What new skills do I need to learn?
A mousetrap powered car is a vehicle that uses a mouse trap for a motor. There are many different ideas but the most common and probably the most successful ideas is to attach a string to the mouse trap and axle or the string pull. In this method one end of a string is attached or tied to the arm on the mousetrap and the other end of the string is wound around an axle. By winding the string around the axle the mouse trap's spring is stretched and now you have your stored energy. As the mousetrap car is released the mouse trap pulls the string off of the axle causing the wheels to turn and off the vehicle goes.
It is not as easy as you might think! You have to take into consideration many aspects of physics, like gravity, friction, weight, and proportions, just to mention some of the challenging issues.
Useful Information for Building a Mousetrap car
Distance
In this competition mousetrap cars are designed to travel the furthest distance possible. Typically mousetrap cars built for distance are characterized by having large drive wheels in order to maximize the distance the car travels from every rotation of the wheel. The lever arms attached to the mousetrap also tend to be longer in order to maximize the distance the effort arm travels. Also, in order to maximize distance you must decrease the mass of your wheels. Such as leaving them large and cutting out the centers.
Speed
A mousetrap competition may also consist of a course of a set distance (5 meters is often used). The cars are designed to complete the course in the least amount of time. The drive wheels of mousetrap cars built for speed tend to be smaller than those of distance cars to reduce the rotational inertia of the wheel. The lever arm is also smaller to increase the mechanical advantage of the lever, thereby increasing the force the lever arm applies to the axle.
Materials
Allowed materials may vary depending on the competition. In some competitions, the only requirement is that a standard-size mousetrap is the sole source of power. In other competitions there may be size, weight, building material, arm length, and overall length limitations.
