Spool Racer Design & Competition
Students makes sense of how potential energy (stored energy) can be converted into kinetic energy (motion). Acting as if they were engineers designing vehicles, they use rubber bands, pencils and spools to explore how elastic potential energy from twisted rubber bands can roll the spools. They brainstorm, prototype, modify, test and redesign variations to the basic spool racer design in order to meet different design criteria, ultimately facing off in a race competition. These simple-to-make devices store potential energy in twisted rubber bands and then convert the potential energy to kinetic energy upon release.
Students explore how elastic potential energy from twisted rubber bands can roll spools.
Engineers design motor vehicles to ensure safe and effective transportation. The key component of a motor vehicle is its engine, which serves as the "black box," converting chemical energy stored in gasoline into the kinetic energy of a moving car. Since energy conversion can take place between all different types of energy, fossil fuels are not the only kind of energy input engineers choose for their vehicle designs. For example, some vehicles use batteries to store electrical energy, which is converted into kinetic energy. In this activity, students play the role of mechanical engineers as they design spool racers that demonstrate how elastic energy stored in stretched rubber bands may be used to power spool-wheeled "cars," and experience how different design criteria affect the functionality of their spool racers.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain the difference between kinetic and potential energy.
- Explain in simple terms the energy conversion mechanism of an engine.
- Make sense of the phenomenon associated with energy transfer.
- Design with respect to certain design criteria.