How The Systematic Friction Affect The Performance Of My Car

There are two types of friction that can affect the performance of my vehicle; the static friction and the kinetic friction. The friction occurs between the wheels of the car and the surface it rolls upon.
I encountered a problem regarding the lightness of my vehicle. I initially used a foam base but it was too light and had little air resistance, so I switched to a heavier material that resisted the air more.
I chose to incorporate four wheels upon my design because I believed it would highly balance my car and its mousetrap engine within it. In addition, it resembles an actual car, which works really well in the real world.
In my design, I used regular sized CDs as my wheels due to its perfect outer edges. Using CDs as wheels lessons the problem of unevenness while rolling. Larger wheels assist in rolling over dirt and debris better while smaller wheels would be lighter, but have a harder time traveling over dirt. …show more content…
I have to make sure my design stays in motion. In addition, Newton’s second law applies because I need to make sure my design can get to a good speed by acceleration. To do this, my mousetrap arm and string have to exert enough force to get my car rolling. Lastly, Newton's third law applies to the performance of my vehicle as it explains the relationship of forces between the vehicle and the surface it must travel across. The wheels of the car push against the surface while the surface pushes back on the wheels which then allows the vehicle to push forward while friction acts in the opposite direction; gravity and normal force keep the vehicle pushing along on whatever surface it is placed