Paper Drag RacersPaper Drag Racers

Paper Drag Racers

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Newton’s Laws of Motion

Isaac Newton

•Isaac Newton came up with the 3 laws of motion.

•He helped us understand gravity.

•Born in 1642

•He had HAIR!

•He watched an apple fall and he discovered gravity.

NEWTON'S 1ST LAW OF MOTION

Objects at rest will stay at rest and objects in motion will stay in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by unbalanced forces.

How does this apply to your drag racing car?

We should make our rocket balanced so it goes straight and so it doesn’t flip out in the air because of unbalanced forces.

What are What are

examples of

examples of

unbalanced

unbalanced

forces?forces?

1. Wind1. Wind

2. Carpet2. Carpet

3.3.4.4.5. 5.

Newton's 2nd Law of Motion

• The greater the mass of the object being accelerated the greater the amount of force needed to accelerate the object.

• F=ma

• Force = mass X acceleration.

• Dump Truck vs. Smart Car• Does it take more force to get a big dump truck rolling?

• Does it take more force to stop the big dump truck ?

3rd law of motion

•“For every action there is always an opposite and equal reaction.”

• The drag car’s action is to push compressed air out of the body tube when the launch trigger is pushed. The reaction is where the surrounding air pushes the car forward with an equal force.

Variables to Think About.

•Body Tube Length

•Wheel Block Size/Mass

•Aerodynamics

•Wheel/Axle Spcing

•Body Tube Maaterial

Paper Drag Racers

•We will be building paper drag racers. Your dragster will race against all challengers. Good Luck.

•We have “clocked” these paper dragsters as fast as 105 miles per hour. This is actual speed not scaled miles per hour.

Paper Drag RacersPaper Drag RacersBuilding Your Building Your DragsterDragster

a. Select two sheets of paper and decide how long you wish to make the drag racer and use scotch tape to tape the two sheets together on both sides.

b. Cut a length of 2-inch clear

tape equal to the length of the sheets of paper. See photo to the right.

Step OneStep One

Paper Drag RacersStep Two

a.Flip the sheets over so the sticky side of the 2” tape is and begin to roll the paper carefully on the rolling tube.

b.As you reach the end of the sheet secure the tape to the rolled paper as shown in photo to the left. This should form a nice tight roll of paper to form the body tube.

Paper Drag Racers

With the newly formed body tube hot glue a bottle cap on one end of the roll. See photo to the right. You are now ready to assembly your axle block wheel assembly.

Step Three

Paper Drag RacersStep Four

a. Take an axle and insert it into a wheel.

b. Slide on a washer and place the axle into a straw.

c. Slide the straw with the axle into the axle block. Trim the straw to 2” with enough room for a washer and the other wheel. See Photo to the left.

Paper Drag RacersStep Five

1.Push wheels tightly making sure the wheels spin with as little friction as possible.

2. Hot glue axle blocks with

wheel assembly on to your body tube. Making sure the wheels are lined-up with each other so the drag racer rolls straight.

Paper Drag RacersPaper Drag RacersStep SixStep Six

1. Screw an eye screw into each axle block. This is how your drag racer will connect to the fishing line track. Make sure the opening faces down the length of the car.

2. Or, tape paper clips under the car for easy clip on and clip off.

Paper Drag Racers

Modify Your RacerHere is your challenge: Now that you have built a basic paper drag racer, your challenge is to make your racer as fast a possible. Think about what you might do to your dragster to cause it to “fly” down the racetrack faster than anyone else. Keep in mind things like air resistance, friction, momentum, impulse, and anything else that might effect your performance of your car. Good Luck!

Your drag racer should look something like this without the detailing. Now you can name and detail your own racer.