By: Michael, Kayla, Wyatt, and Alex
In this project we used energy from the sun, converted that energy into chemical energy, and then into kinetic energy to move the car our group made together.
Our Team
We had four different jobs. Kayla was incharge the managing the team to help us move along. Michael’s job was to build and tinker with the car and figure out how to make it work. Wyatt was in charge collecting the data. Alex’s job was the human resource he would tried to help us when had complications as a group.
Habit of Mind
- Thinking flexibility
Building a solar car is mostly trial and error, and we had a lot of errors along the way but we were able to think flexibly by trying new things. We had to keep an open mind with everything about our project. We had to rebuild our car 3 different times, try different light sources, use different motors, use different batteries, try better wheels that would create less friction for our car on the track, and use different solar panels. If our group didn’t think flexibility we wouldn’t have been able to finish our project.
The Plan
- We picked a energy
- We chose solar energy
- We choose how to apply that energy
- We decided to build a car to show this transformation of energy
- We built the car
- Out of cardboard and plastic
- We attached a solar panel on the top of the car, and used wires to connect it to a battery pack that had rechargeable solar batteries, and from there we had wires that ran to a motor to move the back wheels, to start it we had a switch.
- We build a cardboard track
- At the end we had a force meter to calculate the amount of force
Changes
Changes we faced were having the rely on the sun for energy. It was hard for my group to make progress because the sun wasn’t guaranteed to use everyday, because of this we tried to use another form of light, we tried all kinds of light bulbs; none of them could emulate the sun enough for use to collect date. We realised the track we were going to use was too small for our car, so we build a new one out of cardboard. We also struggled with finding the right solar panel that would charge our batteries; we ended up changing the batteries to solar rechargeable batteries. We changed the motor several times as well; we realised that a solar motor would work better than the regular motor, after that we were able to make progress and collect data.
Car in Action
Data Table
Conclusion
During our project we learned how to convert different forms of energy, and how difficult that can be.
Our project teaches people that solar energy is not in fact reliable.
Your project looks very well put together and your group put a lot of effort into making it work and it shows.
Did you guys think of using another type of energy besides solar? Also a very interesting design process.
I like how the data table is really clear with a key with the labels and the units for people so they understand what all your data is showing
-kayden
how did you manage to use the solar panel before you changed it? it was smart to use solar rechargable batteries so you can save energy from throughout the night. it was a smart idea for what you went for.
if you had more time, what would you add to your solar roller?
How were you able to generate enough solar energy to power the car in winter? Seems a little outlandish to me.
First of all I love the idea! Reminds me of Tesla cars keep working at it and Elon will soon be out of a job. Your plan seemed to be planned out very well and simple. I’m a huge fan of solar energy and seeing a group use made me very happy ! I know your group ran into a lot a issues during the building, testing, getting along. you all had to persist and think flexibly. I love all all the details put into every step. absolutely amazing id love for Elon musk to look at this.
if the sun was actually out do you think that the car may have gone faster?
The car looks pretty cool. I like the detail/information put into the data sheet.
you’re project seemed like it needed your group to really use their heads to figure out what you could work on when the sun wasn’t immediately available due to to like clouds and stuff and it worked out pretty well –
You guys were thinking flexibly, but also you were persistent because you had to rebuild your car 3 times. There were a few typos but I really liked your project. This was the project that everyone wanted to do but didn’t know how so great job!
Nice car. You should try to make it remote controlled.-MT
i wonder if you would have used a more powerful battery instead of solar power if it would have worked better
On this website, I was able to understand and learn how you built the solar car and how the solar car worked clearly. Maybe you could explain more about what the other members did in the group, like specific things they did?
what kind of light did you use to power the solar panel to move the car? did you guys still use the sun to power it or a different light source?
I think that you guys could have used persistence as your habit of mind as well. I mean rebuilding a car 3 different times is a great example of persistence.
On this website, I was able to understand and learn how you built the solar car and how the solar car worked clearly. Maybe you could explain more about what the other members did in the group, like specific things they did?
J.Sav
I love that you guys had a clear plan on what you wanted to accomplish,I bet it made the whole project run pretty smoothly.
It’s intriguing how you constructed your project. I noticed that your measurements were very complex and in depth. It is always good to continuously collect data when conducting a scientific experiment. Good job. If I may ask, why did you choose solar energy? Did you have an outside source of inspiration, perhaps?