Purpose: The goal
is to get the lowest score possible.
Students will build a small car out of certain materials.
Students will also create a mechanical drive system for their car.
The car will have a raw chicken egg on the front.
The objective is to get the egg as close as possible to a target on a
wall without breaking the egg. The
target is 4 meters away from the start.
The car needs to stay within a certain track.
Students may work alone or in pairs.
Students must declare partners within one week.
It is the responsibility of the partners to work out their own problems.
Your partner does not have to be in your class, but only one of you will
race the car.
Requirements for the car:
The car may be no more than 75 cm
long, 50 cm wide, and no more than 100 cm tall.
The car body and wheels must be completely made out of flat cardboard
or cardboard boxes. There must
be 4 wheels. Parts will be held together with glue and/or tape.
Axles may be wood only.
Students may also use rubber bands.
The total mass of the entire vehicle may not exceed 3000 grams.
The only weights permitted are rocks.
The car will carry an egg at the front center.
The egg must extend at least 1cm beyond the front of any other parts
of the car. The egg must not
have its center any more than 14 centimeters above the floor.
The egg must be a raw chicken egg and may not be altered in any way.
Allowed Materials List – Note: NO OTHER MATERIALS ARE
PERMITTED!!!!!
1. One meter or less of wooden dowel ½ inch diameter
or less.
2. You may make the car
body with a cardboard box or assemble it
out of flat pieces.
3. Flat corrugated cardboard, computer paper, loose
leaf paper, poster board, paper towels, and tissues.
4. Rubber bands.
5. Rocks for weights.
6. Glue and tape.
7. String.
Requirements for the mechanical drive system:
The drive system must be completely mechanical and be powered by a
rubber band
or a falling mass.
The car itself could be the falling mass.
It is ok to have the drive system attached to the vehicle
or separate on the floor.
The drive system may only be made from the same materials listed above.
If the drive system is separate from the
car, it may be no more than 3000 grams itself.
You may NOT push the car yourself!
The Track:
Draw a diagram on the back to show the track and label these dimensions:
1 meter wide, 4 meters long, barriers on the sides at 2 meters.
The sides of the track are called penalty zones.
If the egg on the car goes into the penalty zone, or the car runs into a
side barrier, that run counts as 800 points.
If a significant part of the car falls off, such as the egg, that run has
the same penalty. The car should
stop as close as possible to the wall target.
Each cm away adds 4 points.
There will be 1 point added for each cm the car is away from the center of the
runway. Students will be allowed
3 tries and receive the average of their best two scores.
Scoring System:
Grades will be calculated according to this formula:
A = less than 81
Distance from wall (4 x #cm)…………………………..._____
B = 81-200
Distance from center of runway (1 x #cm)…………..… _____
C = 201-600
Broken egg ( + 200)………………………………..……_____
D = 601- 800
Self contained drive system (-55)…….……...…....……._____
Self contained falling mass drive system (-75)………...._____
Decorated and named (up to –25)………………………._____
** Any negative points are bonuses!
Self supporting ramp (-25)………………………………_____
Car enters penalty zone or contacts
barrier (+800)……..._____
Egg Roll checks: (you
must bring your car in on these dates)
1.
All four wheels (good
quality) completed by __________. (20 points)
2.
Pre-run check the day
before the egg roll: __________.
Students may test their cars most days before or after school.
3.
There will be two
workshops after school. You can come
and work if you want. These are:
_________ & ________.