Mouse Trap Speed Boat

Mousetrap Speed Boat

Description

Teams will compete to build a vehicle powered only by the stored energy of the spring of a single mousetrap that is able to travel a set distance in water in the shortest time.

Competition

Each team will build a vehicle whose sole source of mechanical power is the spring of a single standard mousetrap. The spring must be the only source of stored energy for the vehicle -- no batteries or electricity will be allowed, nor should elastic or rubber bands be used in place of string, fishing line or wire. After the device has been prepared, it will be placed at one end of an approximately12-meter-long, 50-cm-wide water trough behind a line marked on the bottom of the trough and released(no pushing).

Each boat will have two runs down the trough. The total time will be the sum of the two times.

Other Information

Each team should bring a logbook with them outlining the construction and testing of the device in preparation for the event. Dates and times should be noted in the book. Data, data tables, and sketches will be typical entries. Information should be entered at the time noted in the book: summarizing what was done hours, days or weeks after the actual experiment is very poor scientific practice.

(Logbook example: October 17, 2005, 3:30 P.M. Our race car has been veering to the left. We tried adjusting the back axle to straighten the path. It didn't help.)

Scoring

The lab books should be brought to Science Olympiad and will be collected before the Opening Ceremony. All lab books will be examined by a team of three people and scored (not ranked) on a scale of 1-10 (high=10, low=1, no book=0). Teams will be ranked (1^st place=10, 2^nd place=9…) based on smallest total time. Team score will be the sum of the ranking and lab book score.

Lab book scoring is not designed to be punitive. It is the hope and expectation of judges that all lab books receive a score of 10. There is no set or expected presentation format, except it should be clear to the judges that all work was performed by the competitors.