Keep It Moving! from Electrons to Electric Motors
Motorized vehicles designed by student teams.Copyright 2011 Duane Turner, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Houston
Students act as engineers to apply what they know about how circuits work in electrical/motorized devices to design their own battery-operated model motor vehicles with specific parameters. They calculate the work done by the vehicles and the power produced by their motor systems.
Electrical and mechanical engineers apply what they know to solve real-world problems, such as the design of cars that operate via gasoline engines or battery cells—or both. Hybrid electric engine technology is attractive as a creative fuel conservation, "green" energy alternative. Electrical engineers design the circuits, chips and wiring used in vehicles, cell-phones, TVs, computers, MP3 players, and other electronic items that we rely upon. Mechanical engineers design materials, moving parts and mechanisms used in all sorts of devices, from monster trucks to pacemakers.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Design and construct simple motorized vehicle models using the most basic components to obtain movement.
- Explain how electric current is formed within a battery and how it powers a simple motor.
- Describe the energy conversions that take place in the model car's operation.
- Calculate the work energy produced by the movement of the designed vehicle over a specific distance.
- Observe, calculate and compare the velocities of the designed vehicles to others by measuring the time elapse to travel a certain distance.
- Calculate and compare the power of their vehicles' motor systems in comparison to other vehicles.