Balloon Racers Lab

Your lab report must include the following criteria. It will need to be printed and submitted in a 3 prong folder or a clear plastic folder.

  • CarName- Your car name should be visible somewhere on your vehicle. The name MUST be inspired by a famous Roman ruler, senator, or Greek God.
  • TitlePage- This should be in the center of the page in Size 14 Times New Roman Font
  • Balloon Racers Lab
  • Group Members name
  • October 3, 2014
  • Your Class Period
  • Introduction- (page 1) This should be at least 1 paragraph in length. Double spaced, size 12, Times New Roman font.
  • What is Newton’s third law and why is it important for us to know?
  • How does this lab relate to Newton’s third law of motion?
  • At the bottom of this page list any references you used to write your introduction paragraph.
  • RoughSketch- (page 2) This should be the initial design you were going to make. It can be done on notebook paper or copy paper.
  • FinalSketch- (page 3)This is what your car looks like for the day of the race. You may draw a rough sketch, or you can insert a photograph of your final product.
  • Include the list of materials that you used to build the final model of your race car.
  • TrialRuns- (page 4) You must conduct at least 2-3 practice runs before the real race on Tuesday. For each trial run, include a picture of the car’s design, the mass of the car, the distance traveled, and the time it took the car to travel that distance.
  • After the first trial run include a few sentences about the modifications you made and why you made them to the car.
  • ClassData- (page 5) This will be collected on the day of the race. (We will work on this in class on Wednesday.)

Team Name / Mass (g) / Time (s) / Distance (m)
  • Graph- (page 5) Distance vs. Time graph will be created in excel using the class data. (We will work on this in class on Wednesday.)
  • Results- (page 6) Include the following calculations in your paper. Remember to show your WORK and include your UNITS!

Mass of your car (g) = ______

Mass of your car (kg) = ______

  1. Determine your car’s velocity using the formula below:
  1. Calculate the acceleration of your balloon car using the time from your data table and the velocity (m/s) you previously calculated.
  1. Calculate the force that your balloon needed to move your car. Use the mass in Kg you calculated above. Use the acceleration that you calculated above in #2. Use the 2nd law formula from Newton’s 2nd law.
  1. Calculate the momentum of your balloon car. Use the mass in Kg from your data table. Use your velocity (m/s) from #1.
  • Car Design- (page 7) Answer the following questions about your car in complete sentences. This should be in paragraph form, not bullets.
  • Where did you come up with the design for your race car?
  • Why did you choose that final design?
  • What did you need to consider when you were building the car? (available materials, mass, traction, stability, etc.)
  • Is your final design different from what you initially intended? If so, why did you have to make these modifications? (Refer back to the test runs you had to do.)
  • How well did your car do against the other cars in the class?
  • What factors influenced the speed of your car?
  • If you had to make modifications before racing again, what would they be and why? (Compare your car to the winners from your class and the other classes.)
  • Conclusion- (page 8) Answer the following in paragraph form, not bullets!
  • Now that you have completed the lab, what advice would you give to someone who had to construct a balloon-powered car?
  • What did you like best about the lab? Be specific and tell why.
  • Which part did you find to be the most difficult? Be specific and tell why.
  • Did you put your best effort into the lab? Why or why not? Give at least one specific example that explains your answer.
  • If you were able to repeat the lab, what would you do to improve it? Be as specific as you can and remember no experiment is ever perfect.