the great crow race car project pdf
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THE
GREAT
CROW
RACE CAR
PROJECT
Table of contents
Overview and Objectives ……………………….. page 3 - 5
Phase One – Pre-Design ………………………….. page 6 – 8
Phase Two – Design ………………………………… pages 9 – 12
Phase Three – Building ……………………………. Pages 13 – 15
Phase Four – Testing ……………………………….. pages 16– 17
Phase Five – Revision ……………………………….. Pages 18 – 19
Phase Six – Race Day …………………………………. Pages 20 - 22
THE GREAT CROW RACE CAR PROJECT
On your marks! Get set, Do Math!!! Yes, it’s the amazing math-based, racing project we’ve all
been waiting for!! Here are the particulars.
Students will scale, draw, and build a model race car of their own design.
They will test their car and record the results. The official ramp will be available for testing only
after all building and record keeping has been completed.
They will then revise their car to make it go faster.
They will re-test their car and record the results. The official ramp will be available for testing
only after all building and record keeping has been completed.
All cars will compete in a direct (or semi-direct) elimination tournament. Prizes will be
awarded. Cars will be judged on many different criteria – fastest, best design, most economical,
most colorful, best effort, over-coming most severe adversity…. and the like.
The Project will be divided (because it is a division unit) into six phases.
Phase One –Car Pre-design
Students will measure or research real life car dimensions and
convert them to the required scale model.
Phase Two – Car Design
Students will create a multi-view scale drawing of their car
design. This drawing will be used in the building phase.
Phase Three - Building the Car
Students will construct scale model cars. The process of
building will take place in the classroom over four days.
Student will “buy” materials to use and keep track of expenses.
They will keep a “Builder’s Log” in which notes will be taken
regarding design and building challenges, as well as finances.
Part Four – Testing the Car
Students will make test runs of their cars down a ramp and
calculate average speed, and distance. They will also keep note
about the performance of the car for revising their work later.
Part Five - Design Revision
Students will select one area of design to alter. Students will
test design changes to find best solution. A revision log will
be kept in order to assure quality.
Part Six - Final Races.
Students will compete in races. Winners will be determined by
averages of runs. This could be expanded to various tracks, or
other competitions. They will continue to keep track of speed,
and other stats. A final report will evaluate the cars overall
performance.
OBJECTIVES:
MATH -
5NBT.6 - find quotients of numbers up to four digits with two digit
divisors.
5MD.1 - convert measurements within a measurement system
5G.1 - plot points on a coord. grid
5G.2 - plot points from real life data
5NF.5 – interpret multiplication as scaling
5NF.3 – interpret a fraction as division of the numerator by the
denominator
SCIENCE -
3-5-ETS1-1 create a simple design problem
3-5-ETS1-2 Generate and compare possible solutions
3-5ETS1-3. Create and run fair trials including controlled variables
LA - Standards covered to be determined.
5.W.9 – draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis.
WELL, HOW BIG IS IT??
In order to make an awesome scaled version of a car, we first have to know how big a real car is.
For this activity, you will need either a tape measure (preferred) or a yard stick (ok), or a ruler
(eh, not so good) or your own feet (well, at least you’ll have them).
Procedure:
1. Find a car. Your parents’ car would be the easiest, but any car will work. It would be best if
it was a car of someone you know, and if that person knew you were measuring it (they might
even offer to help!). It would be best to do this in meters, but most likely that would be hard, so
use feet and inches (we can convert it later).
2. Measure the length (the long part) of the car from the very front to the very back. This is
shown be the dimension line marked “A” below. Height = _______________
3. Measure the width (the wide part) of th Measure the length (the long part) of the car from the
very front to the very back. This is shown be the dimension line marked “B” below. Width =
__________
4. Measure the height (the tall part) of the car from the ground to the top of the roof (I’d do this
right behind the front door of the car). This is shown be the dimension line marked “C” below
Height = _____________
5. Using the car drawing below, and the distances above, fill in the length, width and height
based on the car you measured.
So, just how big is the “average” car?
Let’s find out. Here’s what you are going to do.
1. Find all the rest of your group. Groupings are listed below.
2. Record each of the three dimensions for each member of your
group.
3. Add each column and find the mean (average)!
Student Name Length Width Height
Totals!
Mean
Group 1 # 1; 4; 7; 11; 15; 16; 20; 22
Group 2 #2; 5; 9; 14; 13; 17; 19; 23
Group 3 #3; 6; 8; 10; 12; 18; 21
OK, so now we know what the average car size is. We can use this information to
figure out how to make a race car that will be a “scale model” of it. Here’s what
you need to do:
1. Choose to use either the car you measured or the average car sizes as the size
car you will be modelling.
2. Decide on a fraction to use for scaling (this is how much of a real car size your
model will be – for instance if you used 1/2 , your model will be half the size of a
real car; if you choose 1/4 , your model will be a quarter the size of a real car).
Keep in mind the size of your model needs to be under 25 cm in length and under
10 cm wide. The fraction you will need to use depends on how big the real car is.
You may have to try a few before finding one that works for you.
3. Change the fraction to a decimal. Divide the numerator by the denominator.
You should get an answer that is less than 1. If not, you did it wrong.
4. Multiply each of the three dimensions (length, height and width) by the decimal
that you just found.
5. If the length and width do not meet the criteria, you much go back and choose
another fraction. If they do meet the criteria, but you don’t like that size, you can
try again as well!
SCALING THE CAR WORKSHEET (feel free to create your own if you need
more room or rows).
ORIGINAL SIZE FRACTION DECIMAL SCALED SIZE
THE FOUR-SECTION TECHNICAL DRAWING PAPER
Due to orientation issues, this page can not be displayed.
Car materials - Official Rules
All cars created for the Crow Car Racing Extravaganza must conform to the
following rules.
1. All cars must conform to the size limitations decided on by the rules
committee.
Length = 15 – 25cm; Width = 10 – 15 cm; and Height = 10 – 15 cm
2. Cars may be made of any material, however purchasing materials is highly
discouraged.
3. Car design must be to scale and must be approved by race officials before
building can begin.
4. All building of cars must happen in the classroom.
5. Builders will be allowed up to 4 hours of class time (4 periods) to build car.
Any need for more time will require after school or recess time.
6. No car may be placed on the track until all paperwork has been approved by
race officials.
7. Any violation of these rules will result in a penalty that may result in
rebuilding the car.
BUYING MATERIALS! AREA / PERIMETER AND SURFACE AREA WORKSHEET
If you were really building a car, the first thing you’d need to do once you’ve designed your car
is to find out how the amount of materials you need to do the building. This paper will help you
do that.
Part I. Measuring the area of the car.
If you drew the car on centimeter graph paper, you just need to count the squares inside the car.
For squares that are only partly in the car, count every other one (it’s just an estimate). The total
number of squares you counted would be the number of Square Centimeters you will need.
If you didn’t use graph paper, simply tape some graph paper carefully to the back of the paper
you used. Hopefully, you can see the squares. You may need to put it up to the light (window)
to see. Then start counting.
Part II. Totaling up the area amounts.
Area of the side = _____________ cm²
Area of the side = _____________ cm²
Area of the top = _____________ cm²
Area of the front = _____________ cm²
Area of the back = _____________ cm²
Total area of car = _____________ cm²
Part III. Purchasing material -
We are pretending that you are actually buying the material. The material is priced per 100 cm².
You will have to figure out the unit price of the material from that.
Total area needed = _____________ cm²
Price per cm² X ____________
Total Cost = _________________________
Part IV Edge material/Tape/Glue ect.
If you are planning to connect the edges of the sides to the top (most should), then you will need
to buy the material you plan to use. To do this, first find the total length of material needed by
measuring the length of all the edges on your drawing. Be careful not to measure the same part
twice!
Total length of edges on car = __________________ cm
Price of material per cm = X __________________
Total Cost of Edge material ________________________
Part V . If you plan to color, paint or decal your car, you will have to pay for that too!
This is simply the total area to be colored times the cost of paint (per cm). Again, you will have
to find the unit price.
Part VI - Record total amount spent in Builder’s Log
MEASUREMENT FORMULAS
UNIT PRICE = gross price ÷ number of units in the gross
( e.g. $200 per 10 yds = 200 ÷ 10 = $20 a yard).
AREA = length * width (measure as close to what you actually need as possible)
PERIMETER = length of all sides added together
SURFACE AREA = the area of all sides added together
VOLUME = length * width * height
BUILDER’S LOG – for __________________________________
By __________________________
Day ___ -
Activity _______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Observations/Thoughts _______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Materials used Bulk Cost Actual Cost
Labor $25.50 / hour
Day ___ Total Cost Materials and Labor
BUILDER’S REPORT – FINAL TALLY
TOTAL COST OF DAY 1 = ____________
TOTAL COST OF DAY 2 = ____________
TOTAL COST OF DAY 3 = ____________
TOTAL COST OF DAY 4 = ____________
ADDITIONAL COSTS* = _____________
TOTAL COST OF THE BUILDING = _____________________________
*Please note: if you needed to finish your building outside of class (or if it took longer than 4
days) materials and labor costs are doubled. If you built anywhere outside of class you must add
in a location fee of $523 per day.
DESIGN COST = __________________
($2,000 PLUS $500 FOR EVERY FORCED REVISION (a forced revision is one that the
teacher makes you do to ensure a quality design)
TOTAL COST OF BUILDING THE CAR = ____________________
I hereby certify that all information on this paper is correct and complete. __________________
STATS FOR TEAM ________________
CAR # _____
TOTAL LENGTH = _________________ cm
TOTAL WIDTH = ___________________cm
TOTAL HEIGHT = __________________cm
MASS OF CAR = _________________ grams
Description of vehicle (please note all features, color, etc) ______________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
PRACTICE LOG – for __________________________________
By __________________________
Day ____ -
RUN #
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
TIME (sec)
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
SPEED (mph)
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
Observations/Thoughts
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
Costs Bulk Cost Actual Cost
Track Rental
$217 an hour
Driver’s Fee
$36 a run
Day ___ Total Cost Materials and Labor
Additional Comments/Revision ideas _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
SPEED CALCULATION PAPER – Show all calculations on this paper.
Speed is defined as distance over time (or how far in how long). The most
common speed is calculated in miles (how far) per hour (how long) – or mph.
Since our track is less than a mile long, and we are not measuring time in hours, we
have to do some conversions. It’s quite complicated, but thanks to modern
technology, and a very kind teacher, all you have to do is plug in the numbers and
do the math (in other words, fill in the blanks).
Show all work on calculation page.
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
STATS:
Top Speed = _________ Slowest Speed = _____________
Average Speed = ______________
BUILDER’S LOG – Revision for_________________________________
By __________________________
Day 1 -
Activity _______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Observations/Thoughts _______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Materials used Bulk Cost Actual Cost
Labor $37.50 / hour
Day 1 Total Cost Materials and Labor
REVISED STATS FOR TEAM ________________
CAR # _____
TOTAL LENGTH = _________________ cm
TOTAL WIDTH = ___________________cm
TOTAL HEIGHT = __________________cm
MASS OF CAR = _________________ grams
Description of vehicle (please note all features, color, etc) ______________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
RACE DAY LOG – for __________________________________
By __________________________
Day ____ -
RUN #
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
TIME (sec)
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
SPEED (mph)
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
Observations/Thoughts
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
Costs Bulk Cost Actual Cost
Track Rental
$217 an hour
Driver’s Fee
$36 a run
Day ___ Total Cost Materials and Labor
Additional Comments/Revision ideas _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
SPEED CALCULATION PAPER – Show all calculations on this paper.
Speed is defined as distance over time (or how far in how long). The most
common speed is calculated in miles (how far) per hour (how long) – or mph.
Since our track is less than a mile long, and we are not measuring time in hours, we
have to do some conversions. It’s quite complicated, but thanks to modern
technology, and a very kind teacher, all you have to do is plug in the numbers and
do the math (in other words, fill in the blanks).
Show all work on calculation page.
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
Run #__ ___________ ÷ _____________ * (0.68) = _____________ mph. (seconds ) (distance in feet) (miles per hour!)
STATS:
Top Speed = _________ Slowest Speed = _____________
Average Speed = ______________
THE GREAT CROW RACE CAR PROJECT RESULTS PAGE!!
In order to truly see how your car did, we will need to pull all the data together. Create a graph
of your car’s (or cars’) performances from the first practice run right through the final heat of
Race Day. Then use that information to answer some questions (Using full sentences and your
very best writing ability).
1. Which run was the fastest for your car?
2. How did your car perform after you made the revisions?
3. What was the key to your car going faster?
4. What could you do, if you were to revise it again, to make it even faster?