| solar_powered_cars.doc |
| solar_car_brochure.docx |
| solar_panel_and_motor_handout.docx |
| solar_powered_cars_team_sheet.docx |
| finding_the_angle_of_the_sun.docx |
Solar car Project
Purpose:
Design, build and compete a small light weight car that runs on sunlight. Your team will be competing against all other teams in technology.
Constraints:
You will be given specific materials. Only those materials may be used to design and build the car. A Computer Aided Drawing of the chassis must be submitted and approved prior to building the car. A list of other constraints will be given.
Competition:
All cars will be tested during lunch on a sunny day. This must be done to keep the competition fair. The cars will race on a 10 foot track either in the courtyard or the back parking lot. A digital timer will be used to record the times with accuracy of 1/100 of a second.
Problem solving:
During the designing and construction of the car you will be faced with many problems. Some of those problems may be alignment, rolling friction, solar angle, weight, and meeting all the constraints. You must brain storm with your partners to come up with a plan to overcome each problem.
Grading:
Your grade will be calculated on a variety of criteria. You will be given a grading rubric which will explain all of the expectations of this unit. Items that are on the rubric are; CAD drawing, creativity, the build, design elements, team work, effort, and results.
Constraints:
Constraints by definition means: A limit to the design process.
Your constraints for this project are as follows:
1 Only use materials given (NO EXCEPTIONS)
2 Total length must be between 6” and 9” long
3 Width of the chassis must be 1 1/2” wide
4 CAD drawing must be complete and approved before beginning to build
5 Car must follow CAD drawing any changes must be changed in CAD first then re-approved
A letter of advice
Hi I am currently attending college to become a technology teacher. During my training to become a technology teacher I have to make visits to schools to observe teachers. For one of these visits I observed Mr. Szyikowski’s classes. During my visit I made a solar powered car and I wanted to give you some hints that will help you avoid problems that I ran into while building my car.
The first problem I ran in to while building my car was friction.
1.) One of the ways I solved this problem was by using straws as axles to reduce friction around the axles.
2.) I also moved the placement of the engine closer to the wheel to decrease the tension and the friction of the rubber band to the engine.
The second problem I ran into was that the solar panel did not provide enough energy.
1.) The way I helped solve this problem was to design a panel holding system that tilted it toward the sun.
The third problem I ran into was that the rubber band kept on sliding off the engine shaft.
1.) I tried many things to solve this problem but what I found to work best was to put a small ball of hot glue on the end of the engine shaft.
Design, build and compete a small light weight car that runs on sunlight. Your team will be competing against all other teams in technology.
Constraints:
You will be given specific materials. Only those materials may be used to design and build the car. A Computer Aided Drawing of the chassis must be submitted and approved prior to building the car. A list of other constraints will be given.
Competition:
All cars will be tested during lunch on a sunny day. This must be done to keep the competition fair. The cars will race on a 10 foot track either in the courtyard or the back parking lot. A digital timer will be used to record the times with accuracy of 1/100 of a second.
Problem solving:
During the designing and construction of the car you will be faced with many problems. Some of those problems may be alignment, rolling friction, solar angle, weight, and meeting all the constraints. You must brain storm with your partners to come up with a plan to overcome each problem.
Grading:
Your grade will be calculated on a variety of criteria. You will be given a grading rubric which will explain all of the expectations of this unit. Items that are on the rubric are; CAD drawing, creativity, the build, design elements, team work, effort, and results.
Constraints:
Constraints by definition means: A limit to the design process.
Your constraints for this project are as follows:
1 Only use materials given (NO EXCEPTIONS)
2 Total length must be between 6” and 9” long
3 Width of the chassis must be 1 1/2” wide
4 CAD drawing must be complete and approved before beginning to build
5 Car must follow CAD drawing any changes must be changed in CAD first then re-approved
A letter of advice
Hi I am currently attending college to become a technology teacher. During my training to become a technology teacher I have to make visits to schools to observe teachers. For one of these visits I observed Mr. Szyikowski’s classes. During my visit I made a solar powered car and I wanted to give you some hints that will help you avoid problems that I ran into while building my car.
The first problem I ran in to while building my car was friction.
1.) One of the ways I solved this problem was by using straws as axles to reduce friction around the axles.
2.) I also moved the placement of the engine closer to the wheel to decrease the tension and the friction of the rubber band to the engine.
The second problem I ran into was that the solar panel did not provide enough energy.
1.) The way I helped solve this problem was to design a panel holding system that tilted it toward the sun.
The third problem I ran into was that the rubber band kept on sliding off the engine shaft.
1.) I tried many things to solve this problem but what I found to work best was to put a small ball of hot glue on the end of the engine shaft.
