Suntraction
About the Creators
School: Sally Ride Elementary
Name: Sasha and Manuel
Grade: 5th and 4th
Collaborator: Knox
Car Description
The car has 4-centimeter plastic back wheels. The smaller wheel in front is 3 ½ centimeters in diameter. The length of the car is 32 centimeters. The maximum width of it is 6 centimeters. The weight of the car is 126.2 grams. The chassis, which is the body, is 22 ½ centimeters long and 7 ½ centimeters wide and it forms a base for the batteries and motor to sit on. The solar panel is secured into the chassis by a piece of wood and green tape. There is a metal rod in the back of the chassis that holds up the back wheels. There also is a smaller metal rod that holds up only 1 wheel. That means there is less contact with the ground and less friction.
Materials
•Balsa Wood
•Solar Panel
•Tape
•Plastic Tube
•Metal Rod
•Plastic Wheels and Gears
•Motor
•Battery Holder
•Ping Pong Ball
Suntraction’ Performace
Problems and Solutions:
1- The car started to run and suddenly stopped. We noticed that the wires were loose and didn’t do good contact with the motor. We tied the wires firmly to the motor to solve this problem.
2- The car went backwards instead of forward. We switched the wires in the motor and the problem was solved.
3- The car didn’t travel straight. We alined the front and back wheels as parallel as possible and the car did much better!
Great job chiquitines! You overcame all challenges and your car runs very well!!!