Battery-Powered Vehicle Lab
I’ve been studying linear motion in PWC recently. We investigate “the concept of linear motion” by using a battery-powered vehicle and applying our knowledge of scientific investigation, graphing, measurement, motion, and critical thinking. We got to make the experiment we were going to do and do it in the hallway. The purpose
for my experiment was to time a battery-powered car as it travels different distances (one meter, two meters, or three meters). Not many materials are needed. You need a battery-powered car, at least three meter sticks, and a stopwatch.
for my experiment was to time a battery-powered car as it travels different distances (one meter, two meters, or three meters). Not many materials are needed. You need a battery-powered car, at least three meter sticks, and a stopwatch.
The procedure is as follows:
Step One- Gather your materials (mentioned above)
Step Two- Lie down one meter stick. Place the car at one end of the "track.' Turn on the car. Using the stopwatch, time how long it takes for the car to travel one meter.
Step 3- Repeat Step 2 twice.
Step 4- Lie down two meter sticks. Place the car at one end of the "track." Turn on the car. Using the stopwatch, time how long it takes for the car to travel two meters.
Step 5- Repeat Step 4 twice.
Step 6- Lie down three meter sticks. Place the car at one of the "track." Turn on the car. Using the stopwatch, time how long it takes for the car to travel three meters.
Step 7- Repeat Step 6 twice.
Step One- Gather your materials (mentioned above)
Step Two- Lie down one meter stick. Place the car at one end of the "track.' Turn on the car. Using the stopwatch, time how long it takes for the car to travel one meter.
Step 3- Repeat Step 2 twice.
Step 4- Lie down two meter sticks. Place the car at one end of the "track." Turn on the car. Using the stopwatch, time how long it takes for the car to travel two meters.
Step 5- Repeat Step 4 twice.
Step 6- Lie down three meter sticks. Place the car at one of the "track." Turn on the car. Using the stopwatch, time how long it takes for the car to travel three meters.
Step 7- Repeat Step 6 twice.
Once I finished the experiment, I had to gather the results. Here's the data I gathered:
This This TTHTHsdThis data table shows the results of each trial. It also lists the average time it took the car to travel one meter, two meters, and three meters.
The graph only shows the average times it took for the car to travel each required distance.
We were trying to see how much time it would take for a battery-powered car to travel a certain distance. We did it. Despite the fact that we may have started the stopwatch a little early or a little late on occasion, we got a continuous result.
Our equation is...
y = 0.42x + 0.
y is the distance that the car covered.
x is the time the car took to travel.
0.42 (m/s) is the slope. It is also the average speed of the battery-powered car when on.
0 is the y-intercept. Since the car started at zero meters, the y-intercept is zero.
Our equation is...
y = 0.42x + 0.
y is the distance that the car covered.
x is the time the car took to travel.
0.42 (m/s) is the slope. It is also the average speed of the battery-powered car when on.
0 is the y-intercept. Since the car started at zero meters, the y-intercept is zero.
afterthoughts
QUESTION 1:
What can you say about the motion of the battery-powered car from the graph? Describe the motion.
ANSWER:
The car is moving away from the origin at a constant speed.
QUESTION 2:
What does the slope of this line tell you? What does the number mean?
ANSWER:
The car is moving constantly at a rate of 0.42 meters per second. The slope is the speed!
QUESTION 3:
Could you use this equation to predict anything? If so, what?
ANSWER:
Yes.
-You can predict the distance the car would travel given a certain time frame. For example, the car travels for 9.56 seconds. You'd plug 9.56 in for x and solve the equation. The car would travel 4.0152 meters in 9.56 seconds.
-You can also predict the time the car would travel given the distance it covered. For example, the car covers 4 meters. You'd plug 4 in for y and divide y by the slope, 0.42. It would take the car approximately 9.5238 seconds to travel 4 meters.
QUESTION 4:
Why did you decide to do the procedure the way that you did?
ANSWER:
Overall, it was the simplest way to achieve our goal - how long would it take a car to travel one, two, or three meters - in the time we were given. However, if you would like a more complicated explanation, look below:
The materials we had available were meter sticks, a battery-powered car, and a smartphone that could function as a stopwatch. With these materials, we realize we could calculate how long it would take the car to travel a certain distance. To get varying distances for the car to travel, we took three meter sticks, and would add more to the "track" as the car completed a certain number of trials.
We laid the meter sticks on the floor of the hallway (cars aren't meant to drive diagonally or vertically) and placed the car at one end of the "track." If we started the car anywhere else, the results wouldn't be as accurate because the y-intercept wouldn't be the origin.
Why did we do three trials? Well, with this experiment, there was a margin for error. We couldn't start the car at the exact same place each time or start the stopwatch at exact right time each time. Having multiple trials for each distance means and averaging together the times means that, if there's an error, it wouldn't make our experiment's results totally inaccurate. In fact, because there were multiple trials, the slope for each distance (one meter, two meters, and three meters) were only one hundredth for each other!
What can you say about the motion of the battery-powered car from the graph? Describe the motion.
ANSWER:
The car is moving away from the origin at a constant speed.
QUESTION 2:
What does the slope of this line tell you? What does the number mean?
ANSWER:
The car is moving constantly at a rate of 0.42 meters per second. The slope is the speed!
QUESTION 3:
Could you use this equation to predict anything? If so, what?
ANSWER:
Yes.
-You can predict the distance the car would travel given a certain time frame. For example, the car travels for 9.56 seconds. You'd plug 9.56 in for x and solve the equation. The car would travel 4.0152 meters in 9.56 seconds.
-You can also predict the time the car would travel given the distance it covered. For example, the car covers 4 meters. You'd plug 4 in for y and divide y by the slope, 0.42. It would take the car approximately 9.5238 seconds to travel 4 meters.
QUESTION 4:
Why did you decide to do the procedure the way that you did?
ANSWER:
Overall, it was the simplest way to achieve our goal - how long would it take a car to travel one, two, or three meters - in the time we were given. However, if you would like a more complicated explanation, look below:
The materials we had available were meter sticks, a battery-powered car, and a smartphone that could function as a stopwatch. With these materials, we realize we could calculate how long it would take the car to travel a certain distance. To get varying distances for the car to travel, we took three meter sticks, and would add more to the "track" as the car completed a certain number of trials.
We laid the meter sticks on the floor of the hallway (cars aren't meant to drive diagonally or vertically) and placed the car at one end of the "track." If we started the car anywhere else, the results wouldn't be as accurate because the y-intercept wouldn't be the origin.
Why did we do three trials? Well, with this experiment, there was a margin for error. We couldn't start the car at the exact same place each time or start the stopwatch at exact right time each time. Having multiple trials for each distance means and averaging together the times means that, if there's an error, it wouldn't make our experiment's results totally inaccurate. In fact, because there were multiple trials, the slope for each distance (one meter, two meters, and three meters) were only one hundredth for each other!