Engineering & Design

Dragster Engineering Concepts

Vocabulary

• Dragster: Two specially designed cars, that race side by side, down a ¼ mile track

Dragster Clip

Dragster Clip

Vocabulary

• Aerodynamics: The ability of air to move freely above, around, and beneath a moving object.

• Better the aerodynamics=faster the object will move

Good Aerodynamics

Poor Aerodynamics

Vocabulary

• Lubricants: Substance that is used to reduce friction which causes moving parts to move faster

Vocabulary

• Turbulence: Swirling around of air molecules

What does Turbulence feel like?

Vocabulary

• Contact Area: The total area that a dragster comes into contact with the wind

Vocabulary

• Force: The energy needed to move something

Vocabulary

• Friction: Is a force that holds back the movement of a sliding object

Vocabulary

• Mass: The space that an object occupies

Is the cloud heavy or massive?

Vocabulary

• Frontal Area: The front part of the car that comes into contact with the air. Keep it small!

Vocabulary

• Boat tailing: As air moves past a curved object, it creates a pinching effect which pushes the dragster forward.

Vocabulary

• Surface Effect: Rougher the surface, the slower your dragster will go due to turbulence.

Vocabulary• Wheelbase: The distance of the front axel to

rear axel. Greater the distance the less turbulence your dragster will experience