INVESTIGATION THREE

GO CARTS

Technology

Technology is the enterprise of using science to develop objects, machines, and materials that are of use to society.

DESIGN

The way something is put together.

Uses scientific knowledge to make something that improves our way of life.

ENGINEER

A person who uses scientific knowledge to design useful things.

WHEEL

It is the disk that turns on a central axis.

Wheels fixed on an axle turn as one unit.

AXLE

The rod that connects to wheels, so that they turn together.

BEARINGAllows the axle to turn.The bearing could be paper,a

binder clip, a piece of cardboard with holes, or a number of other things.

Other parts of a device revolve or rotate on the bearing.

FRICTIONThe resistance to movement on surfaces that touch.

When an axle does not turn freely in bearings, it has too much friction.

HUB

The center part of the wheel that is fastened to the axle.

TRACTION

A kind of friction that allows wheels to turn without slipping on a surface.

CONTENT/INQUIRY How does the wheel size affect

the distance a rubber-band-powered go-cart can travel?

Bigger wheels make carts go farther with each rotation of the axle. The size of the wheel, circumference, will create the greater distance.

C/I CONT.

How does the length of the rubber band affect the distance a rubber-band-powered go-cart can travel?

Longer rubber bands hold more energy, so the cart will go farther.

Do not need remaining slides for tests or quizzes, but need for understanding and application of projects in the first marking period.

C/I CONT.

The design process includes planning a design based on scientific knowledge, constructing, testing, evaluating the performance after the test, changing the design, testing and redesigning until the device works as well as possible.

Design Process

Design- plan how to build the product Construction- build a prototype, or first

model of the product Testing- try it out to see if it does what it

is supposed to Evaluation- decide if the product is good

enough Redesign- change the product to make it

better

C/I CONT. THE BASIC STAGES OF DESIGN ARE:

design, construct, test, evaluate, redesign, and test.

The design process requires decisions at each step.

Scientist create models to learn more about how something works.

The goal is to increase scientific knowledge.

Go Cart Formula

To find how far a go cart travels you use the following formula:

C (circumference) = (3.14) x D(diameter) You will be given the Diameter. So first find

the circumference (using the formula above) then take circumference times number of rotations.

Go Cart Formula Example

A go cart with 3 cm wheels rotates 5 times. How far does it go?

C = 3.14 x 3 C = 9.42 (round to nearest tenth so

9.4) 9.4 x 5 (number of rotations) =

47cm