
-
Four colors in addition to the poster color
-
Your information should cover 75% of the poster.
-
Neatness. Professional looking design, color and texture (10 pts)
(Points will be deducted for too much clutter and or Below standard)
POWERPOINT PRESENTATION (50 pts)



You will create a Powerpoint, to help explain each of the areas of information that needs to be
addressed.
The Powerpoint needs a picture of your physicist and seven other pictures (5 pts).
Bonus points will be awarded for presentations that go above and beyond my expectations.
MECHANICS (10 pts)
2 minute prep time before beginning
Good eye contact and good articulation (no laughing, stuttering, mispronunciation)
bibliography – at least three sources (6pts)
thumb drive with your ppt
INFORMATION TO BE ADDRESSED IN PRESENTATION (32 pts)
a.
Full name
b.
Year of birth
c.
Historical setting (5 pts) - Black Plague, WW I, WWII, Industrial Revolution…..How
did this impact on the physicist?
d.
Birth place
e.
Childhood, parents siblings
f.
Education
g.
Marriage, children
h.
Accomplishments
i.
Explain and show in detail one or more of theories/experiments associated with your
physicist include pictures(7 pts).
j.
Interesting fact(s) of historical significance ie: interesting story of why a theory was
written ( 4 pts)
k.
Death date
ORAL PRESENTATION – MOUSETRAP CAR
( 40 pts)
Name _______________________________
MECHANICS
0
1
2
2 minute prep time before beginning
0
1
2
good eye contact and good articulation (no laughing, stuttering,
mispronunciation)
0
1
2
typed outline of questions and answers for teacher before presentation
0
1
2
use poster in presentation
QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED IN PRESENTATION
0
1
2
How does the mousetrap make your car go?
0
2
4
Did you follow the size dimensions? What were your dimensions in cm X cm X cm.
0
2
4
Explain why the size of the wheels and axles matter.
0
2
4
Show the research and site your resources to support your design
0
1
2
How did you get friction for the wheels?
0
1
2
Explain how weight impacts the movement of the car.
0
2
4
Attach weights (ex: coins), to your car in 3 different locations. Experiment and
document what you found.
0
1
2
What type of string did you use and why?
0
1
2
How did you wrap the string around the axle?
0
1
2
What is your strategy for making the car go straight?
0
1
2
How long did it take to build and modify ? What would you do differently.
0
1
2
What changes did you need to make since making your poster?
ORAL PRESENTATION – Launcher
( 26 pts)
Name _______________________________
MECHANICS
0
1
2
2 minute prep time before beginning
0
1
2
good eye contact and good articulation (no laughing, stuttering,
mispronunciation)
0
1
2
typed outline of questions and answers for teacher before presentation
0
1
2
use poster in presentation
QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED IN PRESENTATION
0
1
2
How does you launcher work? (use launcher in demo)
Explain 3 reasons why you used this design.
0
1
2
0
1
2
0
1
2
0
1
2
What did you change to make the eraser go further?
0
1
2
Explain the correlation between the stretch or compression of the
elastic source and the amount of force.
0
1
2
Show the research and cite your resources to support your design.
0
1
2
Why is the same size, shape and weight eraser used?
0
1
2
Show the research and cite your resources to support your answer.
PHYSICIST ORAL PRESENTATION ( 50 pts)
Name _________________________________
Physicist_______________________________
____________
Picture of physicist (1)
____________
At least 7 other pictures (7)
.
MECHANICS (10 pts)
____________
2 minute prep time before beginning (2)
____________
good eye contact and good articulation (no laughing, stuttering, mispronunciation) (2)
____________
bibliography – at least three sources (6)
INFORMATION TO BE ADDRESSED IN PRESENTATION (32 pts)
____________
Full name (2)
____________
Year of birth (2)
____________
Historical setting ( 5 pts)
____________
Birth place (2)
____________
Childhood, parents siblings (2)
____________
Education (2)
____________
Marriage, children (2)
____________
Accomplishments (2)
____________
Explain and show one or more theories/experiments associated with your scientist (7)
( at least one of the 7 pictures should be of this experiment)
____________
Interesting fact(s) of historical significance ie: interesting story of why a theory was
written ( 4 pts)
____________
Death date (2)