The assignment:
Construct a mouse trap car over three days which would move on its own for two meters.
The contestants:
Pamela Bednarz’s fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth period physics classes.
The purpose:
“It teaches them problem solving. They are doing research and then creating. They learn physics in the book. What I want is for them to apply it and problem solve. I wanted them to fabricate a car using only household items.” -teacher Pamela Bednarz
The grade:
Involves building a functional car which travels at leas two meters on its own, writing a lab report with citations, building a data table for analysis, discussing and drawing conclusions.
Broke school record at 23.7 meters:
“It was long and stable. We (and senior Jordan Garcia) 3-D printed some wheels and bearings to make it roll smoother.”
-Audiel Sanchez 12
Most artistic:
“Our car was orange. We had a mouse in front. We made ghost wheels, and we put spiders on top.” -Izabella Almarez 12
The experience:
“It took two tries for our car to end up working properly and smoothly. I forgot to add zip ties because the hot glue ended up breaking off the base. It did meet the requirements of two meters because it went a constant 2.7 meters.” -Makayla Bush 11
