Lab 1C: Mousetrap Car Competition
EG1003 Section G2
Author: Andrew Li
Partner: Brian Lu and Raina Kim
Date of Experiment: September 8, 2017
Date Due: September 15, 2017
Abstract
The experimental objective of this competition lab was to design and test a
mousetrap car made of Lego to go the longest linear distance. After an initial design
was sketched, a corresponding Lego car powered by a mousetrap was built and
tested. Because the car was only allotted three trials, improvements to the car’s
design were made in between each trial in an attempt to improve the car’s
performance. At the end of the trials, the car achieved 2nd place, proving that the
design of the team’s car was exceptional.
Introduction
Mousetrap cars are propelled by the power produced when a mousetrap
lever pulls the wheel axis of the car with a string. The objective of the lab was to go
the farthest linear distance. In order to do this, the power of the mousetrap was
maximized by reducing the friction and weight of the car. The power of the
mousetrap was also maximized by increasing the rotational inertia as much as
possible. The materials supplied were all that was allowed to use. Each team was
given three trials for their mousetrap cars. The team with the highest individual
distance won the competition.
Procedure
The materials that were supplied were all that was allowed to be used in the
construction of the mousetrap car. Legos, a mousetrap, string, tape, and a pair of
scissors were supplied. First, an initial design was sketched, and a corresponding
mousetrap was constructed using the supplied materials. Afterwards, the
mousetrap car was tested and the linear distance travelled was measured. After the
first trial, improvements were made to the design by reducing the weight of the
structure and by adding a spacer to the front wheels to reduce friction. Afterwards
the mousetrap was tested again. For the third trial, the improvements made were to
further reduce friction by coiling the string less messily. However, during the third
trial, the string of the mousetrap car was caught and this reduced the distance
travelled significantly.
Figure 1: Initial Mousetrap Car Design Sketch
Data/Observations
In the first trial, a distance of 15 feet was achieved. After improvements were
made to the mousetrap car, a distance of 25 feet was achieved during the second
trial. This was a significant improvement. After the second trial, more improvements
were made to the mousetrap car. However, during the third trial, the string of the
car was caught which significantly reduced the distance travelled. In the third trial, a
distance of 14 feet was accomplished. The team’s mousetrap car got second place
overall in the competition for travelling 25 feet. The first place mousetrap car
travelled 31 feet.
Figure 1: Mousetrap Car Competition Results
Discussions/Conclusions
As evidenced by the results, our team’s mousetrap car did quite well,
achieving second place. The improvements made to the car after the first trial of
reducing the weight and friction were evidently beneficial to the car’s performance
because it increased the distance travelled by ten feet. The car’s performance may
have continued to improve if its string did not snag during the third trial. Further
improvements that could have been made include continuing to reduce the friction
by using thinner back wheels and distributing the mass of the car more outwardly to
increase rotational inertia. The winning car of the competition had a lot more
weight distributed to its exterior and less mass at its interior. This may be what
contributed to its winning performance of travelling 31 feet. Three of the seven cars
were unable to achieve any distance because they were unable to have the
mousetrap rotate the axis of the wheels. The large back wheels and larger structure
of Kai and Jaemin’s mousetrap car may have contributed to the reason why their car
performed less well as our mousetrap car. Kevin and Daniel’s car being so heavily
built may have been the reason why their car performed less adequately compared
to the other cars that were able to travel any distance.
Works Cited
“Mousetrap Vehicle Competition.” Mousetrap Vehicle Competition - EG1003 Lab
Manual, NYU Tandon School of Engineering,
manual.eg.poly.edu/index.php/Mousetrap_Vehicle_Competition.
Lab Notes
