Ideas for Making a Self-Propelled Car for a Science Project

Building a self-propelled car is an exciting learning experience for any physics student

A common physics project assigned to students is designing and building a self-propelled car. Students usually bring their models to class and race them against one another once they're done. If you think that building your own self-propelled car is impossible, you can opt for an over-the counter model, but with a little research, you'll realize that creating a model car out of a tissue box and rubber bands isn't really that hard.

Over-the-Counter Model

There are several model car sets you can buy and build on their own. Not all of the model sets are self-propelled cars, so buy the right one. The model set will have all the tools and parts you need to build your car, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy. Some model sets take several days to complete.

Self-Propelled Car With Household Items

It's not impossible to make a toothpick car with CD wheels propelled by rubber bands. Making a car with household items will take a lot of thought, trial and error, but the satisfaction of successfully building a car from scratch is worth it. Before you buy any items and start building the car, draw multiple sketches and have an idea of how you want it to self-propel.

Woodworking

If a car made out of drinking straws isn't sturdy enough for your liking, you can always make a wooden model. You will need power tools like a reciprocal saw and a power sander for the best results, so you'll likely need to build your car in a wood shop with proper supervision. Draw multiple sketches before working on your block of wood. You can erase pencil marks, you can't undo saw cuts.

Creating the Self-Propelling Mechanism

The most important part of any self-propelling car is the self-propelling mechanism. The simplest self-propeller for a model car is an old-fashioned crank mechanism, but a punctured CO2 canister lodged in the back of the car or a set mouse trap will also propel it forward. Before you design your car, you'll have to know what type of self-propeller you want to use. If you want to use CO2, you probably won't be able to place it on the back of a straw car. And, if you plan to use a rubber band crank, don't expect it to move your wooden car too far.

References

• Mousetrap Self-Propelled Car Models
• Kyrene: CO2 Car Samples