Investigatory: Newton's Laws of Motion and Mousetrap Powered Car

LAWS OF PHYSICS ON A
MOUSETRAP POWERED CAR

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An Investigatory Project
Presented to the Faculty of St. Mary’s Academy of Guiuan
(Formerly Assumption Academy of Samar)
Guiuan, Eastern Samar

____________________________________
In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Course
Science and Technology 4
(Physics)
______________________________________ by FRANCES JOSIE P. GILBER
JULIENNE I. SANTOS
MARY ROSE T. ELLES
Researchers

JANUARY 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENT PAGE

TITLE PAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - i
TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ii
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ACKNOWLEDGMENT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - iii
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ABSTRACT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -2
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5
METHODOLOGY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8
BIBLIOGRAPHY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The researchers wishes to express their heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the following persons who were kind and generous enough to extend their valuable assistance, support, patience, love and understanding all for the accomplishment of this study.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this project is to determine how the laws of physics affect the movement of a mousetrap powered car. The laws of physics that can probably be found in this study are the three laws of motion, momentum, and the law of conservation of momentum. A mousetrap powered car is similarly a car. The only difference is it is more likely a prototype and is not battery powered and cannot travel great distances. The identification of the laws of physics in such circumstances can help promote them more and this project, the mousetrap powered car, can serve as a more accurate example of the said laws.

INTRODUCTION

The laws of physics teach us how the world works. However, in some circumstances, there is a problem on how to present concrete and accurate examples of the said laws for better learning. There are video presentations that can aid learning of the said subjects but some schools find difficulties to present such presentations because of technology and money problems. That is why this study aims to give a concrete and an accurate example – the Mousetrap Powered Car.
I. Objective
• To give a concrete and an accurate example/presentation of the laws of physics.
II. Problem This study, as was just stated, aims to give a concrete and an accurate example of the laws of physics to be able to help freshmen and senior students on their study of Integrated Science and Physics. However, before this can be implemented this study has to answer the following questions:
• What are the laws of physics observed in the movement of the mousetrap powered car?
• How do these laws affect the motion of the said car?
• What could be a better alternative example for teaching physics and some of its laws to secondary students in order to promote better learning in a classroom environment?

III. Hypothesis The laws of physics that can probably be observed on the experiment are as follows:
• Laws of Motion
• Momentum
• Conservation of Momentum
The law of inertia which is one of the laws of physics can probably be implemented from the study in a way that, before the object is released, it is at rest and unless an external force acts upon the object, it will remain at rest.
The law of acceleration which is the second law of motion can probably be identified in the movement of the car since the greater the force that is exerted upon the object for it to move can result to a greater acceleration.
The third law of motion which is interaction can probably be observed form the experiment in a way that the wheels of the car exerts a force forward while the floor or the top of a table exerts an opposite but an equal force.
On momentum, however, it can probably be observed by means of the greater the force exerted, the greater the momentum.
Lastly, on the law of the conservation of momentum, it can probably be observed by means of saying that the momentum of the mousetrap powered car combined with the equal but opposite momentum of the car’s stopper is equivalent to zero.
Presenting concrete and accurate examples for knotty lessons plays a great role in learning them since it motivates students more by arousing their curiosity, thus, catching their attention. The “Mousetrap Powered Car” is probably a better alternative for teaching the laws of physics since it is less expensive and can also be made resourcefully.
IV. Significance of the Study
• It helps students learn and enjoy studying physics by presenting a concrete and an accurate example.
V. Limitation of the Study
• This study is/to be/was conducted this School Year 2012 – 2013.
• It is limited to the use of foams/cardboards, hooks, strings, and a mousetrap. The presentation and keen observation on the laws of physics through a prototype car is the main concern of this research.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Instructional media encompasses all the materials and physical means an instructor might use to implement instruction and facilitate students' achievement of instructional objectives. This may include traditional materials such as chalkboards, handouts, charts, slides, overheads, real objects, and videotape or film, as well newer materials and methods such as computers, DVDs, CD-ROMs, the Internet, and interactive video conferencing.
“A good aid is like a window, it should not call attention to itself, it should just let in the light.”
In general, you should use media whenever, in your best judgment, it can facilitate learning or increase understanding of your material. Of course, communicating to facilitate learning can be a challenging process, often requiring creative efforts to achieve a variety of implicit instructional goals (University of Saskatchewan, n.d.). Among the implicit goals that media can help achieve are the following:
• attracting attention
• developing interest
• adjusting the learning climate
• promoting acceptance (of an idea) In various studies, it has been demonstrated that instructional media plays an important role in instructors' teaching and students' learning. No matter the classification, the benefits of instructional media usage are not in any way hidden. Adekola (2008) summarised the benefits by saying that usage of instructional media increases the rate of learning by the learners, makes learning to be real and permanent, saves teacher’s time which would have been wasted on oral presentation and explanation of subjects contents, promote learners participation in learning activities, makes learning available to wider audience and helps teacher and learner overcome physical difficulties in teaching and learning.
The study of the laws of physics on a mousetrap powered car isn’t a new or modern idea. Its inventor and the story as to how it was made can be hardly traced. In fact, it can actually be found on the web particularly in the scienceguy.org, makeprojects.com, instructables.com, howstuffworks.com, codecooker.com, and many more. This study has often been used as a better way of catching pests including rats. However, that won’t be the purpose of this research. The prototype car is composed of the following materials: cardboard/foam, CD/DVD, elastic bands, mousetrap, duct tape, eye hooks/screw, dowel rods, and strings. The cardboard/foam will serve as the holder of your mousetrap; the CD/DVD will serve as your wheels; elastic bands keep your wheels in place; mousetrap serves as your power; duct tape keeps the mousetrap in place; eye hooks/screw holds your wheels and dowel rods in place; the dowel rods serve as your axle; and the string serves as your starter.

METHODOLOGY
* For the Mousetrap Powered Car:
I. Materials
• Mousetrap
• Cardboard/Foam (one inch wider and longer than your mousetrap)
• 4 – 8 Elastic bands
• Duct tape
• 2 Small CD/DVDs
• 2 Bigger CD/DVDs
• 4 Eye hooks/screw
• 2 Dowel Rods
• 3 meter or more string
II. Procedures
1. Place your mousetrap in your cardboard/foam using the duct tape.
2. Put the eye hooks on the four corners of your cardboard.
3. Insert your two thin rods on your eye hooks.
4. Put the elastic bands between the wheel and the thin rod.
5. Put another set of elastic bands before your wheels.
6. Tie the string to your thin rod at the rear side and to the lever arm. Lock the string to your lever arm but not to your thin rod or axle.
7. Put it on a free space where there can be a stopper and release the string from your axle.
8. Observe and record the laws of physics that has been applied to the experiment.
*For the presentation:
1. Gather 7 seniors and discuss to them the laws of physics as you present your instructional media – the mousetrap powered car.
*For the evaluation:
1. After the discussion, make an evaluation. (Questions to be used for the evaluation are found in the “results and discussion” area.)

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION