How do you make a rubber band car?

Question

for senior year physics class we have to make a car solely powered by 4 rubber bands or less...to get an A it needs to travel at LEAST 4 meters....the vechile cannot be more than 30 cm long, the wheels cannot have a diameter larger than 20 cm, the rubber bands must be affixed to the vechile, and we cannot push the car to begin with. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THE RUBBER BANDS WILL PROPEL THE CAR?! anybody with ANY answer that would even remotely help plzzzz plzzz plzzzz take time to answer this! thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Answer 1

Take a rubber band and twist it over and over again. Hold one and and let it go. You'll watch it spin over and over again. Build it with a fixed point in the middle and connect a rubber band to the wheels on the side. Wind it up like a toy car and let it go.

To get the wheels to work, put a paper clip through a vertical piece of wood (maybe 2 pieces spaced close together). Bend the end so the rubber band can connect to the paper clip and turn it. Make sure it is solidly connected (maybe use basswood as your platform) so that the rubber band doesn't pull it all apart

What you're doing is creating potential energy in the rubber band and then releasing it as rotational energy.

Answer 2

You build a basic car, with a body and a way to support the front wheels and the back wheels.

Each set of wheels should be firmly attached to an axle, maybe a piece of dowel, so
that when the axle turns, so do the wheels.

Then you need some way to
attach the end of a strong rubber band to the middle of each axle so that
when you rotate the wheels, the rubber band winds around the axle and
stretches tight.

You can do this with a small nail or screw put carefully
through the dowel. The best way to wind the wheels is probably to push down
on the car while you push the car along a surface, like carpet.

once the rubber band is really tight,
you let the car go, and the stored energy in the rubber band unwinds the
axle, and off goes the car

You don't have to have the band wind around
both axles ... you could make it either just front-wheel drive or
rear-wheel drive, but it probably goes better if you use both axles.

You
could also use two rubber bands, one for the front wheels and one for the
back wheels, with the ends of each rubber band fixed to the middle of the
car.

Remember, the car will go fastest and the most distance if you use a
really BIG strong rubber band, and can wind it up around the axles really
really tight. But if you make it TOO tight or too strong, the car or the axles might break when you wind it up, which is not good and really annoying.

Another way of making a car like this is to make it like the rubber-band
powered toy airplanes. Make a light frame with 4 wheels, and buy a little
toy propeller or take it off a toy airplane, then wind up the rubber band
by winding the propeller. Then when you let go the propeller, it will drive
the car along.

Answer 3

Most importantly, you'll need a way to regulate the power. Maybe a transmission from a toy electric car.You'll also need a way to wind it up without losing the existing windings. Wheels and frame can be copied straight out of any remote controlled toy car. In fact, if you replace the electric motor with the rubber one, you could just do a straight conversion, giving you an R/C rubber band car!

Answer 4

I remember when my sophomore class made mousetrap cars, I got really ticked at the people who looked up designs on the internet. Mine would have been really good, too, if it hadn't kept running into walls.

Once you have a car that will roll, just attach one end of a band to the body and the other to an axle. Pull the car back, and it will roll forward. That should be enough of an idea for you to get started and improve upon. Please don't one of the people that makes the others mad by not being original.

Answer 5

Get a toy car and wrap it in rubber bands maybe?

Answer 6

http://www.apii.com/product.asp?idDept=91&idProduct=384
http://www.docfizzix.com/design-help/construction-tips/ct0003.shtml
HOPE ONE OF THESE HELP

Answer 7

...go to this website...it would help


from Rob...

just pull the rubber band back...