Newton's Scooters

Grade 10 students made "Newton's Scooters" to illustrate Newton's Laws. Most groups made scooters that used a balloon to provide a force to make the car go in the opposite direction. One group used a mouse trap to provide this force. The students answered questions about the design of their cars and Newton's laws. For the photos I added some passengers. After the scooters we did a project about car safety and about how knowledge of Newton's Laws helps us design safer cars. These poor passengers don't have any seat belts so they would be victims of Newton's First Law (Inertia) if these cars were to crash. 

The winning design was light so it didn't need much force to accelerate. The wheels had a small amount of friction allowing smoother travel. 

Some other designs. One goal was to use recycled materials. 

A car powered by a mouse trap. The mouse trap brand was mjölner after Thor's hammer.  Fortunately no fingers were sacrificed for this construction.