Mouse Trap Racer

A Mouse trap racer is a common mouse trap with wheels, an axle and string added to make the mouse trap mobile. There are five factors that are important to the movement, speed and distance of the racer. They are friction, speed, weight, torque and energy transformation.

Materials needed

1 mouse trap

4 wheels

4 lengths of sticky tape (reduce sideways movement) (optional)

1 long length of string

1 nail

4 eyelet screws

Construction

To construct a mouse trap racer, all of the materials above need to be used.

Firstly, the eyelet screws need to be screwed into the front and back points of the racer. Then the axle is inserted into the holes in the eyelet screws. Once the axles are inserted, the wheels can be applied to each end of the axles. Then the sticky tape can be applied to the axles between the eyelet nails and the wheels. This is optional. After that a nail is inserted into the rear axle. Then a string is made into a loop and placed around the nail in the rear axle. After that the string is tied to the arm of the mouse trap.

How it works

The arm is pulled back while the axle is spun to wind up the string. When the arm is pulled back fully it has potential energy. The racer is then placed onto a flat surface, and the arm is released, transforming the energy into kinetic energy. The racer then travels a certain distance before the loop in the string is flung off, and the racer is slowed to a stop.