Project Description:
The purpose of this project was to build a car that was powered only by a Victor standard-sized mouse trap. The car is supposed to be designed for long distance runs, not for speed. The rules were:
1. You could work either by yourself or with a partner, but your partner had to be from the same class period as you.
2. The vehicle could only be powered by a single mouse trap, and the mouse trap could only be altered to attach to the frame of the car, and to extend the length of the lever arm.
3. The lever arm can be attached to the axle with fishing line or other string.
4. The car could not have any additional potential or kinetic energy at the start of the race, other than what is stored in the mouse trap itself. It may not be pushed or touched throughout the race, and the vehicle must steer itself.
5. The spring of the mousetrap can not be altered in any way, and it may not be wound more than its normal travel distance of 180 degrees.
6. The distance that the car goes is considered as the straight distance, not the total displacement.
